Heroes of Manufacturing Park
Opened to the Public in October 2022
Heroes of Manufacturing Park, in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood and the Hough residential community, is considered Cleveland's first STEM-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) park and playground. The playground is next to a new Manufacturing Innovation, Technology & Job Center headquarters building developed by MAGNET, a nonprofit consulting organization in Northeast Ohio whose mission is to grow the manufacturing industry and unlock prosperity in the region. MAGNET's commitment to the local community led to its investment in renovating an abandoned middle school to serve as its new headquarters.
Development of the outdoor space next to the renovated school included a state-of-the-art playground filled with STEM-themed play equipment, basketball courts (one half and one full- to ensure enough space for both youth and adult play) and a two-story mural highlighting leading Black industrialists, inventors, and scientists from the past century. The eye-catching mural, which serves as a beautiful backdrop to the playground, was created by Darius Steward, native Cleveland artist, to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
While plans were being developed for the project, MAGNET and the design team held community meetings to share ideas and to gain community input about how best to prioritize programming for the MAGNET site. Community members expressed a need for a welcoming and safe playground for neighborhood children.
A landscape architecture team from Langan Engineering, and consultants from the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC), collaborated to design the playground. Together, Langan and the GLSC developed a plan to inspire children with a unique playground that is educational and fun with a science and technology theme.
The playground provides kids with opportunities to discover how much power they can generate on a bicycle or how they can use solar energy to charge a cell phone. A seesaw teaches about equilibrium by using an adjustable weighted fulcrum. There is also a sand pit where kids can use excavators and digging tools on a custom-designed, sand-creation structure.
There are other educational STEM opportunities, as well. A giant, colorful lever challenges kids to lift a basket of bowling balls while experiencing mechanical engineering firsthand. Elsewhere, a recycling station demonstrates how aluminum, plastic, and glass are sorted. A repair station equipped with maintenance tools is available for aspiring mechanics to practice troubleshooting their bicycle problems. Throughout the park, sculptural musical instruments encourage creativity and provide sensory development through touch, sound, and vibration.
An impressive 27-foot-tall play structure with multiple slides tempts and welcomes visitors to the park. The adjacent geometric steel-framed icosahedron structure (IKO) from Berliner, provides a net of polyester-coated steel cables for climbing and exercise. A 60-foot-long cable-ride on a speedway zipline (from the same manufacturer) is an exciting way to experience the power of gravity.
A canopy, inspired by traditional monkey bars, provides kids with opportunities to test themselves by swinging and hanging on different overhead routes as if they were in a tree. Climbing cleats boost kids of all sizes so they can reach the top.
Elsewhere in the playground, and near an entrance to the MAGNET headquarters, arcade-like play pillars of the Yalp Memo are programmed with intuitive games suitable for any age group. The pillars stimulate interaction and help kids develop communication skills through cooperative play.
Heroes of Manufacturing Park, which opened to the public in October 2022, is already a popular attraction and destination for the neighborhood.
