By Annie Tandy, Owner and Creator of kidlist.com

There are new additions to the Sensory Garden Playground in Lisle! The GT Wave and Gravity Rail are now complete and you can get all the details below, but first a tour of this fun playground…

The Sensory Garden Playground has made it into the 10 Best Playgrounds consistently over the past few years from all of your votes! It might be a little tricky to find it your first time, but follow the Sensory Garden Playground signs through the Navistar parking lot until you see the parking lot for the playground with the arch pictured below.

Even the walk from the parking lot to the playground is fun! In addition to the sculptural arch at the entrance, there is a horse sculpture that is musical as well. It’s a calming walk over the bridge and down the short winding path until you reach the clearing where your kids will have their pick of several areas to choose from.

This horse stable-themed playground is recommended for 2-to-5-year olds and also has sound and fragrance gardens and central gathering area. It’s tucked in the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s Danada South Area located just northeast of Naperville and Navistar roads.

The Sensory Garden Playground offers something for all the senses – seeing, hearing, touching and smelling. Like the scent of the herbs in the fragrance garden, the sound of children playing on the large drums and chimes in the sound garden, the feeling of roaring through the air on high-back swings, and the sight of families gathering together and encouraging cooperative, side-by-side play in the central gathering space.

The accessible treehouse, boardwalk, and slides were completed in fall 2020.

The GT Wave climbing structure near the main playground and Gravity Rail right next to the treehouse were added this summer and are a huge hit! The GT Wave gives children plenty of opportunities to climb and then slide down.

Swing around the loop with the Gravity Rail! Little ones were sitting on laps as the swing propels you in a circle back to the ramp.

Visual communication boards were added throughout the playground as well. If your child could benefit from visuals, you can also download an app called “Visual Schedule & Social Story”, that will allow you to implement visual supports on the go and/or print Sensory Garden Playground pictures from an image gallery that they provide on their website.

The Sensory Garden Playground is made possible by donations. They are currently raising funds for the next phase of the playground, which is a play structure for 5-12 year olds. To learn more and to make a donation, visit playforalldupage.org.