Rotary PlayGarden

Good morning PlayGardeners! We have a few updates to share with you. First of all, we have added Thursday 10:00am-6:30pm to our open hours in order to help you play and get outside more this summer. Additionally, we have updated our safety protocol which is listed below and on our website at: www.grpg.org/guadalupe-gardens/rotary-playgarden In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State of California, and County of Santa Clara public health guideli...nes for outdoor playgrounds: ** We ask everyone to sanitize their hands prior to entering the PlayGarden and to sanitize equipment before and after use. Hand sanitizer will be available at the gate and we encourage guests to bring their own sanitizing wipes. **Guests are not required to wear a mask in outdoor settings if fully vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, we encourage masks per County guidance. Exemptions to mask-wearing include young children under 2 years of age, persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a mask, and persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication. **Food, beverages, and personal toys are not permitted inside the PlayGarden at this time. **Each feature in the PlayGarden is not to exceed two individuals at a time. Each feature has a line marked with footprints in which individuals can wait their turn. **Play at your own risk. **Please be patient with others. This inclusive space is intended to provide everyone with the opportunity to play. Any individuals not following these guidelines will be asked to leave.

We still have full scholarships available for campers to attend 1-8 weeks of Camp Guadalupe! To qualify, campers must be 7-10 years old and live in Santa Clara ...County. They must also be one or more of the following: a recipient of free or reduced lunch, a recipient of CalWORKs / CalFresh benefits, OR involved in the foster youth system. Want to learn more? Email SummerCamp at GRPG.org for information or an application! Visit www.grpg.org/education/camp-guadalupe for themes and details!

Good afternoon PlayGardeners. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Rotary PlayGarden will be closed for the remainder of the day. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your continued support.

Happy Monday PlayGardeners! Prior to shelter in place, Mondays have always been the day we do maintenance inside the Rotary PlayGarden. We're still working on k...eeping the RPG looking its best during the closure! This Monday, we're going to talk about the care and maintenance of our rock climbing holds. The rock climbing holds see a lot of use throughout the day, allowing children to use both hands and feet to scale the sides of the slides. Through continual use, the holds begin to crack over time. On Mondays, the PlayGarden staff checks each individual hold for integrity and clears them of debris. When a hold needs to be replaced, the two anchors are removed, the anchor points cleaned, and a new hold is put into place. Once the new hold is in place, the anchors are screwed back into their points and VOILA! We are ready for some climbing action! #maintenancemondays

Today is a very special day for the Rotary PlayGarden. On May 23rd, 2015, we opened our gates to the public for the very first time. The Rotary PlayGarden was the first all inclusive play space in the city of San Jose, and has proven to have a strong regional draw. To date, the Rotary PlayGarden has seen over 750,000 visitors! This is amazing! We love our community, and can’t wait to continue our adventure with everyone into whatever the future brings.

We're continuing our countdown to the 5th Anniversary of the Rotary PlayGarden this Saturday! From day one, the Rotary PlayGarden has brought individuals together through its inclusive features, but let’s not forget about its educational and artistic influences. Being a part of the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, the PlayGarden draws inspiration from everything around it, including both natural and human-engineered objects. Whether it be birds, bees, or airplanes flying overhead, the Rotary PlayGarden has something for everyone!

Continuing to move closer to our five-year anniversary of opening the Rotary PlayGarden on May 23, 2015, we're taking a look back at the thoughts that put together this inclusive play space. Features meant to bring individuals together are prominent in the PlayGarden. Slides are made of concrete as to not disable hearing aids, swings allow one person to kick and make both swings sway, a see-saw fits more than one rider per side to help those that may not be able to ride alone...the list goes on and on. We are happy to give individuals the opportunity to try something they physically may not have been able to before, and in turn, make new friends in the process!

May is a very special month here at the Rotary PlayGarden. It marks the anniversary of the first time we officially opened the gates to the public - May 23, 2015. We here at the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy would like to retrace our steps in celebrating five years, and bring everyone on the journey that got the PlayGarden started throughout the rest of this month. My, what an adventure it’s been!

Good morning PlayGardeners. The health and safety of our staff and patrons is our utmost priority, and as such we are monitoring the evolution of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). At this time, the Rotary PlayGarden will be closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience, and would like to thank everyone for their continued support.

This Saturday we have a note from our Rotary PlayGarden Manager, Ash: "Hello PlayGardeners! We sure do miss all of you during this time and are curious to see what everyone is up to. We have taken this time to have some indoor adventures together! Our family sure had a good time putting this together. We would love to hear from you! Please share what crafts, games, or adventures you have been enjoying in the comments. We can't wait to see you all again at the PlayGarden when the time is right!"

Please note that parking lots for the Guadalupe River Park, including the Rotary PlayGarden, will be closed this holiday weekend. Help us #KeepSJParksOpen by following Santa Clara County's #SocialDistancing orders: * Stay home if you are sick. * Do not gather in groups or engage in group activities. * Keep a six-foot distance from others at all times.... * Comply with listed amenity closures and stay out of restricted areas. Thank you for doing your part to #FlattentheCurve, keep our community safe and healthy, and keep parks open! #lovethegrp

Good day PlayGardeners! We have always had a lot of fun here at the Rotary PlayGarden, and from the looks of it, so have you! Just look at how much fun everyone had at the PlayGarden! We would love to hear from you. What are some of your favorite things about the Rotary PlayGarden? We miss our guests and hope you are staying safe and happy!

Good morning PlayGardeners! We here at the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy have begun a special project in anticipation of our reopening. What is it, you may ask? Sorry, we aren’t telling quite yet. But this video might give you a clue... We look forward to seeing your smiling faces!

It's Friday morning, which is making us miss BEE! Our Beginning Environmental Explorers class introduces little ones between two and six to the world of Environmental Science while also helping to improve literacy and social skills. It's offered in English (on Wednesdays) and Spanish (on Fridays). Our incredible instructors, Alli and Isabel, lead the kids through academically rigorous activities with gentleness and care. We can't wait until BEE can come back!

Good morning PlayGardeners! One of our favorite things about the PlayGarden is all of our animal friends that stop in for a visit. Nature being our neighbor, we often have our friends fly, crawl, or slither on by. Sometimes we even help liberate them from the boundaries of our fence. FREEDOM!