Fossilized fun zone: All-abilities playground, years in the making, opens at Ogden dinosaur park
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- The public gets its first chance to play on the new all-abilities playground at Ogden’s George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
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- The ribbon is cut on the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park’s new all-abilities playground Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
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- George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park Executive Director Sara Mejeur speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the park’s new all-abilities playground Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
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- Children enjoy the newly built all-abilities playground at Ogden’s George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
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- Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park’s new all-abilities playground Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
OGDEN — A new playground aims to be for every child to safely play on and have fun, regardless of ability, and a model for others to follow going forward.
Tuesday morning, the ribbon was finally cut on a brand-new playground at the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park, replacing the previous playground that had been in the park for nearly three decades.
Sara Mejeur, executive director of the dinosaur park, told the Standard-Examiner that the new playground was years in the making.
“About six years ago, the board came together because our playground was aging,” she said. “They started the process to do a renovation. The idea behind it was to honor our legacy, but then make it all-inclusive for different abilities and all children.”
In an email from Mejeur, a description of the playground notes the following factors as making it “all-abilities,” including:
- “Ramps and surfacing that make it easy for kids who use wheelchairs or mobility aids to access every level of the playground.”
- “Sensory-rich play panels and tactile elements that engage neurodiverse children with sensory processing differences.”
- “Swings and slides with extra support for children who need additional stability or caregiver assistance.”
- “Shaded areas and quiet spaces for kids who might need a break from the excitement.”
The email also lists the new equipment that makes up the playground:
- “The Main Tower System has a transfer point for kids in wheelchairs, which makes it accessible to those who can transfer.”
- “The Momentum Corridor is an ADA Piece that is transferable from a wheelchair, and allows kids with upper body strength to pull themselves along and have a fun sensory and climbing experience. The Rollers make it fun to move along, and they give the kids a sensory experience.”
- “The Cyclocone Plus Climber/Spinner has an opening at the bottom that is transfer height, so kids can transfer to the spinner and have fun on that piece.”
- “The Glide Along (Zip Line) has a bay with an ADA seat for kids of all abilities and all ages.”
- “The Swings also include an ADA seat for kids with all abilities and ages.”
Shane Lyon, who chairs the park’s board of directors, told the Standard-Examiner that it was important to build an all-abilities playground.
“There wasn’t an all-abilities option nearby,” he said. “Any disability, any individual, any child with a disability should be able to play and have fun just as anybody else. Our goal with this was to make this so this was a playground for everybody to come and enjoy.”
He added that it was very satisfying to see the park finally come to fruition.
“This has been such a work in progress,” he said. “It’s been ups and downs, of course. There’s been a lot of delays, unfortunately, that’s not really the fault of anybody — it just happened. And today, coming together, it’s so cool to see this. Literally, last night (Monday), they were still putting parts together. Our maintenance team has worked countless hours, Sara has worked countless hours to do all of this for today where we put a date in place and said, ‘We’re going to do it.’ And here we are.”
Preceding the ribbon cutting was a short ceremony featuring comments from representatives of the dinosaur park, Ogden City, Weber County RAMP and Garrett Parks and Play, which designed the new playground.
For more information on the playground and the park, visit https://dinosaurpark.org/.
