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A Camp Munroe participant enjoys the new splash pad at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. The splash pad was made possible by private donations and was dedicated on July 7 during the 25th anniversary celebration of Camp Munroe. |
He looks up.
Wait for it.
One more second.
Whoosh!
A stream of water splashes down on his head.
Laughing, the boy in the bright red swim trunks runs to the next water station on the newly installed splash pad at the Munroe Meyer Institute (MMI).
The splash pad is the newest curriculum addition to the recreational therapy department, and is a welcome addition to the flagship program Camp Munroe, a six-week summer day camp for special-needs campers offered June through August during the summer.
The new splash pad, made possible by private donations, was dedicated on July 7 during the 25th anniversary celebration of Camp Munroe. The event was attended by more than 350 people including many Camp Munroe alumni.
It is dubbed “Nancy’s Park” in dedication of one of the department’s adult participants who recently passed away.
“The kids love it,” said Kelley Coutts, assistant director of recreational therapy at MMI. “And so do we, it provides us with another fun activity to engage the kids in.”
The brightly colored splash pad features two fish-shaped water cannons, three misters, a water rail, may pole, a circular water cage that bubbles up out of the ground and several other water stations.
The entire splash pad is covered by bright blue canopies above and equally brightly colored rubber safety surface below.
“It’s great sensory input for the campers,” Coutts said. “Each of the water stations is made so that the children will have to touch a button to get the water to turn on. It’s also a great way to engage the campers in cooperative skill building.”
The more than 100 Camp Munroe participants are broken into seven groups by age and take turns spending time on the splash pad throughout the day.
Coutts said the splash pad will also be shared by students with severe disabilities from J.P. Lord School adjacent to MMI and occasionally be open to University Day Care kids as well.
“The splash pad is a tremendous enhancement to our mission of providing high-quality recreation and respite services to children, youth and adults with special needs. Many of our participants are medically fragile and are unable to engage in traditional swimming pool activities, but kids love water play and they love to move and this water park extends our summer curriculum to the outdoors, even on the hottest day,” said Michael Crawford, Ph.D., director of the recreational therapy program at MMI.
The splash pad has been a dream for Dr. Crawford, who has worked hard at improving the recreational activities at MMI since coming to the medical center in 2000.
The first improvement made was to the indoor playground in 2001, when a new, safer floor made of rubber was installed, along with many additional play elements.
A second improvement was the re-design and expansion of the barrier free outdoor playground.
Over a period of four years new equipment was installed in three major phases, all of it donated by private philanthropy and families of current and past participants.
Now that the splash pad has been added, the three recreational play areas represent a total of $425,000 in private funds invested in the program.
“We are celebrating over 25 years of continuous funding of our programs by the Hattie B. Munroe Foundation this summer,” Dr. Crawford said. “Virtually all of our programs are funded by different private foundations and other forms of charitable giving. We have been very fortunate to be able to raise the money we have, not only for enhancing our facilities but for the money we need to operate our programs year-round.
“The splash pad cost a quarter of a million dollars and the bulk of the funds came from Nancy’s family and friends,” Dr. Crawford said.
The pad will help to serve a whole new generation of Camp Munroe participants as the program begins its second quarter century of providing services.