RACINE, Wis.— The ground is broken and the new playground for kids at Goodland Montessori School in Racine, Wis., are almost ready to be played on. 

What You Need To Know

  • Students at Case High School have worked all semester to design a new playground for Goodland Montessori

  • Two teams created three computer renderings and 3-D models for the community to vote on

  • Construction started on May 11, 2022

  • The playground is expected to be finished before the end of the school year

"So this is actually a balance beam. They’re going to get a new rope, but it’s literally just climbing up, going across the balance beam, going across some tires, and climbing the tire mountain. It’s kind of a mix of ’the floor is lava’ versus obstacle course kind of thing," said Kari Morey, an academy coach at Case High School, and a member of Goodland Montessori's parent-teacher association. 

It’s been a lot of work for Matilde Llacer Lopez, a senior at Case. She’s the lead designer on the team of students who designed the new play space. 

She said she learned a lot through this process, which started with computer renderings, making 3-D printed models, and putting the models to a community vote before construction began. 

“I have to be resilient. I have to keep going; I cannot stop," Llacer Lopez said, because her original plans didn’t pan out. 

While the premise is the same, some of the materials had to change. 

“We were going to use railroad ties for the balance beam, but we couldn’t because it had chemicals we weren’t able to use so we had to change it to the other way," Llacer Lopez said. 

The tire swing was scrapped — but the tire mountain is still a go. 

To build that, they drilled into the tires and put bolts inside to form the base, and will continue to make a pyramid shape that is three levels high. 

The adversity the students faced, though, is a good thing, according to Morey. 

She said she’s extremely proud of the students who kept working to find the best ways to move forward, even at the roadblocks. 

She’s especially proud of Llacer Lopez, who she said has really taken the reins on this project. 

“Female to female, I appreciated that," Morey said. "Like, ‘Yeah, female engineer! You’re doing it! You’re leading the pack!’ and seeing where she’s at now, and directing all of these adult men on what to do, because it’s her design— she owns it. It’s just super, super cool.”

The building process will take some time. There is concrete, wood chips, and other materials that need to be laid before students will be able to play on the playground, but it is expected to be done before the end of the year. 

Llacer Lopez is excited for that day to come. 

“That means that it’s working for something," she said. "It’s not just doing something that you’re going to throw away. It’s something the kids are going to enjoy, gonna use. I hope they really like it.”