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> When they published their guidelines in 1993, they suggested most existing playground surfaces, which were usually asphalt, dirt, or grass, needed to be replaced with pits of wood or rubber mulch or sand, prompting many schools and parks to rip their old playgrounds out entirely.

Growing up and doing most of my playground playing in the early 90's on a playground almost identical to this wooden masterpiece [0], I feel like some of those older/dangerous playgrounds should've stayed.

Kids can still go iceskating, even though it causes lots of injuries and you have to sign a waiver [1], why not let kids play on the better/dangerous playgrounds after their parents sign a waiver?

[0] https://playgroundology.wordpress.com/category/wooden-playgr... [1] http://deserticecastle.com/wp-content/uploads/Skater-Liabili...

We had these swings by my childhood house and they were a lot of fun:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a275/Liquidrubies/Never%20...

One complaint I've always heard about mulch and rubber is that, unlike asphalt or dirt, it's excellent at hiding things like broken glass, used needles, dead animals, and other fun things kids don't need to be surprised by.
Yeah, I remember the big metal slide at my elementary school would get hot enough to scorch flesh. That didn't stop us from using it, though.
As a kid (90's) we had a big metal slide too. It was placed at the top of a hill and in the winter we would pack snow at the base of the slide to connect it with the hill. The hill would then get turned to ice from all of us kids repeatedly packing the snow down. It was great, the slide was maybe 12 feet tall but the hill added another 20 feet or so.

I still have nieces that go to the same school and that whole area has been re-graded and turned into a parking lot. I suppose it is a good lesson in the impermanence of things.

Unless there are two of them, that rocket slide was in Rapid City, SD. I grew up there and played on it as a kid.
There are many of them, you can see the catalog entry in the article. Many towns ordered them.
That's what I get for skimming. Missed that, thanks.
Looking for a playground nearby?

Playground Buddy is an iOS app for that - it's pretty great if you e got a toddler!