Nature Play at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Location:

Denver, Colorado

Completion Date:

Fall 2024

Client:

Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Parks & Recreation

Collaborators:

Dig Studio

The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s newest public art statue, is also a playground! In partnership with Denver Parks & Recreation, and designed by Dig Studio, Nature Play is a four-acre multigenerational and multi-sensory natural play experience.

Three children enjoy Nature Play outdoors; two hang from horizontal bars on wooden posts, while another climbs a wooden structure in the background, surrounded by trees and playground equipment.

A child enjoys Nature Play while climbing a wooden playground structure shaped like a woolly mammoth with white tusks under a clear sky.

A young girl in overalls smiles while sitting on a swing at a playground, enjoying the benefits of Nature Play. An adult stands nearby outside the frame.

Two children climb and play on a modern wooden Nature Play playground structure outdoors under a clear sky.

Children engage in nature play as they climb and explore a large ram-shaped playground structure at a park during sunset, surrounded by trees and walking paths.

Children enjoy Nature Play on a large playground featuring a wooden ram structure and climbing equipment, surrounded by trees and set against a modern building.

A child enjoys Nature Play by climbing a wooden ladder on a playground structure, viewed from above with gravel ground visible below.

Children enjoy Nature Play as they climb on large animal-themed wooden playground structures, including a ram and a geometric climbing wall.

Children climb and play on a large, modern wooden sculpture shaped like a bison, enjoying Nature Play in an outdoor playground surrounded by trees.

Children enjoy Nature Play on a large wooden playground structure shaped like a ram, surrounded by trees and blue sky.

Children and adults enjoy a Nature Play outdoor playground with sculptures, rocks, and greenery in front of a modern building on a sunny day.

Children enjoy Nature Play on a large, wooden goat-shaped playground structure outdoors, surrounded by trees and a modern building in the background.

Children enjoy Nature Play on and around a large playground structure shaped like a ram’s head, featuring slides and climbing elements, surrounded by trees and wood chips.

Children enjoy Nature Play on a large outdoor playground structure shaped like a ram, with climbing features, set near a modern building and surrounded by trees.

Two children climb and play on a modern wooden playground structure with ropes and platforms, enjoying the benefits of Nature Play outdoors.

Children enjoy Nature Play inside and around a geometric wooden structure, while adults watch from nearby rocks in an outdoor area filled with plants and trees.

Three children enjoy nature play on a large geometric climbing structure outdoors; two girls are inside while a boy climbs on top.

The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s newest public art statue, is also a playground! In partnership with Denver Parks & Recreation, and designed by Dig Studio, Nature Play is a four-acre multigenerational and multi-sensory natural play experience. It is situated outside the southwest corner of the Museum, just steps from the Museum’s entrance.

The 20-foot tall Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep is the largest playground feature and the centrepiece of the play area. It brings the Museum’s dioramas to life as an interactive and immersive natural play experience. A small Pika sculpture, with cozy interior seating and a peep-through window closely watches the Bighorn Sheep.

Powerfully posed as though climbing a rocky mountain and peering over the edge, the Bighorn Sheep offers layers of play from top to bottom. Large crawl-through boulders create play opportunities at ground level and give access to a sloped climber into the belly of the Sheep. The boulders are also fitted with climbing holds and feature peep-thru openings, crawlspaces, and nooks and crannies to investigate and explore, just like in the wild!

A flexform and rope climber suspended beneath the Bighorn’s chest, and climbing holds on the rear legs, offer higher-challenge routes into the Sheep. There kids find a slide and fire pole. Hangout nets are tucked into the nooks of the structure. Overhead rings invite swinging.

The Bighorn Sheep represents Colorado’s native wildlife and landscape, creating a scenic and interactive play experience mimicking the Rocky Mountain range.

If you are looking for another Earthscape sculpture nearby, head to the nearby City Park Dragon, just over half-a-mile away!