On February 15th, the Orca Coast Playgrounds team was at Assiniboine Park Zoo for the grand opening of our Polar Playground at the Tundra Grill. We are especially proud of this installation. It not only serves as the hub for the multi-million dollar ‘Journey to Churchill’ attraction and destination, but also it’s designed as the most advanced integrated play system ever built.
But don’t take our word on the excitement our installation has created – check out these links to media coverage of the event:
CBC NEWS | CTV NEWS | Winnipeg Free Press

Interview with Don Peterkin, Chief Operations Officer, Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

Interview with Rick Chop, Director of Major Projects, Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

Interview with Kaaren Pearce, Director, Grounds at Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

Interview with Catherine Whitecloud, Project Coordinator at Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

One of the first of its kind, the Polar Playground, called Wapusk Owikiw (“The Polar Bear Lives Here”), is a fully immersive play area designed as an arctic wonderland of active participation. Designed to educate and entertain visitors on the great polar bears of Churchill, the interactive highlights include:

• A moving ice-mass floor that responds to footsteps, bobbing and flowing underfoot
• A thin-ice cave, with hidden messages revealed after ‘breaking through’ the floor
• Responsive Aurora Borealis wall, where kids can conduct the northern lights
• A wall-sized icicle xylophone
• Games to find and learn about arctic animals, or to lead them safely home
• Built in cleaning system, including central vacuum

Not only was the entire multi-story play structure designed in-house, it was built in our Vancouver, BC facility, entirely with North American-sourced materials. It was then taken apart and reassembled at the Tundra Grill; high-quality traditional playground elements melded with high-tech, integrated learning and play elements in a kid’s arctic wonderland.