Teamwork makes the dream work: New playgrounds installed at Ocean Park and Long Beach schools

Teamwork makes the dream work: New playgrounds installed at Ocean Park and Long Beach schools

Published 11:07 am Sunday, August 23, 2026

LONG BEACH PENINSULA — Out with the old (and rusted), in with the new (and polished).

The Ocean Beach School District and a battalion of volunteers over the past two weekends installed new playgrounds at Ocean Park Elementary and Long Beach Elementary, just in time for the district’s K-5 students to put them to good use during the 2026-27 school year.

District staff and local helpers worked with PlayCreation, a Burien-based playground equipment provider, to install the new playgrounds at OPE on Aug. 15 and at LBE on Aug. 22. The old playgrounds were torn out earlier in the summer and the new equipment was brought on site in recent weeks in preparation for the installation days.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies celebrating the new playgrounds are being held on Thursday, Aug. 27. The ceremony at OPE is scheduled for 4 p.m. with the LBE ceremony immediately following at 4:30 p.m.

OBSD secured state funding to address both of the playgrounds through the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Healthy Kids-Healthy Schools program, which provides grant funding for projects that improve physical activity or education. The cost of removing, replacing and installing the new playgrounds at the two schools came in at about $290,000 combined.

The district had long desired to replace the playgrounds, mostly due to the beating they’ve taken over the years from the peninsula’s coastal weather and climate.

The old play structure at OPE had to be closed off to kids at various points due to safety concerns, while the playground at LBE had been installed when the school was serving students in grades K-5 and was designed to cater to kids in older grades. But the school now serves only grades K-2.

The structures provided by PlayCreation — which also supplied and installed the new playground at the Ilwaco City Park — use sustainable materials that are meant to work better and last longer in marine environments. Students at both schools got to choose what equipment and elements they wanted the new playgrounds to include.

The new playgrounds include “spinny” elements, which research has shown helps calm children with autism or other neuro-divergent issues. OBSD officials are hopeful that the new structures will be both accessible to more students than the previous structures, and also encourage students to get outside more and be active.