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Kid Designs Playground

Twelve-year-old Rosili Olson asked leaders in her city to build a playground she designed. They said yes!

Rosili Olson stands in front of a playground and speaks into a microphone as a man and a woman stand on either side of her.

Courtesy of Clearfield City

Rosili Olson (with microphone) and the playground she helped design in Clearfield, Utah.

A new playground in Clearfield, Utah, has a special distinction: It was designed by a kid. When the playground opened in September 2024, 12-year-old Rosili Olson had a lot to be proud of. 

Rosili came up with the design last year, after seeing the plans for a new playground near her home. The plans showed rope climbers and other features, which are super fun for older kids but too challenging for younger ones. Rosili, then 11, worried that her younger sisters wouldn’t be able to enjoy the new playground until they were bigger. 

“I love [my sisters], and we’re all four years apart and they’re both unique and different, and I wanted them to have fun in a park,” Rosili told Fox13 in Utah.

Rosili decided to sketch a design for a playground she felt kids of all ages could enjoy. She dreamed up features like a rock climbing wall and a twisty slide before putting them on paper. Her mom then took her to city hall, where they met with Eric Howes, Clearfield’s head of parks and recreation.

Rosili Olson with her sisters, mother, and Clearfield city officials in a room in front of a rendering of her playground design.

Courtesy of Clearfield City

Rosili (third from left), her family, and city employees pose in front of a picture of Rosili’s playground design.

It was too late to make changes to the playground near Rosili’s house, but Howes invited Rosili to contribute her ideas to the design of another playground that was planned for the future.

“After seeing all the effort she put into all of those drawings knowing we’d already ordered the playground for the park right by her house, the next best thing was to say, ‘We’ve got a playground coming in next year. Let’s use what you’ve done and build something there,’” Howes told the Standard-Examiner.

Rosili is proud of the new playground, which she and her sisters can all enjoy.

“It’s even better than I imagined,” she told the Standard-Examiner. “It’s so beautiful.”

Howes says it’s not often that people go to city hall with an idea in hand. 

“I don’t see this from adults very often, to be very honest,” he said. “I was just so impressed with Rosili. She saw something she didn’t like, and she decided, ‘I want to do something about it.’… She just put in so much effort.”

NEWS EXTRA!

Election Day 2024

At a polling place, some voters sign in with poll workers while others stand at voting booths.

© Hill Street Studios—DigitalVision/Getty Images

Today, November 5, is Election Day in the United States. Americans will head to the polls to choose a new president. (Many other Americans have already voted early or by mail.) 

The two major-party candidates are Vice President Kamala Harris (a Democrat) and former president Donald Trump (a Republican).

When will we know who won? It’s possible the winner will be announced on election night. But since some states don’t allow officials to start counting mail-in ballots until Election Day, there’s a good chance the results of the election won’t be known for a while.

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Did You Know?

Lilidorei Play Village in England is believed to be the world’s largest play structure of its kind. Lilidorei consists of 10 towers that are connected by bridges and gangways. The most awesome way to descend from the highest tower is via a long tube slide that starts nearly 79 feet (24 meters) above ground!

Click through the slideshow for photos of the play village!

Two large, castle-like wooden doors with a sign that says Lilidorei above.
A group of schoolchildren and an adult wave in front of a large play structure with many turrets, bridges, and slides.
A large play structure with many turrets, bridges, and slides.
A giant mushroom, small playhouse, and pumpkin lit up at night with the large play structure in the background.
A large play structure with many turrets, bridges, and slides, as seen from below.
A large play structure with many turrets, bridges, and slides, lit up at night with a crowd of people around it.
At night, a child stands under a tree with a thick trunk and fairy lights.
Side by side photos of a giant mushroom and a wooden door.
View from below showing a child walking across one of the bridges in a large play structure.

The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden, Ben Hines Photo/The Alnwick Garden, The Alnwick Garden

Best Toys Ever?

Are your favorite toys worthy of a hall of fame? Each year, the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, selects two or three toys to induct (admit) into the hall. So far, the hall includes everything from classics like alphabet blocks to more modern items like the Atari 2600 gaming system. 

Here are the 2024 finalists.

A table titled And the Nominees Are, showing the 12 toys and games that have been nominated for the National Toy Hall of Fame

Courtesy, The Strong; Infographic Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Anyone can nominate a toy at the National Toy Hall of Fame website! If you’d like to nominate a toy, keep in mind that toys won’t be chosen for the hall unless they’re widely known and have been around for many years.

Dream It, Build It!

A collage shows famous buildings including the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, the Sydney Opera House, the Taj Mahal, the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, the Aqua Tower, and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

© 3841128876/Shutterstock.com, © TMAX/stock.adobe.com, © ValeryEgorov—iStock/Getty Images, © Wirestock, Max421, Jim Roberts/Dreamstime.com,

These famous buildings include (clockwise from top level) the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain; the Aqua Tower in Chicago, Illinois; the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya; the Taj Mahal in Agra, India; and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

If you could design a playground, what would you include?

Playgrounds are designed by people called playground architects. Most architects design buildings, including some really amazing ones! 

You can learn more about architecture at Britannica.

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vision

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: something that you imagine : a picture that you see in your mind

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