Update 4/29/26: The Little Rapids playscape has arrived on the School Street Lawn! Thanks to our awesome crane and trucking teams and the amazing students at Norwich, the playscape is now on-site. We’ll be working over the coming weeks to make sure everything is in great shape and let you know when it’s time to play!
Update 4/14/26: Exciting news: the Little Rapids playscape is coming soon to the School Street lawn! The Norwich University Design + Build Collaborative class, led by Associate Professor of Architecture Tolya Stonorov, has spent the last several months collecting community feedback, designing, and building a play structure, and installation is beginning soon! You will notice site work taking place later this week, including the drilling of holes and pouring of concrete for the foundation of the new structure. Installation of the structure will take place by crane the week of April 27, and creation of a new accessible pathway winding throughout the site will occur later this spring. We are excited to extend our children’s programming with this new outdoor community space, offering kids of all ages and ability levels fun things to enjoy. Learn more about the project and follow along with the progress here.
We are excited to share that we are working with the Norwich University Design+Build Collaborative to create a play structure this spring for the School Street lawn of the Library!
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- Quincy discusses a model play structure created by the class for initial research with Norwich student Riyam Al-Janabi. The class attended our weekly Builders afternoon program to gather thoughts and ideas from young patrons.
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- The Bridge Project, one of two initial design proposals for the playstructure.
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- Over Under Through, one of two initial design proposals for the playstructure.
Led by Tolya Stonorov, Associate Professor of Architecture and Associate Director of Norwich University’s School of Architecture + Art, the class designs, builds, and installs a community project over the course of one semester. In recent years, the program created the “NEST” play structure at the Union Elementary School playground and an accessible privy in Hubbard Park.
Learn more and follow along here!
We are looking forward to working with the Norwich students to create an accessible structure that promotes imaginative and interactive play and to extend our children’s programming with a new outdoor community space for kids of all ages!