Volunteers Turn Fantasy Into Reality

The Sugar Sand Science Playground has been a family destination since the mid 1990s.

From the mouths of babes sprouted a playground for the ages.

And an army of volunteers molded the vision of children, creating a playground that's part of the fabric of Boca Raton.

In 1993, the year before the ballfields at Sugar Sand Park opened to the public, a group of Boca Raton residents requested that District Commissioners build a playground that combined education and recreation at the park.

Commissioners quickly agreed, deciding to rely heavily on community input for the design and creation of the new playground.

To choose which features to include in the playground, organizers turned to the people who would enjoy it most. They asked local children to describe their fantasy playground.

“All of this came from the kids,” design committee co-chair Dale Klco told the Boca Raton News following the playground's opening. “We just had engineers show us how to bring it to life.”

Klco, an electrical contractor by trade and the design committee co-chair, volunteered because he wanted to build a playground his two young daughters could relish.

Taking the children's suggestions, the District contracted with Playgrounds by Leathers to turn those fantasies into reality. Robert Leathers' work had been featured on Sesame Street and in People magazine.

“He's the Johnny Appleseed of playgrounds,” playground committee co-chair Pam Post said of Robert Leathers to the Boca Raton News.

At that point, the Boca Raton community's spirit of volunteerism kicked into high gear.

“The build itself was just incredible, how many people turned out to do the work," Klco said. "It was just amazing.”

Construction began on a May Saturday in 1995, with about 400 volunteers arriving for duty.

“It was really something to see,” said Dirk Smith, a District Commissioner at the time. “It really was a genuine community effort.”

People from across the city donated their services as carpenters, painters, cement masons – basically every skill required for a construction project – to help create the new science playground.

Bob Piuni donated his face. Well, kind of. To mold the iconic face that looks down from atop the playground, sculptor Robyn Ben-Ari created the design using Piuni's head as a model. 

From inside the head looking out, visitors could see into the giant eyeball that turned the playground upside down - as the human eye sees image before brain puts it right side up. Looking inside the face's replica of the human mouth, they'd see illuminated taste buds.

“The kids told us they wanted a smile, so we put it in there” Piuni told the Boca Raton News. “They wanted a tongue slide too, but I don't think that will happen.”

It is believed more than 1,000 volunteers contributed their time to the project, many wearing shirts that read “D-Sine Team,”  with the chemical formula for both sugar and sand printed on it.

The volunteers received a little help from an unexpected group. 

With the playground nearing completion but foul weather delaying the final steps, officials enlisted the help of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office new Correction's Public Service Initiative program that allowed non-violent offenders out of jail to perform community service tasks under the supervision of officers. 

In 1995 14 prisoners used their skills to put the finishing touches on the playground.

“We believe we have some fellows here who can do some good for the community,” Steve Lasley, director of corrections for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It sounds a little corny, but not everyone in jail is against the entire world.”

The one-acre, 25-foot high playground opened December of 1995. It only cost $500,000, plus the donated materials. When the facility opened there were fewer than 10 such playgrounds in the nation.

Along with climbing inside the human head, playground visitors could crawl under the ribs of a Florida Imperial Mammoth in the fossil pit, take a spaceship to Mars, explore a DNA double helix or an exposed coral reef, fire water cannons and race flashing lights that simulated the speed of different animals.

The playground remains largely the same as it did on the day it opened.

In 2016 the District funded renovations that replaced some of the wood and added more inclusive features. The District again tapped Leathers to design the refurbishing.

“I've got to tell you, I'm totally impressed that Boca Raton has committed to maintaining and even upgrading the playground,” Klco said. “Most of these community built playgrounds only last about 10 years and then they deteriorate and have to be torn down.”

Now, heading into the holiday season, the Sugar Sand Science Playground remains a destination for children, parents and grandparents.

“Having the community come together to build something like that was certainly impressive,” District Commissioner Bob Rollins said. “The fact that it's stood the test of time and continues to be used – even though we did have to renovate it – just shows what the community can do when they put their shoulders to the wheel and get it done. And we were able to get that done at less cost and probably quicker than if we had used a contractor.”