The city of Anaheim, the Anaheim Ducks Foundation and nonprofit KABOOM! teamed up with the kids of Mattie Lou Maxwell Elementary School to build a custom playground in a day as part of an ongoing revitalization of Maxwell Park.
About 150 volunteers came together on Sept. 4. to build a playground of swings, slides, climbing areas, sensory panels and shade umbrellas — all in Anaheim Ducks orange and black.
Volunteers assembled play structures, mixed and poured concrete and spread woodchips starting in the morning and finished in the early afternoon.
The playground went up in place of a 20-year-old, 4,680-square-foot play area that was cleared in mid-August to make way for the new play space.
The playground is big for Maxwell Park, a 25-acre park in the heart of west Anaheim that also hosts Mattie Lou Maxwell Elementary School and Haskett Branch Library. The $340,000 playground, which marks Anaheim’s 18th with KABOOM!, is part of the city’s ongoing investment in Maxwell Park. This is Anaheim’s third KABOOM! build with the Ducks after 2022’s playground at Center Greens in downtown and 2023’s at Peter Marshall Park in west Anaheim.
In April, 200 Maxwell Elementary kids drew designs and shared their wish list for the new playground. The top request? Monkey bars and other climbing spaces. The kids also designed in and asked for playground favorites including swings and slides. The playground will be accessible to kids of different ages and abilities, including companion swings, high-back seats, clear paths of travel and sensory panels for those wanting a different experience.
