Universally Accessible Parks A park is often a child’s first outdoor classroom – a place to enhance physical strength, explore equipment and make new friends. For the 1,450 children in Palo Alto dealing with some physical and or cognitive challenge, the park experience is dramatically different. While we would never deny a child entrance into a classroom, we routinely deny children with disabilities entrance onto the playground, since most traditional playgrounds are physically inaccessible to them. The Friends of the Palo Alto Parks plans to change that reality in Palo Alto and join countless other communities around the country by creating a UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE PLAYGROUND. This is a playground where ALL children can play together – not just for children with special challenges, but one for all children where access and participation is made possible for all. This is not an original idea, similar playgrounds exist all over the United States, and we have the opportunity to learn from their experiences. Communities with similar parks find that they foster awareness, acceptance, compassion, inclusion, new friendships and break down traditional barriers.