Our BIG News!!!

Tree House almost ready for play

By Kurt Hauglie, DMG Writer
Daily Mining Gazettette

HOUGHTON - The idea for it began in June, a location to construct it was found in September, and in late March, the Tree House Indoor Playspace will be ready to receive its first little users.
Cathy Benda, executive director of Keweenaw Family Resources Center in Houghton, organizers and managers of the playspace, said the Tree House structure arrived Thursday in a kit form, and students from Jeffers High School and Michigan Technological University helped to unload it from the delivery truck.
"It came in about 20 (heavy) pieces," Benda said.
The Tree House is from a company in Maine called Kids Crooked House, and Friday, Jeff Leighton of the company, and Steve Juntunen and Eric Harjala of Raasio Contracting, were putting the house together on top of a metal platform in the Red Ridge Plaza suite.
Benda said after the tree house is completed, an artificial tree for children to climb on will be installed next to the tree house next week, the floor in the playspace will follow that, and finally, a slide will be installed.
"Then we should be ready to rock and roll," she said.
The planned opening for play is March 22, Benda said.
"It'll be a bonus if it's ready before that," she said.
A logo for the Tree House is being designed by the Marketing Department of Houghton, also, Benda said.
The playspace is intended for children aged infant to 5 years old. It's designed to provide not only exercise, but also to develop motor and cognitive skills.
Although KFRC received a $10,000 donation to get the construction started on the Tree House, a goal of $100,000 was set for the project, and Benda said that goal is nearly realized with about $20,000 to go.
"We're still actively soliciting for donations," she said. "No amount is too large or too small."
The KFRC is selling 200 pickets for a picket fence wall in its office next to the playspace, Benda said, and for $100, donors can put a dedication or comment on the picket. To purchase a picket, or make another donation to the Tree House, go online to houghtonwinterpark.blogspot.com or call the KFRC at 482-9363.
Benda said yearly and semester memberships will be available during a membership drive at the beginning of March. Daily passes will also be available after the playspace opens.
Benda said the effort and progress on the creation of the Tree House Indoor Playspace has been very satisfying.
"We feel great how far we've gotten," she said. "This has been just a great project. Community involvement has been wonderful."
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@ mininggazette.com.

Update

Construction is going on, fast and furious. Things are definitely taking shape! Stay tuned for an official opening date! BIG things happening this week.... very exciting!!!! How many excalamation points can we use?!?!?!?!?!

PICKETS FOR THE PLAYGROUND

Leave a lasting memorial of YOUR support for our little playground... buy a picket! We have 200 adorable white pickets that will be personalized with an engraved plaque and placed prominently throughout the park. $100 buys your picket, and goes to a very, very worthy cause. Contact the Keweenaw Family Resource Center at 482-9363 and get yours today!

WLUC TV 6 Park Update

Click here to see the video!

Monday morning, construction continued within the main play area while other important decisions including which frog image to use were discussed in the lobby.

Monday, January 25, 2010 at 4:39 p.m.

HOUGHTON -- The Keweenaw Family Resource Center has moved into its new offices at the site of the future indoor tree house, and organizers say the winter playground could be open soon.
Monday morning, construction continued within the main play area while other important decisions, including which frog image to use, were discussed in the lobby.
The group is eager to have the park open for at least part of this winter and thinks it could be ready by the end of February.
"Every day there's something new," said Cathy Benda, Executive Director of KFRC. "That's the best part, something new happens and we get closer to meeting the needs of small kids in the community and that's very satisfying."
The group is still selling pickets which will be used to line the office wall.
They've already raised $75,000 of the $100,000 in funds needed for the project.
For more information on the Keweenaw Family Resource Center, click here

Daily Mining Gazette Article

HOUGHTON - There isn't a lot of nature visible during a western Upper Peninsula winter, so the organizers of the Tree House Indoor Playspace for young children decided to bring nature to a warm spot where children can play safely.
The Tree House, which is a creation of the Keweenaw Family Resource Center based on an idea by community activist Jessica Della Valla, is under construction now in two suites in the Red Ridge Plaza on Sharon Avenue. It is expected to be open for at least a little of this year's winter.
Monica Aho, chairwoman of the playspace design team, said besides providing a safe, warm place for children to play in the winter, it's intention is to help them grow, and the idea expanded from that.
"At first, we just started with what to do to help kids developmentally," she said.
It was decided by the design team to produce a space which would provide opportunities for jumping, crashing, swinging, balancing, aerobic and coordination development, Aho said.
"We kind of brainstormed what kinds of activities and equipment would give us that," she said.
Through a process of elimination, Aho said the theme of bringing the outdoors to the indoors was chosen might help children cope with the actual weather.
"We have such long winters," she said.
Aho said the membership of the design team was fluid, but at one point it included Associate Professor Rick Loduha's human factors class at the Finlandia University International School of Art & Design. All totaled, more than 50 people had input for the design of the playspace.
Included in the playspace, Aho said, is a lily pond, which is really a waterbed.
"That came because we wanted something kids could balance on," she said.
Keeping with the lily pond theme, Aho said local artists Julie Benda and Tobias Dawson provided some color and three-dimensional creativity. Benda, who is a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point art student majoring in printmaking, created a pond design and painted a mural of frogs in a wetlands scene on the wall next to the lily pond area. Dawson is an artist and designer from Misery Bay, now living in southeast Michigan. He created a concrete frog sculpture for the playspace, which, however, is not for climbing on. Artist Christine Westrich created the Merry Go Trike, which has three seats and three sets of pedals and goes around in a circle.
"We wanted artists to design things to engage children as much as possible," she said.
The tree in the playspace will be constructed of foam, Aho said, and it will be hollow so children can climb inside to get to the treehouse, which will be constructed on top of a metal beam frame. There will be punching bags hanging from the frame for the children to bang on, also.
"These are kids that are too small for hockey," she said.
Part of the decoration for the KFRC office, which is next to the playspace, is pickets, which will be placed on a wall, and Cathy Benda, KFRC executive director, said people can by the pickets for $100 and place names of people they would like remembered on the pickets.
"We have 200 to sell," she said. "We've sold about a quarter of them."
Aho said although the playspace still needs work, it's expected it will be open sometime in February.
"There's a lot that needs to be done," she said. "It's coming along."
To get information about memberships or sponsorships for the Tree House Indoor Playspace, call the KFRC at 482-9363. To follow the progress of the construction, go online to houghtonwinterpark.blogspot.com.
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@ mininggazette.com.

Frogs Frogs Frogs

We love frogs around here. They're cute, noisy, and jump alot. Not unlike the munchkins who will soon be swarming our little park.

Updates

In regards to the comment on color voting: What a bummer! We are sorry. The software is automated so we didn’t really have control over it other than setting the end time, which was midnight. That being said, we are taking into consideration all of the votes but ultimately, the decision will be up to those reviewing the final plans after thoughtful consideration of the other components, decorations, and paint. This is an organic, ever-changing, project and so as areas are completed we sometimes need to adjust and change course. It is a good reminder of what we do as parents! If you would like to still submit a vote, call me at 281-2131 and we can talk more about this. If you are going to call, call soon. We are getting ready to put the final touches in place. Our latest treasure is a wonderful, handcrafted 200 pound frog decorating the space! Also, the KFRC offices are moving today. It has been a busy week. We will keep you updated on our progress. Cathy Benda, Director