Client:

Waukegan Park District

Engineers:

Hey & Associates, Smith Engineering

Category:

Communications

As part of the Roosevelt Park Wetland Retrofit Project, the Waukegan Park District engaged a consultant team to create an on-site interpretive signage network for public use. The landscape architect guided the design team as they established comprehensive goals, as follows: (1) meet the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's outreach requirements; (2) appeal to a specific age range; (3) make the information presented specific to Roosevelt Park; and (4) incorporate opportunities for imagination and exploration.

As the project progressed, the team succeeded in designing a unique signage program called The Shape Hunter Adventure Walk Challenge. Defined as a game, the network consists of six signs, or 'education stations,' that encourage the reader to identify natural shapes and their relationship to nature. As participants study the signs, they are challenged to find the same shapes in Roosevelt Park and beyond. For example, concentric circles can be found on tree stumps, where they show a tree's age. The names of the six education stations are as follows: spirals, branching, native trees, meander, concentric circles, and ripples. This program offers children and families from urban settings a special opportunity to learn about and explore the natural world within Roosevelt Park.