Fun times ahead as work begins on new giant eel playground

A giant eel and a replica of the St David’s lighthouse will form the centrepiece of a new playground in Dockyard.

Work has just begun on the new activity arena by the National Museum and it is expected to open in June. The playground includes a 70ft bright green moray eel wrapped around a 21ft lighthouse with slide and climbing nets. The climbing poles look like sea grass and a discovery sand pit has been built in the shape of the Keep Fort.

It has been positioned near the Keep Pond by Dolphin Quest so it is contained in a corner by rampart walls.

The new equipment is a mix of timber, board and plywood, while the foundations are stainless and galvanized steel.

The playground has been made and designed by the award-winning Danish firm, Monstrum, and shipped to Bermuda. Monstrum is famous for creating unique, colourful, and well-designed playgrounds that are adventurous and safe. The firm’s founders Ole B Nielsen and Christian Jensen have over 50 playgrounds to their names across the world boasting giant sea creatures, Easter Island heads, shipwrecks and dragons. 

National Museum curator, Elena Strong, said: “It was fun to work with the designers to come up with something that is completely unique to Bermuda and fits well in the historic space of the museum,

“In this digital age, it is important for children to get outside, be physical, play and explore and the National Museum couldn’t be a better place to do it as it is housed in a 19th-century fort.”

Meanwhile, museum bosses are continuing to work on another project to build a new interactive Playhouse, just across from the new playground, which is due to open this fall.

The Museum Playhouse is designed by Bermudian artists and designers Russell DeMoura and James Cooper, of Fungus Collective.

They have worked with the museum to create a room of interactive displays grounded in local history and focused on education. Ms Strong added: “The emphasis is on learning through play, as well as encouraging  family learning. Much like a Pixar film, the Playhouse will have hidden secrets and adult jokes to make it fun and educational for the entire family.” The projects have been sponsored by the ACE Foundation.