Libraries with free outdoor play spaces on Long Island
The Learn & Play Children's Garden and the Backyard Building Area at Longwood Public Library. Credit: Longwood Public Library
At Long Island libraries, the trend is anything but "shush." One popular movement is going outdoors as more Island libraries have landscaped their grounds into park-like settings where learning is almost hidden in the fun. "Play is the work of childhood," says Renee McGrath, manager of youth services at the Nassau Library System, a consortium of 54 libraries. (It's a belief championed by early childhood experts like Mr. Rogers and noticed by the library world.) "More and more public areas are designed to support play areas for young children," McGrath says.
NASSAU
Tennis at Locust Valley Library
170 Buckram Rd., Locust Valley
On clay tennis courts dating as far back as 1914, preschoolers have tried to whack the balls, showing more energy than power on the grounds of the Locust Valley Library.
"Watching preschoolers pick up a racket for the first time is still one of my favorite parts of the summer. It’s about learning and having fun outdoors," says library director Nadine Buccilli.
This unusual feature for a library has been the tennis starting point for many a child, from 4-year-olds to teenagers. Each summer, kids sign up for free lessons from a tennis pro who teaches under the rules of the U.S. Tennis Association, of which the library is a member.
How a library served up tennis is a century-old story that started before 1914, the earliest mention of a tennis court on the grounds of what used to be the community center of the Matinecock Neighborhood Association. A second court was built in 1926, and then the library took over the entire building and grounds in 1936. Two more courts were built the following year, funded by the association and WPA, or Works Progress Administration, a massive program under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide work during the Great Depression years between 1935 and 1939.
The library owns 5.3 acres that covers woods, hiking trails and a former Boy Scouts hut that has become the scene for Halloween story tales and other programs.
More info 516-671-1837, locustvalleylibrary.org
Water playground at Lynbrook Public Library
56 Eldert St., Lynbrook
Lynbrook Library's courtyard becomes a water playground, attracting children and high school students. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
In the summer, Lynbrook Public Library’s courtyard turns into a water playground for children.
Among the wet fun are a pirate ship that can be filled with water, tabletop toys great for floating and an old-fashioned, green water pump with measuring cups for a little bit of learning, according to library director Robyn Gilloon.
It used to be a grassy yard until 2022, when local state lawmakers gave the library a grant to transform it with an awning and toys, she says. It’s been so popular that parents ask way before summer whether the water playground will be open, she says.
Lynbrook High School students come to eat their lunches there, Gilloon says, and after library programs, the children pour into the water playground.
"We have children come here in bathing suits so in case they get wet, it doesn’t matter," the library director recounts. "Parents meet each other here and their kids play together."
The water playground opens 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays to Fridays; 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays; and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in July and August.
More info 516-599-8630, lynbrooklibrary.org
SUFFOLK
Discovery Grove at Sachem Public Library
150 Holbrook Rd., Holbrook
Sachem Library's outdoor space features a variety of engaging activities for visitors to enjoy. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Sachem Library’s yard offers a massive rock for climbing, drums to bang on, a big sandbox and a marimba, a musical instrument made of wood and metal pipes.
This outdoor Discovery Grove mixes play and nature lessons. Even an unidentified plant growing in the yard and loved by bees can be a gift that keeps teaching as it changes through the seasons. The messiest days are June 26 and June 29, when children from fifth grade and under get down and dirty on International Mud Day with a pool filled with mud, mud painting and mud slinging.
"The children can see nature is not something to be afraid of," says librarian Lisa Stevens, coordinator of the Discovery Grove. "I’ll go out there and find a praying mantis and hold it and show them that this is not something you have to start screaming and run away from."
More info 631-588-5024, sachemlibrary.org
Children’s Garden at Longwood Public Library
800 Middle Country Rd., Middle Island
Discover a harmonious blend of art and music at The Longwood Public Library, where tapping metal flowers produces enchanting musical notes. Credit: Heather Walsh
Tap the metal flowers to hear musical notes. Build benches with giant wood planks and boxes. Paint with water on a soapstone canvas — the wet areas turn black, and the black disappears as the canvas dries.
Longwood’s backyard has been an artistic, splashy and creative destination for families since it opened in 2018.
Jackson Oliver often asks to go to the library and says his favorite garden spot is the series of water tables. "This is perfect for my child, a safe place to play," says his mom, Karen Oliver, of Ridge.
In one part of the garden, plants tease the five senses. Rub a bergenia’s waxy leaves and hear a sound like a pig’s squeak. Snip off a piece of purplish-brown plant to taste — it’s chocolate mint. Shake the baptisia seed pods and hear them rattle.
"We wanted it to be experiential for our patrons; a place where they can come, spend an afternoon and it doesn’t cost them any money," says library director Lisa Jacobs.
More info 631-924-6400, longwoodlibrary.org
