The country’s first glow-in-dark playground begins construction in Texas

Children in the North Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch will soon get to play on the country’s first glow-in-the-dark playground.

The town, known as “The City in a Park,” broke ground on the new gathering space on Monday.

USA Today reported the one-of-a-kind play area will be named “Joya” (pronounced ho - ya), which means “jewel” in Spanish. The city hopes the name will be an omen for the park and it will be the “crown jewel” of public parks.

The initiative was led by Deputy City Manager Michael Mashburn, who previously led the town’s Parks and Recreation Department. The city contracted KOMPAN Inc., an international commercial playground designer, to work with Mashburn and the Parks Department team to design the park.

The community played a significant role in the development of the park. The outlet shared that Mashburn and his team went straight to the key demographic for their input. They held focus groups and shared the designs with students at the area’s local schools. The team used the feedback from the seven to 18 year olds to complete the final design.

“Typically in projects, we go to the community and a lot of people think adults,” Mashburn said. “In this case, I really didn’t care what adults thought, we care what the kids thought.”

USA Today shared the details about the 18,000-square-foot playground. The illuminated park will include a 27-foot climbing sphere, slides, swings, an obstacle course and zip lines, a toddler playground, and signature LED lights. Joya will be interactive with changing color lights and a sound system playing nature sounds or Christmas music during the holidays. Activities and events will also occur in the park, including cultural, art and educational events. Local food trucks will also have a chance to set up.

The park is more than just a glowing landmark for the neighborhood. Joya will be a free community gathering space providing residents with a location to fellowship, play and hold events at night to beat the Texas heat.

The Parks Department has not announced the exact hours for the park at this time. Joya will be open to the community in November 2023.

Martie Bowser is a journalist and public relations professional in Charlotte, NC. She enjoys amplifying the voices of POC and women that fill a void within their community. Her favorite things to cover include “person of interest” pieces, small business highlights, pop culture commentary, entertainment features, and everything about Beyoncé. Her bylines can be found in Blavity, Black Excellence, Signature Bride, Black Wall Street Times, and HipHop Weekly. Martie can be reached via email at martiebowser@detourxp.com.

This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 2:30 PM.