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The Little Grotto

The Little Grotto is a nature-inspired play structure thoughtfully designed for junior users. Drawing from the rocky landscapes of Tobermory’s iconic Grotto, this piece translates the wonder of cliffs and caves into a safe, inviting form for young children to explore. Scaled for smaller bodies and growing confidence, the structure encourages early physical development while sparking imagination and curiosity. Its gentle slopes, tucked-away nooks, and climbable surfaces create a sense of discovery, offering young adventurers their first connection to the outdoors through play.

    1. Project Overview

    2. Concept Sketches

    3. Orthographic Drawings

    4. Key Features

    5. Play Value

    6. Merits

    7. Materials

    • SketchUp
      (3D Modeling)

    • Procreate (Visual/Graphic Design)

    • Adobe Photoshop
      (Photo Editing)

    • SolidWorks (Orthographic Drawings)

    • Maximum height: 5’11”

    • Fall height: 5’11”

    • Area of Safety Surfacing: 370 ft²

    • User Capacity: 6

Orthographic View: Top

Orthographic View: Top

Play Features

Play Features

Color Options

Color Options

Orthographic View: Front

Orthographic View: Front

PLAY VALUE

METRITS

MATERIALS

Inspired by a real place in Canada called The Grotto, where there are rocky cliffs, hidden caves, and sparkly blue water. But guess what? You don’t have to go all the way there to have fun—this one was made just for you! Made for climbing, crawling, and exploring, this play structure has rock walls to climb, secret steps to the top, and hidden nooks to crawl into and pretend you’re in a secret cave! You can be a mountain climber, a cave explorer, or even a lookout captain. It's safe, fun, and made just for kids like you. So grab a friend—or go solo—and let the adventure begin!

The Little Grotto’s design encourages physical exploration, imaginative storytelling, and sensory engagement with form and texture. It offers a low-challenge introduction to climbing and balancing for junior users, and its hidden space below fosters social interaction and creative thinking. The clean, angular design speaks to natural beauty without mimicking it too literally, allowing the piece to blend into both landscaped parks and urban green spaces.

The Little Grotto is constructed with a marine-grade plywood frame and is cladded in Accoya.