Soon children visiting Colonial Michilimackinac will have even more ways to explore history.  The Kids' Rendezvous Interpretive Playground is coming to the 1770s-era fort and fur-trading village in early summer, bringing yet another opportunity for play, fun and learning.

The interpretive playground is a three-phase project.  The first phase of construction begins this spring with installation of a giant ground map of the Great Lakes with perimeter bench seating, a miniature fort palisade and cannon, and multiple climbing structures that explore the route of the fur traders.

"The interpretive playground will provide a place for kids and adults to play, relax and interact with each other," said Steve Brisson, Mackinac State Historic Parks' chief curator and chairman of the Kids' Rendezvous development team.  "We hope imaginations are sparked about history in a place especially designed for children.  It's not that the fort, programs and exhibits don't do this for kids - we hope they do - but a playground is a place where kids can be ‘free' to explore and engage in play that is unrestricted."

Interpretive elements within the playground will all relate to the route of the voyageurs, or French fur traders, who were a major part of Michilimackinac in the 17th and 18th centuries when the region was the center of the North American fur trade.  Activation of an audio system with numerous sounds, including voyageur songs, will be possible from various areas of the play structure.  Introductory panels and a hands-on fur-press will be part of the play structure as well, encouraging conversations between adults and children.  The panels on the structure will also encourage a "scavenger hunt" learning activity.

The second phase of the Kids' Rendezvous Interpretive Playground will begin in 2010.  More elements will be added, including an addition to the play structure, which will include multiple slides; a toddler play area; and a play rowhouse, including a non-functional open-hearth replica with cooking utensils.

Phase three will conclude the construction of the interpretive playground.  During this phase, a gazebo will be added near the toddlers' play area.  Swing sets, play canoes and a play waginogan will also be constructed.

The interpretive playground will be located between the Colonial Michilimackinac Visitor's Center, located under the south approach to the Mackinac Bridge, and the east fort wall.  Access to the interpretive playground is included with general admission to Colonial Michilimackinac.  The cost is $10.50 for adults, $6.50 for youth (ages 5-17), and free for children (ages 4 and under) and Mackinac Associates members.  Colonial Michilimackinac opens for the season on May 4.  The interpretive playground, funded by Mackinac Associates, a non-profit friends group formed to preserve and share Mackinac's heritage, is expected to be completed by early June.

Colonial Michilimackinac offers an abundance of activities for children.  The Redcoats on the Frontier exhibit in the Soldiers' Barracks features artifacts from soldiers' life at the fort.  This exhibit challenges visitors to hear, touch, and imagine with its many interactive features.  A children's exhibit is included in this building.  Children can stand against a large soldier cutout with measurement lines to see how they compare to the height of the average British soldier.  They can also discover where a solider went if he misbehaved, and then try it out themselves!  In addition to hands-on exhibits, children can take part in many activities at Colonial Michilimackinac, including a high-energy, traditional 18th-century dance and the Native American game of baggatiway, similar to lacrosse.

Colonial Michilimackinac is a reconstructed 18th-century French fur-trading village and military outpost.  Attractions at the living history museum, which has been accredited four times by the American Association of Museums, include on-site archaeology and participatory military and civilian life demonstrations from the British 1770s occupation and American Revolution era.  Colonial Michilimackinac contains thirteen authentically reconstructed buildings filled with exhibits, hands-on displays, and period furnishings.  Cannon and rifle firing demonstrations take place throughout the day, among many other demonstrations and reenactments.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a pure Michigan family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites - which are accredited by the American Association of Museums - include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park, and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City.  Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations.  Visitor information is available at 231-436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.