Germantown Academy students in first through fifth grade returned to a transformed outdoor play space in late August, with the Fort Washington school's renovated lower school playground now open.

The new playground features a zip line, cliff riders, a multi-person basket swing, a parkour course, slides, sand areas and gaga pits, according to the school and a Glenside Local report published Wednesday, Aug. 26. The school said the playground is environmentally responsible, incorporating existing and new trees, native plantings and rain gardens to manage stormwater runoff.

The school said in May 2025 that the renovation would double the number of play features available to lower school students.

Germantown Academy partnered with Studio Ludo, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit playground design firm whose mission centers on building better play through research and advocacy. Metcalfe Architecture & Design produced renderings for the renovation. The project unfolded on GA's 126-acre campus at 340 Morris Road.

Head of School Rich Schellhas announced the project in May 2025, with construction beginning that summer. The renovation was funded through donations from a small number of GA families, the school said at the time.

The design process spanned more than a year. Faculty visited playgrounds across the country, and lower school students contributed ideas during sessions the school called "Design Days."

"Play is more than fun; it's how children explore, connect, take appropriate risks, and begin to make sense of their world," Sue Szczepkowski, head of lower school, said in the school's May 2025 announcement. "This playground is the result of a true community-wide creative effort."

The school posted on Facebook that the first-through-fifth-grade playground opened the week of Aug. 25 and has already seen heavy use. No ribbon-cutting ceremony or community open house has been announced.