At the grand opening of Mountain View’s Magical Bridge playground on Jan. 25, hundreds gathered to celebrate 10 years since the organization’s first playground opened in Palo Alto. The crowd cheered and kids flooded the vibrant accessible play structures as the ceremonial ribbon was cut.
The Palo Alto playground has been a cherished destination, and the Mountain View location makes inclusive play more accessible for families in the area.
Founded by Olenka Steciw Villareal, Magical Bridge began with a simple vision: to provide children of all abilities a place to play.
Today, the organization designs and creates playgrounds for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“The Magical Bridge tends to attract about 20,000 guests every month, and over the course of 10 years, that hasn’t changed,” Villareal said. “That means people want a place like this.”
Villareal said she started Magical Bridge so that her two daughters, one of whom is disabled, could have a place to play together.
“We’ve really created something special and beyond my personal family,” she said. “This is a very large group of people that we now serve that are still overlooked in designs of public places [and] programs. The playground is the first step, or first place where you feel part of your community, but it needs to translate to our schools, to the job force.”
Villareal said that there have not been other playgrounds in the area that have had the same focus as Magical Bridge.
“It’s a little bittersweet that 10 years in, we are still the only public playground that is creating thoughtful places for the community,” Villareal said. “So we wish there were more, but until such time, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.”
Magical Bridge is set to create more playgrounds, including one for the Morgan Autism Center, one in Daly City, one in Marin County and three in Singapore.
Thida Cornes, the Mountain View Los Altos High School District’s vice president, was at the opening event.
“This is very meaningful to me, to have it in the community, as a person with a disability, and [with] a kid with a disability, we played in the Palo Alto Magical Bridge and we really wanted to bring one to Mountain View,” she said.
District 24 Assemblymember Marc Berman gave a speech at the event.
“In a time when there’s so much anxiety in the community, when there’s so much division in the community, to have something like the Magical Bridge playground where everybody, of all abilities and all ethnicities and all walks of life, can come in and have some joy and also learn and interact with people that are different from them is exactly what I think our community, our state, our nation needs more of,” Berman told Verde after his speech.
For many, including those directly involved in the organization, Magical Bridge is more than just a playground — it’s a space for inclusion and connection.
Harriet Stern is a Palo Alto High School parent and part of the Magical Bridge staff.
Stern’s journey at Magical Bridge began with her son, who became a Kindness Ambassador at age 12 after having a positive experience at the park, where he currently facilitates events and activities for the organization.
“He was really happy to be with kids who were different from him, and he really recognized the value and friendship with kids who are different from him,” she said.
Due to a staff shortage during COVID, Stern became a part-time employee as the Curator of Community Kindness; she finds people who might be interested in volunteering some of their time to Magical Bridge.
“I’ve tried to create a community of volunteers who could be volunteers for all of Palo Alto, for whatever you need,” Stern said. “If you need anybody to help with any activity then you can contact Magical Bridge and we would impart kindness, impart our good behavior. Really that’s what it is. Be smiley, be welcoming, be inclusive, that’s what kindness is.”
Stern said that Magical Bridge’s 10-year milestone marks a decade of creating opportunities for both children and adults with disabilities to play in places previously inaccessible to them.
“Olenka started Magical Bridge out of necessity, but now it’s just a matter of education, and it’s really come a long way in 10 years to educate people about how to have an inclusive play space,” she said.
