*** From January 2018 Martin Luther King Adventure Playground will be closed. During the closure period, the old building on-site will be demolished and a temporary building put in place. The walking bus from St. Mary Magdalene Academy will continue to run but will take children to Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground instead see https://islingtonplay.org.uk/take-part/services/childcare-term-time/. For holiday playscheme information see https://islingtonplay.org.uk/take-part/services/holiday-play-schemes/ ***
Martin Luther King Adventure Playground takes up a whole corner of Paradise Park and is a special place just for children. Our friendly staff love meeting new children and welcoming old friends and there are changing activities happening every day. We also run a paid for childcare service here so that busy parents can be sure that their children are getting some really good play in!
MLK is named for the famous black activist and it was set up with money from his foundation because it is a place where all children can play together in peace.
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
History:
In 1968 (the year of Martin Luther King’s assassination) this area of Islington was crowded and condemned; there were high levels of poverty and racial tension amongst local people. A parent group approached the Greater London Council to set up a temporary adventure playground here, on what was then a demolition site of 10 acres. It was the only open space for children to play on at the time and proved to be an instant success. As a result, the parent group were given a quarter acre space, including the disused Woodbine factory building on a permanent basis. Originally funded by The Martin Luther King Foundation and Christian Aid and later funded by Islington Council, the Adventure playground has welcomed generations of Islington’s children to play.
