Barwick Playground, located in Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Community for Grades 2 – 5, is a perfect example of how Punahou’s campus provides the ideal landscape for play, learning and exploration. This vast outdoor space is home to the new "Explorer Dome" and "Galaxy Spinner" play structures, both of which were carefully selected to inspire collaboration, creativity and communication among peers through their innovative design.
On the mauka side of the playground, a 25,000-square foot native Hawaiian forest environment includes trails, boulders and an outdoor classroom. While these plants and trees were selected and integrated into the playground's design to be useful in the Junior School's Hawaiian Studies curriculum, they have also created a world of adventure and wonder for the School's youngest learners as students navigate the terraced landscape.
The playground’s namesake, Frank Barwick, came to the Islands from England in 1881 as the survivor of a shipwreck. He was hired by Punahou School in 1883 as the driver of the School’s horse-drawn bus. Winning favor for his worth, dependability, kindness and dry humor, Barwick quickly showed his value. Given his capabilities, Barwick eventually became the superintendent of buildings and grounds before retiring in 1921. Barwick Playground was dedicated on April 1, 1952, a year that marked the midpoint of the 1950 – 1955 construction of the Mary Persis Winne Units.
In fall 2019, upon the completion of phase 1b of Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Community, the beloved Banyan Tree will be accessible to students on Barwick Playground. As the ultimate creative play structure, it will once again provide the setting for imaginative space trips, Tarzan yells, and hide-and-seek contests among its mazelike roots and branches.