As part of the major regeneration works being delivered by Bromley Council and Crystal Palace Park Trust, an exciting new destination playground in Crystal Palace Park will open during usual park hours from 20 March 2026.
Impact on your visit
Find out about key dates and details to help you plan your visit here.
The Dinosaur Playground
Crystal Palace Park is home to the world’s first life-sized prehistoric animal sculptures, inspired by fossils uncovered by Victorian palaeontologists, which have fascinated visitors for over 170 years.
Now, in 2026, a new generation of children can be inspired all over again. Through creative, hands-on play, they can step into a world shaped by scales, skeletons and stories from deep time.
The playground will be open to park visitors during usual park hours from Friday 20 March, followed by a day of free celebratory activities for children and families on Saturday 21 March.
Inside the playground
Created as a sensory-rich, welcoming and adventurous environment, the playground features dynamic equipment, clear pathways and spaces where children can explore, challenge themselves and play together at their own pace.
As children play, they will discover dinosaur- inspired details at every turn. Claw marks carve slides into the embankment. Skeleton shaped structures create exciting opportunities for climbing, swinging, sliding and balancing. The sweeping curve of a dinosaur’s tail forms a playful trail to follow, while a sandpit shaped like a giant dinosaur footprint invites younger children to dig, discover and enjoy their own fossil hunting adventures.
Accessible play features
The playground has been carefully designed so that more children can play side by side. Accessible features include:
- Wheelchair accessible roundabout
- Accessible swing
- Basket swings
- Accessible slide within dinosaur play structure
- Tactile games set at accessible heights
- Tactile games set at accessible height within play structures
- Step free access to the sandpit
- Communication board
- Wheelchair accessible picnic benches
Getting here
The Dinosaur Playground is conveniently located close to the main park toilets, Changing Places toilet, and the café. It is also easily reached from Penge Gate and nearby stations. For full travel details, including public transport routes and parking information, visit our Getting Here page.
This project has been made possible by major grants from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, as well as funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, London Marathon Foundation, and the Pilgrim Trust.
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