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Outside Laurel's Deerfield Run Elementary School on Friday, a large crowd excitedly hurried around the playground, some wearing hats in the form of Mickey Mouse or Goofy.

But they weren't there for recess. About 200 volunteers, many of them parents, were working to replace the school's 15-year-old playground with a new one before the final school bell.

In March, Deerfield Run was one of 13 schools and community centers from across the country chosen to participate in Disney's "Magic of Healthy Living Campaign" and received funding from a $1 million grant to redo its playground and add a 1,000-square-foot community garden.

Disney spokeswoman Diane Dray said Disney doesn't release figures for money spent on each individual site.

"The kids will get to experience and learn about how a garden grows," said Evonnie Bolton, whose son, Davon, 7, and grandchildren Tashawn, 6, and Taniy-ah, 7, attend Deerfield Run.

Deerfield Run Elementary School Principal Thomas Tucker said the new community garden can be used as an outdoor classroom where, in addition to planting different vegetables, students can spend time reading.

The goal of Disney's campaign, which was launched in October 2010, is to encourage children to be healthy by staying active and eating healthy foods, according to a May 13 Disney press release.

Washington, D.C., based nonprofit KaBOOM! was chosen by Disney to select the 13 playground sites. KaBOOM! has existed for 15 years and oversees hundreds of community builds across the country each year, such as the one at Deerfield Run on May 13.

"KaBOOM! receives thousands of applications each year," said Mike Vietti, communications manager for KaBOOM! Vietti said of the dozens of applications on file from the Washington, D.C., region, about six got serious consideration from Prince George's County before Deerfield Run was ultimately selected.

Nattrina Barnes, president of Deerfield Run Elementary School's PTO, said she applied for the grant in January after Laurel Elementary School PTO President Eileen Collins recommended it to her. KaBOOM! helped Laurel Elementary renovate its playground in 2009.

Collins also recommended the school to KaBOOM!, which Vietti said played a role in the selection.

"What really stood out about Deerfield Run was the terrific presence of the school's PTO. A factor KaBOOM! takes into consideration for any potential site is the level of community involvement and engagement — KaBOOM! wants this to be as high as possible," Vietti said.

Bolton said the playground is not just important for the school, but for the entire South Laurel community, which has 20,479 residents, according to the U.S. Census.

"We live across from Willow Lake Apartments and there's no playground there, so this will help the community. Playgrounds build the community," Bolton said. "They help parents and children come together."

Vietti said observations such as Bolton's played heavily into Deerfield Run's selection.

Although students were in class during construction, they played an important part in the playground's development.

In mid-March, KaBOOM! project manager Kara Hoffman met with 30 students, who represented each of the school's grade levels.

"I worked with them for about an hour, and they basically drew their dream playground," Hoffman said. "They wanted big, swirly slides. A lot of them drew castles. The big-ticket item all the kids wanted is the zip line."

Hoffman and her colleagues took those drawings, created three workable designs and allowed school officials to choose the favorite. The children got their swirly slides topped with castle roofs and zip line, along with a rock climbing wall, tire swing and several activity stations.

"They're more than excited because they were able to draw the playground," Barnes said. "We, the adults, could have done it, but it was really important to have them involved."

Blessing Okojie, whose children Akher and Od, both 10, and Favor, 6, attend Deerfield, said she came straight to the build after working an overnight shift that ended at 8 a.m. The project ran from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

"They told me last night," Okojie laughed as she helped churn cement to set the metal poles for the playground's makeshift castle. "This is where my kids go to school, so I've got to do whatever they ask me."

On Monday, the playground opened to the children.

"It's really important [that] the kids take a sense of ownership over their playground," Hoffman said of KaBOOM!'s approach to working with children. "So it's not just something done for them. It's something done by them."

First-grader Dakota Battle, 7, got to experience the new playground for the first time Monday during recess.

"My favorite part was going down the slide," she said. "I think the old playground was boring but this one is better."

Battle also said she enjoyed the new rock climbing wall and plans to spend plenty of time reading and "helping to grow the plants" in the new garden.

cokparanta@gazette.net