Playground relics of the space race in Schenectady, NY

Last Saturday we were in Schenectady's Central Park for a charity walk. As we neared the finish line, the kids spotted a playground -- an irresistible magnet. So we let them run wild on the playground... and I was astounded by what I saw. It was like taking a time capsule back 40 years.

Space capsule monkey bars with slide in Schenectady, NY's Central Park.

Space capsule monkey bars with slide in Schenectady, NY's Central Park.

They still had the same playground equipment that I remember as a kid in the 70s! It has been repainted since, but it brought back grade school memories of visiting the park with my grandparents and climbing on the same space-themed monkey bars as they looked on. I'm sure they were not new when I was playing on them 40 years ago, so my guess is they date to the mid 1960s.

Lunar lander?

This goes to show you how ingrained the space race was in our culture in the 1960s and 70s. It also goes to show you the quality of construction at the time. These things are as sturdy today as they were back then!

What kid wouldn't want to ride a missile?