Published March 1, 2013 at 4:00 a.m. | Updated April 4, 2022 at 7:35 p.m.
Back in 2009, Jamie Polli moved into a South Burlington condo with a barren basement. He wondered how he might create a unique play space for his daughter Celia — then 4 years old — to help ease the challenge of his recent separation from the girl's mom. "I wanted it to be really super fun," he recalls.
His solution? A magical, kid-size basement wonderland. Polli built a wooden tunnel suspended from the ceiling and installed a yellow slide that ends in an inflatable pool full of cylindrical, purple-foam "squishies." A winding "ball labyrinth" shoots colorful plastic balls across the room, and kids can spin a "Wheel of Fortune"-like Cookie Wheel left over from Polli's day job as the marketing director of the University Mall.
The space is continually evolving as Celia gets older and her play style changes. "The other day we were down here doing homework in the tunnel," Polli says with a grin.
Kid: Celia Polli, 7
This article was originally published in Seven Days' monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
Comments are closed.
From 2014-2020, Seven Days allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we've appreciated the suggestions and insights, right now Seven Days is prioritizing our core mission — producing high-quality, responsible local journalism — over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.