Sydney’s best public artworks for kids

Cloud Nation, Green Square (Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro)

Suspended from the ceiling of the Green Square Library is an incredible sight – a full-sized vintage aircraft with a miniature world built on it.

Inspired by the classic novel Gulliver’s Travels, the model recalls the flying island of Laputa, inhabited by people with a love of learning and culture.

Searching for the intricate model storylines is half the fun with this artwork. Cloud Nation can be viewed from many different vantage points.

From the underground library area beneath and through the monoculars in the plaza outside.

Fun Field, Green Square (Nuha Saad)

Both an artwork and a playground, seek out this multicolour wonderland in Green Square.

In Wulaba Park on Amelia Street, the playground includes a 3-storey play tower, climbing ropes, swings and tunnels. But the crowning glory is the enclosed sweeping slide. A field of fun for kids aged 4 and over.

Wooden strips in bright, primary colours form part of the play structure, paving and seating.

Bibles and Bullets, Redfern (Fiona Foley)

Scattered among the ancient fig trees in Redfern Park this artwork is designed to capture the imagination and stimulate the senses of kids aged 3 to 14.

The work is in three parts – Intuitive Play, Lotus Line and Possum Play, with something for kids of all ages.

Intuitive Play is a play space mostly suitable for younger children aged 3 to 7. They can climb, explore and learn about one of the most important Aboriginal male ancestors, Biami, the creator and maker of all things.

The fountain and water play piece Lotus Line is especially fun during the warmer months.

And Possum Play forms a playscape, incorporating a skate park and basketball courts, that tells the story of possum hunting – an important part of Aboriginal history.

While I Live I Will Grow, Green Square (Maria Fernanda Cardosa)

A spiral sandstone sculpture to sit or play on, While I Live I Will Grow is inspired by the artist’s childhood sandpit and her love of sitting next to the trees in her garden.

The sculpture’s spiral represents growth – of Green Square as a community and growth of individuals, families and children in the area. Situated next to a small playground, older kids love to jump from slab to sandstone slab.

Incorporating several Queensland bottle trees which double their girth each year, this living artwork is set to grow with the community.