Sofia’s Play Garden Wins Readers’ Choice Award for Best Investment in Aquatics from PRB+ Magazine

Waters Edge


Waters Edge Aquatic Design is proud to announce that Sofia’s Play Garden at Lauritzen Gardens is featured in PRB+ Magazine’s 2025 Project Portfolio, earning the Readers’ Choice award for Best Investment in Aquatics. This year’s portfolio showcases the most innovative and impactful park, recreation facility, and camp projects from across the country.

In 2022, Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha’s Botanical Center, hired The Architectural Offices to develop plans for a new and improved children’s garden, and the project broke ground that same year. Fifteen donors exclusively funded this $13 million project, and the garden is named in honor of Polina and Bob Schlott’s daughter, Sofia. Sofia’s Play Garden officially opened to the public on May 26, 2025. This state-of-the-art 1.3-acre outdoor facility features 13 unique learning and activity areas for guests to explore, blending imaginative play with intentional learning.

Hager Family Springs, the garden’s water play area, contains interactive elements, such as manual water pumps and wooden dams, that give children the chance to learn how water moves, flows, and shapes the world around them. These hands-on features encourage kids to engage in creative play and collaboration, whether they’re manipulating water flow, racing rubber ducks, pumping water into buckets, or simply splashing around together.

The springs’ natural look, designed by Waters Edge, is inspired by the rivers and waterways of the Great Plains Region. The stream-like layout begins with a gentle waterfall from a large flat stone slab that cascades along the ground, surrounded by stones with sprays and misters. Four custom stones were created by Rocky’s Stone & Design, which also provided the 500 tons of gabion that support the children’s garden from below. The two metal statues depicting children playing alongside the stream provide an inviting visual, encouraging kids to explore everything the space has to offer.

Uniquely, the springs serve Lauritzen Gardens as a whole through irrigation, cycling water through the play area, collecting it in a series of ponds and wetlands, and ultimately discharging it into a graywater system. This innovative water-recycling method sets the springs apart from traditional splash pads, providing a real-world demonstration of resource stewardship that complements Lauritzen Gardens’ broader focus on environmental conservation and sustainability.

Congratulations to Lauritzen Gardens and the entire project team. Sofia’s Play Garden is a shining example of what can be achieved through the collective efforts of many talented individuals.

Project Team

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