A fun, prize-filled adventure awaits individuals and families alike at Point Defiance Park. Metro Parks Tacoma has a cool new way to discover the Park through its “That’s the Point” interactive game. To join in the fun, pick up a free park Field Guide, explore the key attractions of Tacoma’s 760-acre park, and collect codes along the way to earn prizes.
The 20-page Field Guide is filled with fun facts, multiple maps and a bit of history. You’ll also find a sampling of the plants and animals you may discover on your park adventure. There’s room to record your experience and an invitation to play “That’s the Point” (TTP).
“We want visitors to get out and explore the park, especially areas they haven’t yet visited,” said Phedra Redifer, who supervises the park’s Visitors Center. “The field guide is a fun tool to help them do just that. It’s full of interesting information and includes a game where you can win great prizes as you explore.”
Mary Krauszer, Point Defiance Park’s ranger, said she recently met a family at Dalco Passage Viewpoint on Five Mile Drive who were working through their Field Guides. Usually Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is their sole destination, they said.
“‘We came all the way from Issaquah to do this, and it’s already taken us places we’d never been before in the park,’” Krauszer recalled one of them saying.
The game’s experience is the main point, but the odds of winning are also high. Players can earn multiple prizes, such as free or discounted admission to Point Defiance Park attractions and events. Specific prizes include free entry into the Black Cat Fun Run, a TTP water bottle, a thyme seedling kit, and more. The monthly grand prize winner will receive an All Access Pass to many of Metro Parks Tacoma’s most popular events and facilities, valued at $450.
To play the game, pick up a guide and venture into the park to look for specially marked TTP signs in each color-coded zone. Each sign features a personal story from a Point Defiance visitor sharing his or her special park memory. They include Michael Morency, who first visited Point Defiance after moving to Tacoma in 2015. “Traversing through the densely packed canopy of lush green trees, we couldn’t believe we were still in the city,” he wrote. Sarah Bennett’s words appear on another sign: “This park connects us to a time and place when beauty, strength and nature were intertwined. Whenever I walk here, I am reminded that they still are,” she said.
Each TTP sign includes a special code associated with one of five TTP zones. To play, go to the TTP web page and enter zone codes. You will receive your prize via email. Contestants who submit all five codes will be eligible for a monthly drawing to win the grand prize all-access pass.
Free Point Defiance Park Field Guides are available at the Point Defiance Park Visitors Center and at the Point Defiance Marina shop. The Visitors Center is open through Sept. 5, Thursdays through Sundays, plus Labor Day, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The marina shop is open daily from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m.
On the web: www..org/ttp
– Metro Parks Tacoma
