7 minute read
rides
MAKING A SPLASH
Plunge into cool family fun with pools, waves, and slides at WildWater in Cullman
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Photographs courtesy of Brian Kirk and Lyndsey McCormick, Cullman Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism
In June, the vision of the Cullman Parks, Recreation and Sports Tourism (CPRST), along with the efforts of Mayor Woody Jacobs and the Cullman City Council, was realized when WildWater opened on Main Avenue in this small town just north of Birmingham. The result of three years of strategic planning is the 12-acre waterpark, the first of its kind in the state.
Aquatic Development Group designed the park; the slides and tower complex were designed by Proslide Technologies. Fun features include four splash pad stations, a 45-foot LED wall, nine “Funbrellas,” a 22,000-square-foot wave pool with eight wave patterns—the RipTide—18 water slides, a drift river, and more. A special kids’ zone—for children 48” and under—caters to littles with seven mini slides, a splash station, and play area. Bigger adventure seekers will love thrill slides like the Blue Hurricane, the only one of its kind in the country, featuring quick turns and speed; the 43-foot-drop Cannon Bowl; the superfast Torque; Turbo Twister high-speed body slide with a 55-foot drop; and more.
“Cullman is growing, with nearly 25% of our population under the age of 18,” says Mayor Woody Jacobs. “WildWater is a great addition to the overall plans we have for the families and youth within our community.”
Guests can purchase food, snacks, and treats at Oasis Bistro—which offers a family pack with chicken tenders, chips, and fountain drinks—The Gully, and Iceberg, where ICEES and other “chilly eats” are the fare du jour. Breakers offers patio seating for guests ages 21 and up, or you can grab a beverage to go before you stroll the park. Fifteen cabanas and a pavilion—ideal for parties or larger groups—are available for rental.
Each week on Twilight Tuesday, park
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guests can enjoy discounted admission from 4 to 7 p.m., which includes access to the slide tower, wave pool, kiddie area, and The Gully, Iceberg, and Breakers. On select Thursdays, WildWater hosts Splash-In Movie nights in the wave pool. (The last one this season is August 30.)
“The development of WildWater is a key part of the larger sports and events district, centrally located in the heart of Cullman,” says Nathan Anderson, executive director of CPRST. “WildWater will draw thousands of people to Cullman and provide a great outlet for local residents to enjoy family fun without having to leave the area.”
WildWater is open through Labor Day, so there’s plenty of time for one last splash to close out summer. For more information, visit wildwatercullman.com.
WILDWATER
1707 Main Avenue SW, Cullman, Alabama 35055. Free parking is accessible through the main entrance.
Hours
• Monday, Wednesday –
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. • Tuesday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. (Twilight Tuesday: 4 – 7 p.m.) • Sunday: 1 – 6 p.m. For more information, call (256) 7757946 or visit wildwatercullman.com.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF WOOLLEY INSTITUTE FOR SPOKEN-LANGUAGE EDUCATION
A PLACE OF THEIR OWN
The Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education preschool opens the new school year in a permanent facility
BY STEPHANIE GIBSON LEPORE
After 10 years of operating in temporary locations—including Canterbury UMC and Shades Valley UMC—The Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (WISE) preschool starts the new school year in a brand-new, permanent facility.
The new building comes as a result of growing too large to fit in the borrowed spaces and made possible by generous donors. Located on Corporate Parkway in Meadowbrook, the location—which previously housed a daycare—offers 9,000 square feet of classroom and therapy space, which was completely renovated before the ribbon cutting on May 3. The new space offers therapy session rooms, preschool classrooms, a parent resource room,
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conference room, library, and waiting area.
“We are excited about the opportunity to provide a language and literacy rich preschool environment in our new space in Meadowbrook,” says WISE director Nancy Gregg. “Children thrive in our small classes with highly trained teachers and speech language pathologists.”
A 501(c)(3) public nonprofit organization, WISE is—as noted in their mission statement—“dedicated to educating, supporting, and empowering children who are deaf or hard of hearing, children who have speech & language delays, and children who have typical hearing & speech and their families so that wise ears become wise minds.” The program is named for pediatric otolaryngologist Dr. Audie Woolley, who directs the cochlear implant program at Children’s of Alabama. Dr. Woolley helped start WISE with Dr. Robert Baldwin, an ENT who is also president of WISE. Their therapy programs provide deaf and hard of hearing children the chance to learn to listen, speak, read, and integrate fully into the hearing society. The statewide program works in collaboration with Alabama’s
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Early Intervention System, school systems, and private and public entities that seek to further the education of deaf children who use listening and spoken language. The goal is to prepare these students to attend mainstream schools.
The WISE preschool is the only school in the state dedicated solely to teaching deaf children to speak. While the learning environment is similar to traditional school, WISE also addresses the special needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, as well as those who need help with speech or language delays.
Students are placed in small groups based on listening and language skill level, where they are then taught by Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialists. The advantage of WISE over traditional preschools is that typical hearing and speaking children are also in each classroom, where they benefit from the school’s listening-focused, language-rich environment. A small student-teacher ratio combined with creativity, a focus on social skills, academics— such as math concepts and phonics—outside play, and the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Music therapy, shown to have benefits in speech and language development by using instruments to help identify the differences between questions, statements, and commands, is also included.
The ultimate goal is for the children to enter mainstream neighborhood schools. And, with early intervention and enrollment in the WISE preschool program, most students are ready to integrate by kindergarten.
Samford senior and WISE intern Julianne Hill says: “As a cochlear implant user myself, it is so exciting to now have such an amazing staff and facility for kids who are deaf or hard of hearing, as my family did not have such accessible options like WISE growing up!” Through the Micah Fellows honors program at Samford, Julianne volunteers in a range of areas at WISE for at least 60 hours per semester, something she has done since summer 2020. “I am honored to serve at WISE, as it gives me an opportunity to give back to those who have helped me develop speech with cochlear implants. I also love the opportunity to encourage parents, children, and others on the journey of hearing loss! Having services like speech therapy and auditory verbal therapy be more accessible will change these kids’ lives and allow them to hear, listen, speak, and thrive in a hearing society. I am so excited about WISE’s expansion and can’t wait to see all of the lives these children touch!”
For more information, visit wise4al.org.
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Better Back to School Routines
12 tips to get out the door smoothly in the mornings
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF HEATHER BROWN
BY HEATHER BROWN
We all know school mornings can be rushed and crazy—and forget cooking a full breakfast every day! Most mornings, I know we will be running out the door with only seconds to spare.
Enter: My holy grail of morning routine hacks to save some of your sanity as the craziness ramps up in the coming weeks.
#1 KEEP A CEREAL BOX IN THE CAR.
We do this so it’s accessible for the kids to feed themselves on the way. This is a BIG game-changer for crazy mornings when we’re in too big of a rush to fix breakfast!
#2 GRAB-AND-GO IS YOUR FRIEND.
We always have a full stock of “monkey juice” (what my boys call the bottles of drinkable yogurt) or “moocow squeezes” (what they call yogurt tubes) because they’re yummy and easy to eat in the car on the go.
