For First Daughters, a First-Rate Swing Set

The new swing set for President Obama's daughters was installed 30 feet from the Oval Office. It is from South Dakota-based Rainbow Play Systems. (By Charles Dharapak -- Associated Press)

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Thursday, March 12, 2009

First families often add a personal touch to the White House to make it feel more like home. The Obamas, like the Kennedys four decades earlier, have put in a swing set.

Last week, first daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, received an unexpected treat when they returned home from school: a custom-designed set of swings and much more on the South Lawn.

Installed under an oak tree just 30 feet from the Oval Office, the American-made, earth-friendly playground is from Rainbow Play Systems (http://www.rainbowplay.com), a company based in Brookings, S.D. The Rainbow Castle has been "tricked out with lots of bells and whistles," says owner Greg Foster, including swings, a climbing wall, a rope ladder, a slide, monkey bars and a "penthouse with a double bubble." (Translation: an upper-level fort with two Plexiglas windows that are deep enough to climb inside.)

For this special customer, Foster also threw in a picnic table with brass plates engraved with the names of all the U.S. presidents. "We're very proud that the first family chose our swing set," says Foster, "and that we built something that's going to be part of White House history."

Similar play sets cost about $7,000, Foster says, but the Obamas received a price break. "I'm not saying they didn't get a good deal, but they did pay for it," he says.

Terri Sapienza