Scouts paint U.S. map on Wood Dale playground

The pavement playground at Oakbrook Elementary School in Wood Dale got a new addition Saturday to its painted four-square courts and basketball free throw lines — a map of the United States.

Daniel Wiggin, 15, of Wood Dale, organized a group of 30 volunteers associated with Boy Scout Troop 65 to paint the map on the playground of his former elementary school for his Eagle Scout community service project.

The group worked about four hours transforming an area about seven yards long and 12 yards wide from plain blacktop to a red, yellow, green and blue map of all 50 states.

Daniel said he expects his project to benefit students at the school by providing a fun space to play on and a chance to learn about the nation’s geography.

“The kids will be able to do educational games and it will be long-lasting,” Daniel said.

Volunteers first used a leaf blower to clear the area of any debris, then placed a stenciled pattern down to outline the country’s border and the state’s borders within it. They taped the stencil down, traced the borders with chalk, then began painting.

“It’s all working very well,” Daniel said during the border tracing step of the project. “I’ve got pretty much everyone doing something.”

Daniel’s father, Chuck Wiggin, said his son orchestrated the map-painting project — as is required for an Eagle Scout project — and is well on his way to completing other requirements to achieve the prestigious rank.