As a public recreational facility that gained widespread popularity in China from the mid-to-late 20th century, the elephant slide serves as a carrier of collective childhood memories for several generations. Its visual image embodies profound nostalgic sentiments and cultural connotations, while simultaneously undertaking a significant aesthetic education function in contemporary public spaces. Taking the nostalgic perspective as the starting point, this paper employs relevant theories including visual semiotics, public aesthetic education theory, and cultural studies to systematically analyze the constituent elements, construction logic, and communication paths of the visual symbols of elephant slides. It further explores their aesthetic education value in contemporary public spaces and investigates practical approaches to integrating nostalgic symbols with public aesthetic education, thereby providing theoretical references and practical implications for improving the contemporary public aesthetic education system, inheriting urban memories, and promoting the innovative development of public art.