Indoor playgrounds really are a growing trend as these play areas have become a boon for childcare for companies, helping kids blow off energy while holiday shopping from the mall, or working as a way for daycare to help keep kids focused
But where did the thought of indoor playgrounds are derived from? How did indoor playground equipment develop or come to be? Let's check out the historical past of indoor playground equipment.
The First Indoor Playground
The 1st indoor playground is most likely a good deal older than you would probably expect. The 1st recorded indoor playground can be traced to a gymnasium in Germany within the 1920s, where ropes, bars, and ladders were set up for kids to climb on.
Kids being kids, they loved crawling, climbing, and exploring and jumped directly in. The success of this could result in the idea spreading across Europe.
The Adventure Playground in California
This trend was mostly a European idea prior to making its approach to america in the 1950s with the opening in the Adventure Playground in California, recognized for its wooden structures and open-ended play.
However, the theory didn't catch on as soon as many thought it will.
The 1980s Indoor Playground Revolution
However it wasn't up until the 1980s that indoor playground equipment really took off, thanks in large part to your company called SoftPlay, founded by Bill Kitchen. SoftPlay was one of the first companies to produce modular soft playground equipment, bringing their products and services to malls across America and popularizing the very idea of indoor playgrounds.
The Rise of Soft Play Structures
Inside the late 1990s, a whole new trend in indoor playgrounds emerged: soft play structures. This shift was largely affected by a combination of safety concerns and advances in technology that allowed for the creation of large, colorful, and dynamic soft play structures.
These playgrounds often feature different themed areas, from pirate ships to castles, with slides, ball pits, and climbing structures. A combination of safer spaces which were padded and made kids much less prone to injury as well as the bright colors and imaginary themes made them incredibly loved by kids and parents alike.
What's the near future?
Today, indoor playgrounds carry on and evolve and provide new and exciting methods for kids to try out and explore inside a safe environment. Since malls are less common in several places, as is at-work daycare, the demand isn't quite up to these was once.
Lots of the same structures or designs have become used for "Sheltered Outdoor Play Spaces" where rubber padding takes the area of gravel or sand with outdoor playgrounds that increasingly have these put in place underneath shaded areas to deliver shelter from heat and sun.
These blurred lines might be the way forward for "indoor" playground equipment, but there's no doubt it is going to still find its niche.
Today, indoor playground equipment consistently evolve with advancements in safety and design, offering endless opportunities for imaginative play. So the next occasion you take the kids with an indoor playground, take into account the past and evolution that triggered those colorful structures and slides.
