Indoor Playground Equipment
Indoor playgrounds provide a climate-controlled space for kids to play year-round. They encourage kids to develop strength, coordination, and balance in a safe environment.
Find out what age range of kids and caretakers visit your business to help select equipment that fits the crowd. Many playgrounds include educational games for an extra level of fun and learning.
Climbing Structures
Climbing structures, including climbing walls and rock climbers, offer advanced play to build strength, coordination and confidence. They encourage kids to engage in a natural activity that is also fun and challenging, and many children quickly take to these structures.
These types of structures are often found in outdoor playgrounds, but they can be a great addition to indoor facilities, too. Unlike outdoor equipment, indoor playspaces allow you to control who plays and where they go, eliminating the risk of kids wandering into areas that are not safe.
Rope ladders and nets add a dynamic element to the climbing experience, testing children’s balance and coordination in ways that traditional wall-mounted structures cannot. Geodesic domes, which also incorporate climbing elements into their design, offer a 360-degree experience that requires kids to shift their center of gravity frequently and enhances proprioceptive senses and agility.
Seesaws, commonly known as teeter-totters, are a popular feature on outdoor playgrounds and can be added to indoor spaces too. They provide a fun challenge that allows kids to fly up and down with their partners, building cooperation and communication skills. These pieces are often a favorite among preschool and daycare children, so adding one to your facility can be a great way to keep kids entertained.
Naturalistic Elements
Many playgrounds have become so sterile and controlled that children are discouraged from running around, improvising new games and using their imagination. Some parents have even complained that their kids aren’t playing, simply “running around.” The goal of natural playground equipment is to encourage the kinds of social and collaborative play that promote creativity and cooperation in children, as well as developing important motor skills.
A natural playground is typically less structured than a standard playground, and it incorporates elements like living plants, water, Indoor Playground Equipment sand, and rocks into the design. These spaces offer endless opportunities for creative play and exploration, making them a perfect place to develop a love of nature in children.
In addition to fostering creative and social interaction, natural playgrounds also support cognitive development. They feature a variety of sensory experiences, such as the roughness of tree bark, the rustling of leaves and the smell of flowers. These sensory stimulations help children to understand and interpret their surroundings, which can contribute to better cognitive function.
Research shows that natural playgrounds can be used by children of all abilities and backgrounds, and they are more accessible than manufactured playgrounds. In fact, studies using the modified SOPARC tool (Structured Observation of Preschool and Elementary-Aged Children’s Play) show that children who use natural equipment are more likely to interact with other kids than those who play on conventional playgrounds.
Sensory Play
Kids of all ages and abilities benefit from sensory play. It cultivates vital skills, promotes self-regulation, sparks exploration, enhances problem-solving abilities and nurtures creativity. Christina Kozlowski, a licensed occupational therapist and commercial playground equipment founder of Sensory TheraPLAY Box, says that kids need tactile stimulation through touch, smell, taste and hearing as they learn about the world around them. Sensory play fosters healthy child development, which is important for kids with sensory processing disorders and autism spectrum challenges.
Sensory playground equipment focuses on the needs of kids, including the development of their fine motor skills. Kids need to be able to manipulate small objects in order to develop their hand-eye coordination, and the different textures, shapes and pressures of sensory materials help them build the muscles required for activities like tying shoes or writing. Sensory play also helps kids develop their vestibular sense, which is important for their balance and posture. This includes equipment like spinners, swings and rockers that let kids experience movement as they develop their balance, coordination and awareness of their body’s position in space.
Incorporating sensory elements in your indoor playground allows you to attract a wider audience of families and kids. These types of kids are often the target audience for parks and attractions, so attracting them to your business boosts your revenue potential. You can also monetize your playground by hosting events like parents’ meet-ups, child development workshops and family fun days that draw the community to your business.
Dinosaur Fossil Digging
A fossil dig is a real-life science activity that gives children the chance to work with paleontologists in a quarry. The Two Medicine Dinosaur Center offers half-day and full-day digs, both of which include training at an inactive site before heading to a dig site.
Paleontologists use the process of permineralization to find dinosaur bones and prepare them for display at museums. The dinosaur bones get buried in sediments (mud, sand, volcanic ash or tar) to protect them from being scavenged or from rotting. Then the dinosaur bones are covered in minerals that can last for millions of years.
Dinosaur digs are a great way for kids to develop their problem-solving skills, fine motor and social skills. They also learn the scientific process of collecting data and analyzing information. In addition, the physical aspect of digging dinosaur bones builds muscle development and endurance.
When a dinosaur bone is found, it’s carefully dug out of the rock. It’s then cleaned and carefully packed for transport to a museum. This is a lot of work, especially for kids who may want to take breaks and aren’t yet used to the hot and dusty environment of a quarry. In the end, all that hard work pays off when the children see their finds on exhibit at a museum. This is a very rewarding experience for kids, and it gives them a sense of ownership of their dinosaur skeleton.