Innovative Playground Design Trends to Watch for in the Coming Months
Playgrounds are changing all the time. While you might not notice it right away when you take your kids to the local park, new playground design ideas are coming onto the market regularly, and some of them have the potential to change the way millions of kids spend their play time. The basic idea behind the playground has not changed since it was first developed – provide kids a space to play outside with their friends while learning and exploring – but the way in which the playground is formed continues to evolve.
Let’s look at some of the trends to watch for in the world of playgrounds over the months ahead.
Themed Playgrounds
While this isn’t necessarily a new trend, it is one which seems to be going strong. When playgrounds are designed around a certain theme, it helps them to stand out from the crowd and it also helps to get the children excited. Often, the playgrounds that kids have access to in a given neighborhood or city will look largely the same, so visiting a themed playground design is a fun experience.
Playgrounds for the Whole Family
This is a great trend, and one which will hopefully continue into the future. Rather than simply installing equipment that the kids can enjoy, those who build these playgrounds are thinking of the whole family. So, in addition to the standard playground equipment aimed at the kids, there may also be some fitness equipment for the adults, or other features which cater to an older crowd. Playing outside should not be something that is exclusively for kids, so it’s great to see people of all ages being considered during the design phase.
A Focus on Inclusive Design
Another excellent trend to see in the playground space, this one has to do with building spaces that can be enjoyed by kids with a wide range of abilities. Some playgrounds which offer accessible play areas for disabled children have those parts of the playground separate from the rest, which largely defeats the purpose. All of the kids should be able to play together freely, and inclusive design in a trend which moves in that direction.
Creating an Adventure
A playground which is built with adventure in mind is going to include more than just some swings and a few slides. Not that there is anything wrong with those traditional playground staples, but kids love to be creative and explore their surroundings – so adventure playgrounds attempt to serve them in that way. Features such as zip lines are a great example of how kids can have their own little adventure while still playing within the confines of the playground space.
It will be exciting to see how playgrounds continue to develop of the coming months and years. As more and more effort is put into developing playground spaces which are fun and enjoyable for all, the results are sure to be impressive.