As a business owner, you focus your energy on keeping up with consumer needs and industry trends. You work to make your establishment as welcoming as possible to draw and retain customers and build a positive reputation. One way to amplify this hard work that you may not have considered is investing in innovative indoor playground equipment.

Recent indoor playground design trends in indoor playgrounds have made it simple and worthwhile for businesses to seamlessly incorporate new equipment into their facilities. Businesses with varying sizes, locations, industries, and customer bases can benefit from learning about recent playground trends. The following are some innovations you can consider for your establishment.

Table of Contents

Innovative Playground Design

Many current playground trends revolve around new and different types of playground equipment. Each design type answers a different modern dilemma — from decreased activity opportunities to increased environmental concerns.

1. Destination Playgrounds

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), only 20% of families live within half a mile of a park. Because of this, many families go out of their way when they want to find a playground. Indoor playgrounds can be even harder to find – making them ideal attractions that are worth driving to, especially when your business may offer other services or shopping for the whole family.

As a business owner, building a destination playground could generate traffic from outside your usual customer base. It could contribute to both an influx of customers and an increased reach and brand awareness beyond your community.

A destination playground uses tall towers, large slides and unique, local themes to set itself apart. Destination equipment is typically larger than standard playgrounds, which means it can accommodate more guests and may encourage longer visits.

Local customers may enjoy visiting a destination playground as a fun outing to spend quality time with their kids. Those vacationing in the area may also add a destination playground as a stop on their itinerary. Either way, destination equipment attracts families from within and beyond the community.

A few of the businesses using destination equipment include:

  • Mini golf courses
  • Arcades
  • Kids’ theme parks
  • Churches

These facilities and others experience some of the following benefits from destination playgrounds.

  • High-volume occupancy: Some destination playgrounds can hold up to 300 kids at once. This occupancy capacity is excellent for businesses that serve large crowds. Large equipment may also encourage bigger groups, which could increase your foot traffic.
  • Extended exploration time: Larger playgrounds take more time to explore. Parents may stay for longer periods while their kids explore, which expands your window for sales and impressions.
  • Increased customer reach:  Parents are willing to travel to destination playgrounds, your equipment may attract customers from outside your typical range. You can expand your reach without the need for additional advertising or promotion.
  • Configuration options: Though destination playgrounds are big, you can customize their layout to fit your establishment. There’s no need to add on or renovate your space when you can create a convenient, custom configuration.

2. Themed Playgrounds

Modern pastimes like video games, television and tablet games unintentionally encourage kids to be passive and to consume other people’s creativity, as opposed to coming up with their own creative ideas. This issue is worth taking seriously, because the AAP lists creative, imaginary play as a cornerstone to an adolescent’s development and well-being. Themed indoor playgrounds that create an entire environment or world help kids tap into their own creativity.

Themed playgrounds hold plenty of potential for business owners. You can customize your equipment to match a relevant theme within your business, or you can select a fun theme to stand on its own. Themed playground equipment stands out compared to standard playgrounds, which adds a unique and notable touch to your establishment.

All the equipment in a themed playground design ties back to a central concept. A theme could range from ocean life to candy, based on what makes sense for your business. For example, a science museum may install a space-themed playground, and a church may choose Noah’s ark theme. Themed playgrounds can be subtle with brand-specific colors, or they can feature detailed custom equipment pieces. Your imagination is the only limit.

Perhaps the most significant consumer appeal of a themed playground is its unique design. Kids find novelty in features that are unlike any other playground they’ve seen. In addition to choosing a theme that relates to your business, you can also tap into kids’ passions. Whether it’s dinosaurs, cars, animals or more, themed playgrounds offer endless, exciting options.

View Our Products

A few kinds of businesses that tend to use themed equipment include:

Within these businesses and many others, themed playground equipment offers several benefits.

  • Photo opportunities: A beautiful playground makes a unique background for photos. When parents share photos of their visit on social media, they are spreading the word about your business and equipment. This sharing acts as free, unsolicited marketing.
  • Brand recognition and reinforcement: Themed playgrounds can reinforce your brand’s colors, products or services. Increasing your brand recognition is a smart way to establish an authoritative presence in your community and industry.
  • Cohesive design: If you’re worried a playground may look out of place on your property, themed equipment is an excellent option. You can tailor your playground to match your business and reap the equipment’s benefits without disrupting your interior design.
  • Event opportunities: If your business currently offers kids’ birthday party packages, a themed playground can increase your desirability as an event location. Kids will be eager to play on the equipment at their party, and parents will love the freedom to sit back and chat.

3. Adventure Playgrounds

Getting enough exercise can be a challenge for today’s kids. The AAP reports a typical preschooler watches up to four and a half hours of television each day. Adventure playgrounds are on the rise to help parents provide fun and active opportunities for their kids.

An adventure playground incorporates unique features that encourage kids to explore and step outside their comfort zone. Investing in this type of equipment for your business may attract parents who want to help their kids expend energy through play. It’s mutually beneficial for you, the kids and their parents.

Adventure playground equipment channels the thrill of a ropes course without the need for harnesses or safety gear. This equipment has many configurations within two common formats.

  • Non-belayed adventure courses: A non-belayed high adventure course provides similar obstacles to a belayed ropes course in an environment that does not require safety gear. Kids can enjoy climbing and navigating an exciting structure without extra supervision or help.
  • Interactive challenge courses: An interactive challenge course includes equipment designed to challenge kids’ bodies and imaginations. Kids can work on their puzzle-solving strategy and dexterity in a challenge course that welcomes repetition and fun.

Parents appreciate adventure playgrounds that keep their kids active. Many adventure courses offer equipment and challenges that aren’t features of typical playgrounds. It encourages kids to play for extended periods, which may increase parent interaction with your business.

Another remarkable benefit of adventure playgrounds is the impact they can have on kids’ skill-building. According to the AAP, physical play allows kids to take relatively small risks in a safe environment. Doing so helps them build and refine the skills needed for emotional balance, emotional intelligence, communication, and negotiation. An adventure playground is the perfect setting for kids to work on these skills in a fun way.

Some examples of businesses that use adventure playground equipment include:

These businesses and more enjoy the advantages an adventure playground offers.

  • Ease of operation: Adventure playgrounds offer the excitement of a ropes course with the convenience of a playground. You won’t have to hire or train additional staff to manage safety gear for the kids. It is beneficial for attracting more customers, as well as keeping your budget low.
  • Family appeal: An adventure playground is ideal for attracting families to your business. If you’re looking to expand your services into the family demographic or improve your current interaction with families, this equipment could provide the boost you need.
  • Customization options: You can choose between non-belayed or challenge course options and customize your setup to fit your business. Adventure playground equipment is adjustable to suit your preferences and space availability, which adds convenience to the selection and installation processes.

Multigenerational playgrounds

4. Multigenerational Playgrounds

While playgrounds are often intended as spaces for kids, most kids visit playgrounds and parks with their parents, grandparents, guardians or other adult figures. Multigenerational playgrounds aim to create play environments in which parents and grandparents can participate in play with the kids.

Rather than have adults climbing through small spaces and playing on equipment for small kids, multigenerational playgrounds tend to have more of an open concept with bigger, more spaced-out components that are intended for a wide range of ages.

Multigenerational playgrounds also go beyond encouraging family play. Rather, they may also feature amenities intended for older individuals to use as a way to encourage them to participate in their own fun. Some common examples include walking paths and fitness equipment.

Outdoor fitness parks have become popular amenities in parks and playgrounds across the country. Since 2019, the American Association for Retired People (AARP) has been opening outdoor fitness parks in each state, helping make these types of multigenerational playgrounds more accessible to people across the country. This project has also helped encourage people of all generations to stay active and fight obesity.

5. Natural Playgrounds

Incorporating natural elements into playgrounds isn’t a new concept, though the need and desire to preserve the environment and minimize impact has sparked a natural playground design trend. Many natural playgrounds work to incorporate natural elements around the playground site like trees, creeks, logs, rocks, plants and more. For example, rather than clearing trees to make space for a playground, natural playgrounds would incorporate the trees into the design.

Natural playgrounds keep elements from nature and incorporate them into play. For example, kids are more encouraged to explore the surrounding environment, build with sticks, dig holes and be creative in nature. Natural playgrounds stimulate imagination, creativity and other senses. Kids can also discover and observe bugs, butterflies, birds and other wildlife. Plants also play a big role in natural playgrounds, encouraging outdoor exploration and environmental stewardship.

Another aspect of natural playgrounds is that the manufactured components of the playground also resemble the surrounding environment and natural elements. For example, the playground equipment may be designed to look like boulders or logs. Overall, natural playgrounds are extremely beneficial for sensory experiences and exposing young kids to the outdoors.

Benefits of Indoor Playground Equipment for Your Business

Indoor playground equipment can be a profitable asset for your business. Consider some of the overall and economic benefits playground equipment offers.

  • Return on investment: Adding a playground to your space attracts more patrons to your business. A playground could encourage current customers to visit more often, or it might draw in families that may not frequent your establishment otherwise. The more individuals make purchases or interact with your business, the more quickly you can recoup the costs of your investments.
  • Added customer experiences: According to Forbes, today’s customers are looking for experiences when they interact with companies. A unique and high-quality offering like an innovative playground can satisfy this customer desire, in addition to distinguishing you from your competition. A play experience may also help your patrons develop a positive brand association with your company, which could elevate their view of your products and services over that of a competitor.
  • Longevity: A playground carries distinct durability compared to some of the other customer generation measures your business may take. Unlike a marketing campaign or sale, a playground lasts for years. You don’t have to rethink its design each year. It stands ready for people to use and enjoy at any time. A high-quality, innovative playground will last a long time with minimal maintenance, so you can focus your energy where it is most necessary while profiting from a simple, repeatable attraction. A playground could also help you attract and retain customers, which makes it a valuable springboard for growth.
  • Uniqueness: Standing out within your industry is no simple task. Forbes suggests one way to set yourself apart from others is to incorporate something new into your business. Adding a playground to the premises is a creative way to offer something different that you know your customer base will appreciate — especially if your competitors don’t typically have playgrounds. For example, a car dealership with a car-themed playground could allow parents to shop in peace while their kids are busy playing. Installing a playground communicates your investment and care for customers with families. Whether you’re sending a message that you care about keeping kids active or protecting the environment, your customers will remember your effort.

Even facilities that don’t focus on sales or revenue could benefit from creative playgrounds. Churches, libraries and many other organizations can use playgrounds to spread joy and expand their reach within a community. No matter the organization, selecting a unique playground type with your business’ goals and demographics in mind can help you tailor your addition to be as beneficial as possible.

Products for New Playground Trends

At Soft Play, we pride ourselves on continuously expanding our product offerings and playground solutions to reflect new and changing innovative playground designs. Doing so allows us to offer more effective and relevant playground components. Explore some of our new trendy playground products.

ATOM can be customized

ATOM

The ATOM is a compact play space full of various interactive features that provide a unique, rich play environment without compromising safety or performance. While many commercial businesses or organizations may want to build and offer a playground for their customers or visitors, they may lack space around their facility. For example, if the church you run has limited outdoor space and you’re unable to transform an entire room into a play area, you may benefit from an innovative playground design like the ATOM.

With the ATOM, you’ll get numerous play opportunities packed into an organized pod-type design. You’ll find everything from a slide, hammock, platform decks, musical drums, games, climbers, obstacles and a sit-n-spin. Our compact design brings playground fun to a variety of spaces. The colors and appearance of your ATOM can be customized, allowing you to match your brand colors and develop a strong brand association through the kids and families using the equipment.

Since kids will be climbing to new heights in the ATOM, we’ve enclosed the play area in a Tuffnet barrier. This containment ensures kids stay safe and eases parents’ worry during play. The ATOM is also a cost-effective and budget-friendly play area. Our materials are durable and last for years of heavy traffic, making the investment well worth it.

Wonderscapes

Our Wonderscapes combine elements from various innovative playground trends, including themes, natural elements and adventure playgrounds. Wonderscapes use contained play and sculpted foam climbers to transport kids to a different play world. We’ve pre-designed four Wonderscapes themes — safari, nautical, garden and woodland — each offering an eye-catching and exciting world for kids to explore. We thoughtfully created our themes to look attractive, regardless of the location or environment they’re placed in.

We designed our themes to each have their own color pallet and general play design, while still maintaining several similar elements across the board. For example, we use Durasoft safety flooring, Tuffnet, soft sculpted foam, natural aesthetics and molded decks tailored to reflect each theme.

Wonderscapes will attract kids of various ages, helping to increase the number and length of family visits to your facility. This distinctive feature also helps you increase brand awareness and differentiate you from competitors. Wonderscapes can even become an attraction, making your guests’ experience more memorable.

Our innovative designs for these play areas promote active play and imagination. Kids will benefit from meaningful play that stimulates physical and emotional development. Climbing through tunnels, over ramps and on climbers increases confidence, refines motor skills and pushes the boundaries of spatial relationships. Meanwhile, parents and guardians will appreciate the open sightlines that provide clear visibility and easy supervision during playtime.

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP offers a new way to play. This compact, action-filled attraction offers interactive play through competition. Two to four players can participate, jumping, stomping and tapping the floor pads. As they do so, a meter rises the tower in front of them, flashing bright, colorful lights to track their progress. The faster players stomp, the faster the meter will rise. Kids and adults of all ages can compete against each other, making STOMP ideal for multigenerational fun.

STOMP is freestanding, which means it can be included as part of a bigger playground or stand individually in any space, like malls or supermarkets. This product is highly engaging, fast-paced and fun. The added spirit of competition is a fun way to involve individuals from all walks of life and offer opportunities for socialization.

As players jump and move to fill their meter, they get effective physical activity through a hidden cardio workout. The vigorous movements get a player’s blood moving, encouraging interactive and engaging exercise. STOMP helps make exercise and fitness feel more like playing. Additionally, young kids who participate will build core strength, balance and gross motor skills. Hopping from one foot to the other encourages balancing skills while various other muscle groups work together to build endurance and strength.

Your guests or customers will gather in crowds to watch each other compete to get the top score. Families will be more likely to return and play again, testing to see how they’ve improved. Overall, STOMP creates an engaging experience that can help increase foot traffic at your destination.

Bring Your Innovative Playground Ideas to Life With Soft Play®

Whether you’re looking to boost your business with a custom themed playground or you want to bolster your offerings with an adventure playground, Soft Play can bring your ideas to life. We have more than 30 years of experience designing safe, high-quality playgrounds. When you work with us, we’ll navigate the entire playground process with you — from design to installation.

Soft Play offers free design consultations to help you develop your plan with expert advice. With a few essential details, we can generate a playground design and quote in as little as two weeks. As a baseline, all our designs meet the U.S. ASTM standards for safety and compliance. To get started with your innovative playground, browse our designs and contact us today!

Contact Us