How to Choose the Right Equipment for Your Commercial Playground
A good commercial playground keeps kids active, but the best ones also engage them emotionally and socially. Learn how to choose the right equipment to fit your space and budget.
The classic playground slides get a modern twist with options like wavy slides and ADA-accessible sand diggers. Teamwork and competition grow with tether ball or funnel ball.
Swing Sets
No playground is complete without the exhilaration of a set of swings. The swings in your commercial playground are a place where kids can let off some of their pent-up energy after a long day at school or at home.
Children can focus their minds and bodies, hone their balance and coordination, and work mall amusement park to develop their focus and self-control. In addition, the physical activity they get from playing on a swing set helps to prepare them for better sleep at night.
Traditional swing sets have a variety of seats designed for different age groups, from infants to toddlers to elementary students. They also feature a single-bay frame design that can fit into smaller spaces. In order to be safe, a use zone must be established in front and back of the swings.
Merry-Go-Rounds
Playgrounds provide kids a unique space to explore their environment, spend time with friends, and expand their imaginations. They also offer opportunities for social development and motor skills development that they don’t get at home or at school. Kids of all ages love the excitement of spinning equipment like merry-go-rounds.
However, while we might remember skinned knees and bleeding chins from getting dizzy on self-propelled merry-go-rounds, most of them have been abandoned as rusting hulks, relegated to the history books due to their high rates of injuries. New guidelines for playgrounds encourage more challenging equipment that is safer to use.
Climbers
Children have an innate desire to climb, and commercial playground climbing equipment offers a fun way for them to do so. In addition to physical benefits, such as the development of arm, leg and core strength, kids learn problem-solving and evaluation skills as they work out solutions to overcome obstacles on their way to the top of a tall structure.
Whether it’s a forest of Pod Climbers for younger children or a series of more challenging options for school-aged kids, these innovative climbers are designed to provide the right challenge for each age group. They allow kids to interact with each other in groups, and they develop a sense of cooperation and teamwork as they work together to conquer new challenges on the equipment.
In addition, kids develop their dexterity as they grab handholds and use their arms to help them scale the equipment.
Seesaws
The classic seesaw, or teeter totter, is an essential part of any playground. This equipment requires at least two children to play and can be a social learning experience that encourages teamwork and communication.
The up-and-down motion of a seesaw challenges children’s balance and coordination, and the rhythm kids fall into while playing on this equipment is an important part of their overall motor development. Plus, our range of inclusive seesaw designs means that children of all ages and abilities can enjoy this popular play structure.
For safety, the use zone for a seesaw should extend 6 feet from each outside edge of the equipment. It also needs to be a minimum of 5 feet away from any other playground equipment. Also, shock-absorbing material, like rubber components, should be incorporated under the seats of the equipment.
Play Tables
A commercial playground offers more than just fun: it also enhances a variety of developmental skills. For example, climbing and swinging help kids build muscles and promote physical progression. Burke Nucleus Evolution sets can even challenge older kids with advanced yet protected obstacles. Creative play is also fostered by building structures such as forts and playhouses from stackable elements, and research shows that such construction play improves creativity and cognitive processing.
Symbolic, dramatic and sociodramatic play – or pretend play – occupies a large portion of 2- to 5-year-olds’ play activities. Carefully designed outdoor play equipment that includes a fort, car or house has been shown to elicit three and one-half times as much oral language than commercial playgrounds without such features. Musical play is another way to develop sensory-engaging skills and creative thinking. We have an array of outdoor music instruments that kids of all ages can use to explore sound and create their own tunes.
Shade Structures
Shade structures are an excellent addition to any playground, providing a comfortable play environment for kids and adults alike. They offer protection from the sun’s harsh rays, which can fade plastic and corrode metal playground equipment, reducing its longevity.
Shade also helps kids avoid sunburns, which can lead to a variety of health issues down the road. With shade, children are more likely to play outdoors for longer periods of time, which can boost their physical activity levels and creativity.
Playground shades are available in a variety of sizes, styles and color options. You can even choose to connect multiple shades together to cover larger areas. There are also different mounting options, including embedded base plates and recessed, to accommodate your playground’s specific site conditions.
Site Amenities
Commercial playgrounds are designed to accommodate high volumes of people throughout the day, and as such, mall amusement park they require a significant investment. Fortunately, there are several funding options available to help you build a playground and stay within your budget.
Amenities are a vital component to any park, playground or outdoor space. They encourage guests to spend more time on-site by offering them a comfortable place to rest, play or relax. From outdoor picnic tables to trash receptacles, there are many site amenities that can be tailored to suit the aesthetic of your venue or brand.