Indoor playground

Playground in a hall at the airport

Indoor playground in Germany

Climbing maze

covered playground in Japan

An indoor playground (also an indoor playground ) is a covered, weather-protected children's playground . The equipment takes the form of professional play equipment, supplemented by catering with seats for children and accompanying adults, as well as children's birthday rooms. The target group of the indoor playground operators are families with children, school classes, kindergartens, clubs, etc.

Structure and equipment

Indoor playgrounds are characterized by a modular structure. What all indoor playgrounds have in common is the use of high-quality toys. The focus of an indoor playground is often a climbing labyrinth that extends over two to three floors and has various additional equipment (e.g. wave / tube slides, darkrooms, plate swings, etc.). In addition, football tables, air hockey, table tennis and electric karts are often kept ready, which are supposed to generate additional sales via the chips or tokens issued. Usually food and drinks are also offered. In addition to the games on offer, children's birthdays make a significant contribution to the success of the indoor playgrounds. The combination of games, fun and favorite dishes (often fast food dishes and soft drinks) means that the offers are perceived as suitable for children.

In addition, many indoor playgrounds are expanding their offerings by building or expanding outdoor facilities. This enables a wider range of play options so that the indoor playgrounds can also be used as an attractive excursion destination in summer and in good weather.

history

The idea of realizing covered amusement parks originally came from the Anglo-Saxon region. As early as the 1980s, so-called Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) were operated in shopping centers or in locations close to the city as a further development of adventure golf courses. In Germany, the first indoor playgrounds were opened in North Rhine-Westphalia in the 1990s. The development accelerated later due to the vacancy of tennis halls in Germany at the end of the 1990s and established with the corresponding sizes of tennis halls in Germany at around 2,000 m². With increased demands on the conditions of the premises (assembly regulations) and thus the level of investment, both the property and the actual playground experience an increase in quality that has not yet been completed. The boom initiated by this is continued in the adaptation of play structures (climbing frames) in cinemas, fitness studios, shopping centers, etc.

In Germany there are over 300 facilities in former tennis and storage halls with areas of 700 to 12,000 square meters. The progressive development in this segment is causing regional saturation (e.g. in the Ruhr area), which will improve the offer. Against the background of Anglo-Saxon developments, an increasing emphasis on service is to be expected.