Innovative playground designs that promote active play, Architectural principles of playground design

Innovative Playground Designs That Promote Active Play

19 March 2025

With so many distractions in today’s modern environment, it’s hard to create playground equipment that genuinely holds kids’ attention. With few kids in the United States getting enough activity for basic physical health, that presents a major problem. Americans need playgrounds and play spaces that encourage kids to climb, jump, move, swing, slide, run, crawl, and even dance. The challenge is that sustaining their interest takes an extra level of innovation.

To compete with TV, TikTok, YouTube, tablets, and ever-more stimulating light-up children’s toys, playground designers have needed to innovate their range of offerings. Enterprising developers, equipment manufacturers, and urban designers have come up with a number of unique and creative solutions. Read on to discover some of the active best playground options around — the ones most likely to get kids off the couch, up in the air, and upside down.

Themed Playground Equipment
Many childcare workers, journalists, teachers, and researchers have speculated that more and more screen time is ruining kids’ imaginations. It doesn’t take a degree in child psychology or development to see the ways the internet and TV are reshaping young brains. Several decades ago, a child could find a cardboard box and dream up a few dozen ways to play with it. The box could be a doghouse, a rocket ship, a very large hat, or the belly of a hungry blue whale.

The times have changed, however, and many kids need more help coming up with a plot for their imaginary escapades. To get them running around the playground, you can’t just give them bars and ladders; you have to set the scene for them. Themed playground equipment helps encourage active play by creating the right conditions to stretch their more limited imaginations. Give them a pirate ship, a treehouse, or a tropical island to support active minds and active bodies.

Obstacle and Parkour Courses
Every kid past a certain age loves to imagine themselves as a contestant on one of those warrior TV shows. They want to hop across foam rubber rocks over fake lava goo and Tarzan-swing their way to a sweaty, sticky victory. They lament the fact, however, that they aren’t old enough to meet the requirements for their favorite ninja competition. Or, their parents don’t feel like shelling out the cash to get them into their local indoor “ninja” academy.

A better (and cheaper) option is to offer them playground equipment that meets that same primal desire to risk (imaginary) life and limb. The best playgrounds have equipment that lets them swing, zip, scramble, and balance their way to the finish line. Consider ziplines, rope swings, cargo nets, rope ladders, and other opportunities to battle challenging obstacles. Or create a mini parkour park and let them run, jump, roll, and maybe even backflip (over a safe, soft surface).

Rock, Net, and Dome Climbing
For a less competition-oriented offering, some playground designs take inspiration from the great outdoors. Many modern playgrounds are built to inspire a kid’s sense of adventure, like mountaineering or rock climbing. Some playgrounds have dedicated bouldering walls, with professional-grade rock climbing holds. Set atop safe, squishable surfaces — and never stretching too high — these structures provide a secure setting for kids to test their strength and grip.

For the slightly less agile or more traditional kid, there are nets, domes, and other unique climbing structures. While not technically even a playground, the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in New York City famously invites children to scale its mushrooms. The point is that in the hands (and feet) of children, just about anything can be a rather surmountable obstacle. Designers around the world have created all kinds of statues, sculptures, and other constructions fit for climbing.

Ziplines, Merry-Go-Rounds, and Other Fast Movers
There’s nothing that thrills like the sensation of moving faster than the speed of… well, your own limbs. That’s why kids are especially fond of playground designs that encourage more and more rapid locomotion. Sure, running and jumping can kill a few hours, but how about swinging, gliding, and spinning? Some of the best playground designs zip children along at what their still-growing brains perceive as rollercoaster-like speeds.

The classic playground zipline, also known as a track ride, is one of the most popular options with young ones of all ages. It promotes arm, grip, abdominal, and even leg strength as kids push off and power their way down the track. Pushable merry-go-rounds with gears that speed up faster than they’re pushed are another popular choice. Kids love to get these dizzying devices in motion, then jump on top — or hang onto the side with all their might.

Just Keep Moving
Keeping kids active at the playground is all about inspiring their imaginations and creating a sense of shared adventure. While devices and other distractions may tempt them, at the end of the day, their natural instincts are to run, jump, and play. If you provide the right environment, their wild, creative spirits will take over, and you won’t need to do much to keep them moving. An ideal playground design only needs to provide the tools — and the safety, of course, — to let it happen.

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