An indoor playground is a great development idea for schools, leisure sites, and sports grounds. An extra space for play out of the elements helps any site remain well-attended and well-loved all year round. With the winter months coming up, prepare your play sites for a combined indoor and outdoor play experience with an indoor play centre.
Sheltered areas adjoining outdoor playgrounds allow children to move play indoors during rainy or snowy weather. Indoor playgrounds can’t replace the benefits of playing outdoors, but providing more space to play, learn, and explore in all weather is better for everyone using or managing the playground.
Here are our top tips for developing and designing an indoor playground…
1 – Choose Safe Flooring
Indoor playgrounds can have play equipment needing critical fall height protection as much as outdoor play areas. Rubber playground surfacing is a great option for indoor playgrounds because the installation process requires minimal groundwork. During installation, wet pour rubber is applied in layers and topped with EPDM crumb in key areas. This creates extra protection from fall damage without necessarily digging into the existing floor.
Enclosed spaces may also require extra attention paid to the slip-resistance of the surfaces to avoid collisions with walls and equipment. Wet pour rubber creates a smooth, flat surface with optional wheelchair ramps to reduce trip hazards. Meanwhile, the textured rubber crumb of the upper layers of the surface reduces slipping.
2- Incorporate Colour into your Indoor Playground Surface Designs
Bright colours are a great choice for soft play areas designed for small children. Colourful, vibrant flooring brings extra fun into the playground. Also, because children like bright colours, vibrant markings in the safety surfacing lead them to play in safe areas. This is a smart way to encourage children to play and explore in a fun environment while remaining safe and secure.
Bright safe mulch options like JungleMulch or wetpour rubber like RubbaSmart with EPDM colour-safe granules can create a range of different patterns and themes. From natural jungle themes to match wooden playground equipment to a whole rainbow of colour to inspire fun and play.
You can also bring the wonders of the outside world into the indoor space. When outdoor spaces are unusable because of harsh weather conditions, children should still be able to enjoy the feeling of nature in their place spaces. With artificial grass carpets and natural-coloured rubber mulch surfaces that mimic natural bark, you can transform indoor playgrounds into a unique site for play.
3 – Avoid Potential Harmful Materials
In an enclosed or sheltered space, carbon residue can pose a greater issue than in outdoor playgrounds. Carbon residue is produced over time from SBR rubber as the surface layer rubs away from overuse. This needs to be cleaned and managed regularly, increasing the upkeep required.
As well as fading the colour of the rubber surfaces, carbon residue can be harmful to users. The black residue can mark and stain skin and clothes but has potential risks to health if ingested or inhaled to excess. Therefore, we recommend virgin rubber EPDM surfaces for any playground catering to young children. This is especially important for indoor playgrounds because the enclosed nature of the space means that contact with the carbon residue would be more common if not managed appropriately.
4 – Consider Upkeep Requirements
Indoor spaces where children can come directly in from outdoors will need to be cleaned in many of the same ways as outdoor playgrounds. PlaySmart’s rubber mulch and wet pour surface solutions require minimal upkeep with sweeping and some hosing required if the surface gets muddy from footfall.
With no carbon residue and easily clean surfaces, rubber mulch and EPDM crumb are great for surfaces that face a lot of footfall such as those in leisure sites such as our previous project at Umberslade Farm Park.
Our surfaces in indoor playground spaces reduce the risks of children tracking in mud and dirt by creating a space for play indoors with easy-clean surfaces. Rubber is a much better material for keeping clean than typical carpet common in some soft play areas. Therefore, it is the perfect choice for a space with both indoor and outdoor play areas.
Are you looking to Install or Renovate an Indoor Playground?
Our expert installers have 20 years of experience in installing outdoor and indoor playgrounds across the UK. With our premier surfaces, creative designs, and high-quality customer service, contact us today for your next playground project. Request a free quote, or a callback on our contact page form, or contact us at 01564 742811. We can’t wait to hear from you!