"A monkey bar could be used in many different ways. And it, therefore, also affords creativity among children," she says. This all may help explain why the jungle gym has endured 100 years.

A beloved piece of playground equipment is turning 100 years old. The history of the jungle gym and monkey bars is full of weird and and delightful twists, spanning from Japan to suburban Chicago.

Children enjoy one of New York City’s first sets of monkey bars c. 1935. George Rinhart via Getty Images. Young primates have always invited serious injury by play-climbing and falling.

Commemorating the monkey bars, catalyst of debate at the intersection of human evolutionary biology and public health. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 2024; DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoae017; ...