"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.

Learn about the benefits of jungle gyms and monkey bars so you can decide which is best for your backyard. Skip to main content Skip to main content. Register for more ...

On October 23, 1923, Hinton—a patent attorney—was awarded the first of a series of U.S. patents for his “jungle gym,” and the monkey bars were born. These days, ...

But jungle gyms and monkey bars remain targets of efforts to make playgrounds safer, the researchers report. New York City removed them from most of their 862 public playgrounds in the 1980s and ...

As part of our efforts, we wanted to add a jungle gym focused on climbing, swinging, and other physical activities. ... Within 5 hours, I had set up the entire monkey bar set.

A clip from @rollergogo on TikTok of her completing various physical activities, such as monkey bars in a busy gym, shows why women do not feel comfortable going to the gym after 6 p.m ...

Luke D. Fannin, “The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars,” Smithsonian Magazine, (March 2023); Sheila Duran, “J is for Jungle Gym,” Winnetka Historical Society Gazette, (Fall, 1997).

The history of the jungle gym, and its sibling the monkey bars, is full of weird and delightful twists and sub-plots that take us from Japan to suburban Chicago and delve into theoretical math.

The jungle gym and monkey bars were patented in 1923 and 1924 by Sebastian “Ted” Hinton, who wrote that children have a “monkey instinct” to climb as a form of play and exercise.

"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.