A traditional jungle gym

The jungle gym, also known as monkey bars, is a piece of playground equipment made of many pieces of thin material, such as metal pipe or, in more current playgrounds, rope, on which children can climb, hang, or sit. The monkey bar designation was for the resemblance that playing children had to the rambunctious, climbing play of monkeys.

The large, metal, cubic-shaped jungle gym was once common on playgrounds, but too many children hit their heads on the hard metal surfaces or got arms or legs wrapped around the unyielding bars in the wrong way, thereby spraining or breaking limbs. It is more common now to find rope constructions similar in function, or wooden platforms with ladders and railings around the outer edges.

The first jungle gym was invented in 1920 and patented by lawyer Sebastian Hinton in Chicago.

A thing for kids to climb on

A rope thing for kids to climb on

External links

• Invention of the Jungle Gym from Winnetka, Illinois Historical Society