# Common Terms for Playground Equipment ## Blog & News 2021-07-23 Publisher: [**Dream Garden Editorial Team**]() 3 min read Summarize with AI: One click to summarize this article with your preferred AI assistant. Playgrounds of all shapes and sizes offer kids the opportunity to play. The bright colors and stimulating configurations of a great playground can engage kids in ways they don’t experience anywhere else, giving them a chance to let their imaginations run wild. While playgrounds have evolved over the years to include more safety and accessibility features, you’ll find many staples at any kid-approved play site. ![Common Terms for Playground Equipment]() **Key Takeaways:** **types of swings in park with names** Expanding your playground equipment vocabulary is an essential step in understanding what makes a playground great and what to look out for when planning a new site. Read the full article or jump to a specific section: Old Playground Equipment NamesMerry-Go-Round Teeter-Totter Giant Stride Monkey Bars Still Rings Modern Playground Equipment NamesSwings Slides Playground Climbers Spring Riders Spinners Site Amenities Design-Related Terms Safety Terms Acronyms to Know Bring Your Playground to Life Old Playground Equipment Names If you haven’t hit the playground for a few years, you’ll probably notice that some of your old favorites have been updated in appearance or renamed for modern requirements. In some cases, certain types of playground equipment have fallen out of favor or the terminology becomes dated because of new safety guidelines. Some types of equipment have been discontinued altogether for being out of compliance with modern safety standards. But even though safety guidelines have changed, that doesn’t mean you won’t see some familiar playground equipment pieces installed on newer sites. 1. Merry-Go-Round Merry-go-rounds are one of the classic playground fixtures that daredevils love to push to its limits. These large pieces of equipment allow kids to hop on and spin around as quick as they can by pushing against the ground to develop momentum. While this type of equipment is still fairly common, “merry-go-round” is no longer enough of an umbrella term to cover the many types of spinning playground equipment. Merry-go-rounds, and other playground favorites like seesaws and swings and slides, must meet specific guidelines outlined by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Handbook for Playground Safety. 2. Teeter-Totter Another familiar entry on the list of favorite playground equipment is teeter-totters — also known as seesaws. The CPSC handbook notes that traditional fulcrum teeter-totters must limit their maximum angle to 25 degrees, and partial car tires or other shock-absorbin 3. Giant Stride This piece of equipment hasn’t been seen for almost half a century, and is not recommended by the CPSC. The giant stride consists of a tall pole fixed in the ground. Ropes with ladder-like bars hang down so kids can grab them. The idea is that kids hold onto the bars for dear life and run around as fast as they can, sometimes resulting in a brief moment of “flying” or hovering above the ground while spinning. Aside from its lack of accessibility, the giant stride also tends to result in kids smacking into each other or the pole. 4. Monkey Bars In their classic form, monkey bars are just a horizontal ladder suspended above the ground by upright poles. They allow kids to hop up and swing from bar to bar much like a chimpanzee. Monkey bars were also usually a feature of larger jungle gyms, which gave kids the opportunity to climb and swing in different directions. While monkey bars are still loved and found in playgrounds everywhere, the original design has been updated and altered in so many ways — it’s often not just a horizontal ladder anymore — that you sometimes need more specific terminology to describe it. When someone mentions a “ring climber,” they’re talking about one of the many monkey bar adaptations. 5. Still Rings Still rings — similar to the kind used in gymnastics, and hung from long chains on playgrounds — are still very much a part of playgrounds. It’s common to see them labeled as therapeutic hand rings, with shorter chains. Children can practice their upper body strength by supporting their body weight when hanging from the rings. ## Related articles - [Mall of the Emirates Unveils The Hangout with 2,500 m² Explorers]() - [Indoor Entertainment Trends: How Rising Temperatures Are Driving the Growth of FECs]() - [Thailand’s Mall Entertainment Market: What the Experience Economy Means for Indoor Playground Investors]() [Equipment & Industry]() ## About the Publisher Our articles are written by the Dream Garden editorial team and reviewed with our project engineers. Have a question about this topic? 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