The history of playgrounds is truly amazing. Apart from the legacy of social-psychology found in playground history, let’s just look at the history of gravity for a minute…it might surprise you.
Gravity. It’s one of the most important lessons out of the classical PE era and was a high priority in classical playground designs. Most gravity lessons have actually been removed from PE and many parks now. How do I know? Kids today rarely “get off the ground” which means they are being compressed…without even realizing it. This is quite concerning since gravity is such a powerful force of nature and in our world and our lives. It’s been said that if you know how to use gravity, then gravity is your friend. It’s also been stated that gravity has a lot to do with our deaths as our structure compresses and collapses, or, gravity has a lot to do with healthier aging if we use it to elongate the body and open up disc space. The Greek physician Hippocrates used gravity through hanging therapeutic exercises to heal people…he was also the guy who created, “First do no harm.” We might want to pay attention here.
Hanging or what many call “brachiation” is an important thing to learn and do as a child. There are, or at least were, many ways to hang as a child. Straight bars are easier to learn hanging basics. This photo is an example of a hanging progression because the bar goes up and down like a see-saw. The advantage of this apparatus was that a child could feel acceleration and deceleration forces through the gravity activity–an exciting lesson on G-Forces! Grip strength was also challenged at a higher level in this example. The fun factor must have been off the chart too! I’d like to take it for a test drive even at my age. 🙂
What happened to gravity? It’s still here; we just don’t teach our kids its power or how to use it any longer, but whether today’s kids realize it or not, gravity remains a VERY powerful source.
–Ron Jones, MS, Historical Kinesiologist, Physical & Health Educator
