Since 2007, Playground Ideas has supported over 1400 communities build playgrounds in 85 countries impacting over 700,000 children. We’ve built playgrounds of all shapes and sizes and developed a design library with over 150 kids playground equipment designs.
While we love all the designs in our library, a few stick out as our favorite, time-tested designs that we end up building over and over again. Check out our top eight low-cost kids playground equipment designs—all of which can be built from low-cost, local materials, tools, and skills. If you’re building a playground on a budget, these elements can’t be beat.
1. A rocking hammock is a corner of peace and calm on the playground. Kids will love swaying & chatting, or even taking a nap. Bonus – it can be built from a couple used truck tires and bolts, so it’s way cheaper than traditional swing sets.
2. Incorporate plenty of textures, colors, and smells into your playground with this simple garden structure. Gardens are a great way to incorporate the local community in the construction of the playground as parents, teachers, and community members can donate starts from their own gardens.
3. Motorbike
Vroom vroom! This imaginary play element is a hit with kids around the world. Imaginary play is incredibly important to children’s healthy development – it promotes creativity, social interaction, and even lays the foundation for early literacy skills. Make sure to incorporate elements that encourage imaginative play on your playground.
4. Shop Front
A market? Hair salon? Mechanic? You choose. Try painting it up to look like a real shop in your community. This element makes a great addition to a sandpit, where kids can mould and model things to sell in the shop.
5. A balance beam with a twist! These planks see-saw in a fun cause and effect movement. Unlike traditional see saws, this piece of kids playground equipment can accommodate many children at once.
6. Every playground should have hills! Add dramatic height and dimension to your space with this low cost feature.
7. Sand play is an essential part of any playground for young children – it provides hours of open-ended, tactile, creative play.
8. This element is easy to build and leaves itself open to children’s imagination. In no time they’ll be creating their own games and rules.
Get all eight of our top favorite kids playground equipment designs when you download our Playground Starter Kit, a beautiful, low-cost design scheme that inspires active, imaginative, social, creative, and open-ended play.
The site was designed with a small preschool in mind, but it’s adaptable to different ages and group sizes. In this design kit you’ll find the DIY step-by-step plans for each element, as well tips and advice for adapting the design to your own space and needs.
Click here to download the free Playground Starter Kit.
