Trampolines have been a childhood staple of outdoor play for decades, and for good reason – they offer so many fun ways to stay physically active and improve mental wellbeing.
Not only does jumping around on them help to strengthen muscles and joints, getting hearts racing and improving strength and fitness, but trampolines can also provide plenty of opportunities for creativity and shared laughter.
Whether it’s with family or friends, no matter the age, a trampoline can be a hub of entertainment for everyone. If you need some ideas for new ways to have fun on a trampoline, here are ten of our top trampoline activities!
1) Bouncing to the beat
If everyone feels a bit bored and restless, what better way to blow off some steam than for everyone to show off their moves with a trampoline disco?
Get a playlist going of upbeat songs and let each person take a turn bouncing to the beat – whoever comes up with the best jumping dance moves wins!
Jumping and dancing is sure to use up a lot of energy and wear little ones out, so the grown-ups can benefit from some peace and quiet later, too.
2) Trampoline ‘Simon Says’
‘Simon Says’ is a classic that everybody knows how to play; whoever is ‘Simon’ gives orders to the others, but they should only follow them if the order is prefaced by the phrase ‘Simon Says’.
A trampoline adds a new challenging element, as ‘Simon’ can tell the other players to jump as high as they can, balance on one leg, crouch down and stand back up without falling over, etc.
The faster the orders are given, and the opportunity to try to trick each other, is sure to get the giggles going sooner rather than later – giving everyone an excuse to be silly together.
3) The ‘telephone’ game
The ‘telephone’ game, designed to test your memory and concentration, is another old favourite that has many different versions – so why not adapt it for the trampoline?
One person starts by doing a pose or trick on the trampoline, then the next person repeats the first move and adds their own. Each player continues repeating the sequence and adding another move.
Whenever someone forgets a move or does the sequence out of order, they’re out of the game – this can go on for a long time, with everyone else judging from the outside until one player is left!
4) Trampoline basketball
One of the most popular accessories for children’s trampolines is basketball hoops, which are designed to attach to the safety net frame and typically come with smaller and softer basketballs.
This reduces the risk of injury, allowing players to shoot hoops to their heart’s content while bouncing around on the trampoline. Some even have a double net to make competing easier!
If ‘first to ten’ or another number gets boring, you could make it more creative by choosing a ‘losing’ word – each missed shot gives the player a letter, and the first to spell the whole word loses.
5) Mid-air photography
If you really want to create unforgettable memories and laugh until your stomach hurts, a mid-air photography challenge will do it – all you need is a phone camera and some ideas for poses.
Each player has to jump and hit the assigned pose or facial expression while in mid-air – someone standing in front will take the photo, then everyone can check who succeeded and who didn’t.
The sillier the poses, the funnier it gets, especially if two people are competing against each other to do the same pose. The best part is, you get to keep the goofy photos to laugh at later!
6) Trampoline charades
Similar to the challenge of striking a pose, acting out a song name or movie title while jumping in mid-air can be more difficult than you think – generating a lot of silliness.
That’s why playing charades on a trampoline makes the classic game even more entertaining, with everyone else outside the trampoline trying to guess what they’re acting out.
You can play this in teams or have each person play for themselves, with whoever guesses correctly first gaining a point. The first person or team to reach a certain number of points wins.
7) Yoga on a trampoline
For something a little calmer, with fewer people, you could try doing yoga poses on the trampoline to improve balance and flexibility while strengthening your core muscles.
Yoga is a low-impact exercise that’s easy on the joints, so anyone can do it – and the focus on steady breathing, stretching, and staying still helps people to feel less stressed out.
There are various yoga poses, stretches, and jumps you can try out, depending on your ability levels. Even if you’ve never tried yoga before, it’s easy to find examples of poses for beginners online.
8) Trampoline star-gazing
Wait for a clear night when it’s not too cold, and bring out some blankets and pillows to get set up for a star-gazing session with everyone lying down on their backs on the trampoline.
Bonus points if you have binoculars, but if you have a phone or digital camera that can zoom in clearly on the sky above, you can help each other to see constellations better and even take pictures.
It’s also more fun if you have a book or an app that tells you what each constellation looks like and where to spot them, plus interesting facts about astronomy, so everyone can learn together.
9) Cloud-spotting from a trampoline
A fun and free way to stay entertained on a lazy day is to lie down on the trampoline and look up at the clouds above to spot different shapes in the cloud formations.
Kids can let their imaginations run wild and make up silly stories about the shapes they see, such as a dragon chasing a fish, or a pirate ship sailing the skies instead of the seas.
It can be interesting to see how creative you can get and how each person has different perceptions – and if you start counting clouds like sheep, you can enjoy a little nap after cloud-watching.
10) Trampoline Twister
You don’t need an actual Twister mat to play it on a trampoline – you can use painter’s tape, stickers, or washable chalk to make your own shapes and symbols in different colours.
The referee then calls out instructions for each of the players, like ‘right hand, red circle’, and hilarity ensues as people try to keep their balance on the shifting trampoline mat.
While there’s no jumping required, the bounce factor is enough to make Twister on a trampoline a challenging game – but most importantly, nobody should get hurt if they fall over.
