In Auckland bouncy castles are being inflated for kids parties and public events every day. They’re a fantastic source of fun, excitement and entertainment for kids of all ages. So how did the infamous inflatable bouncy castle all begin?
To this day there is a great debate between Americans and the British as to the origin of the first bouncy castle. The British do however seem to have more information that supports their claim.
In 1962 John Scurlock of Shreveport in Louisana played a major part in triggering the idea for a bouncy castle. He was experimenting with inflatable solutions for swimming pools, tennis courts and other enclosures and noticed that his employees were have a great old time jumping on them causing them to lose air and then refilling them.
Scurlock then decided to design an inflatable kids entertainment apparatus and then launched a business called Space Walk, specialising in what were referred to as inflatable kids moon walks. His first creation was a large air mattress and in 1967 – 1968 he decided to add walls. Both the walls and mattress were inflated by two independent fans. It wasn’t until 1976 that support netting was added.
Moonwalk Rental Company was launched in 1969 by Frances Scurlock (John’s wife). They hired bouncing inflatables for $19.95 for 24 hours. They generated a lot of interest for fairs and carnivals, but not so much private use because of the high costs involved back then.
To this day, moonwalks are also referred to as bouncy castles, jumping castles, spacewalks and inflatable rides. The bulk of bouncy castles today are hired out for private use for kids birthday parties and other domestic gatherings.
The bouncy castle industry has grown significantly over the past 10 years and you can now hire bouncy castles that come with slides, obstacle courses and climbing walls.
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