Sloan has been learning about (and creating her own) inventions at school. Her enthusiasm for the subject has extended beyond the classroom. Case in point, Sloan and I now brainstorm wacky inventions in the car. For example, Sloan might say “movie theater” or “kitchen” and we will then pitch inventions that could improve the movie theater or kitchen experience. Most of them are totally impossible but it gets our creative juices flowing and helps pass the time on car trips to/from grandma’s.

Just yesterday, the prompt of trampoline parks was brought up. This one seemed especially fun to invent for as we love trampoline parks but see some areas for improvement. Here are five of the “inventions” we came up with… 

Who is ready for a battle?! Well, you won’t get that here. Sloan and I just have some wacky trampoline park inventions to share with you.

Reversible Socks – Such a pain to remember, bring, and change socks once you arrive at the trampoline park, right? Our invention is to create a type of reversible sock that serves as an everyday regular sock on one side and a trampoline park-compliant sock on the other side.

Wrist Band Entry – I get so frustrated when we go to the trampoline park and it seems like the last thing Beau wants to do is jump. Instead, he runs to the arcade or loiters around the concession stand. Our idea is to create a wrist band that is loaded with different access permissions. For example, some wrist bands would allow kids to enter all zones that include the actual trampoline park, arcade, and concessions. The band that would be around my son’s wrist would only allow him into the trampoline park. As most of these facilities have open floor plans, some type of invisible force field would need to exist to enforce the different boundaries but you get the idea.

Scented Foam Blocks – All trampoline parks boast large foam pits that you can dive into (good luck getting out if you are my age). These foam areas are comprised of large foam blocks. As you can imagine, because of extensive use from people of all ages who are working up a sweat, the blocks don’t always smell great. How innovative would it be to make the blocks scented with odor-blocking technology? Each establishment could have its own signature scents. For example, at Flying Squirrel you might jump into a pit with buttered popcorn and Dr. Pepper-scented blocks while at Altitude you might dive into a pit with wild cherry and grapefruit-scented blocks.

Child Tracker – When we go to the trampoline park, I can let Sloan run wild. However, Beau is still at the age where I need to keep a close eye on him. But to be honest, sometimes I wish I could just sink into one of the chairs and not lift a finger. I propose an invention that would come in the form of an app or tracker device that a trampoline park employee would give parents upon entry. It would report exactly where your child was in the facility, asses whether they were being a bother to others, and determine if they were injured/bleeding. The app or device would sound an alarm if you needed to get off your butt and attend to your poor kid.

Courage Pills – Sloan’s nemesis at one particular trampoline park is a zip line that requires you to climb a wall before taking off. There might have been an instance in the past when Sloan froze once getting to the top. It was because of this experience that she suggested a pill you could take to calm your fears. Upon swallowing the capsule, you would have all the courage you need to kick off that wall and fly down the zip line. Obviously she doesn’t know about anti-anxiety pills that already exist or my personal favorite fear-reducer…beer.

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Who else wants to apply for a patent? Let Sloan and me know your wildest trampoline park inventions. Don’t Blink.