Nick James

Bouncy castles are large cold air inflatables that people (usually children) can enter and bounce around on. They have been marketed under a variety of names:

• Astrojump,
• Moonwalk,
• Bounce House,
• Moon Bounce, or
• Jolly Jump in the US,
• Bouncy Castle or Inflatable Castle (in the UK)
• Jumping Castles (Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.

They are often in the shape of a castle but can be made into a variety of designs. The walls and floor are both bouncy, like a trampoline.

The original inflatable structure was designed in 1959 by John Scurlock. He was experimenting with inflatable covers for tennis courts when he noticed his employees enjoyed jumping on the covers. He started the Space Walk Company to market them for children and called them "Space Walks". He started out with a large air mattress. In 1967-1968, he decided to add walls. The windows were made of solid clear plastic and were enclosed like a bubble- one fan inflated the base while another inflated the bubble and circulated air for the users.

Inflatable structures were also designed by university students in England around 1961 for a fundraising event.[2]

The surfaces are typically composed of thick, strong PVC or vinyl and nylon, and the castle is inflated using an electric or petrol-powered blower. The principle is one of constant leakage, meaning small punctures are not a problem, although this means the fans need to be quite powerful; a medium-size "bouncy castle" requires a fan with a mechanical output of about two horsepower (consuming around 2 kW electrical power, allowing for the efficiency of the motor).