This morning, I was fortunate enough to be able to try the Jump In! Ball Pit, an adult-only pit of 81,000 shiny white balls setup in the SoHo offices of U.K. creative agency Pearlfisher.
The pit is setup on the 5th floor of the building and is the first thing you see when exiting the elevator. After signing the standard "if-you-die-it's-not-our-fault" disclaimer, I was invited to ditch my shoes and jump in.
So I did… literally! I channeled my high-school swimming days and did a swan dive into the 4-foot tall mountain of hollow white plastic balls. The bottom of the pit is covered in soft foam, but I didn't hit it as the balls effectively stopped my head-first dive into the floorboards, making me float on a cushion of air.
The area containing the ball pit is surrounded on two sides by the room's brick walls, and by a glass partition on the other side of the funky-triangle. The glass walls were a brilliant addition as it allowed glimpses of bodies "swimming" below the surface.
On one edge of the pit sits a large touch-screen monitor with a camera, so you can make a selfie or gif to instantly share with your friends. Here are all the ones marked public for you to check out. Look at those smiles!
I had a ton of fun wading around the pit, trying to backstroke, getting into ball fights with strangers, and trying something new and amazing in the City that didn't involve drinking or eating.
Pearlfisher's development manager Bailey MacNeille told us that "the exhibit is meant to show the power of play and stimulate unexpected creativity for our office culture." The team at Pearlfisher has "been using the pit privately for over 2 weeks—today was just the public opening," so they definitely got their fun-time in already.
The agency employees working in the open office a few dozen feet away did seem a little "over it," looking slightly annoyed at the rowdy visitors. For the most part, all "pitters" were respectful of the work environment and kept noise to a minimum, though a ball or 20 may have escaped the pit at some point during my visit…
Jump In! is a completely free activity but you do need a reservation to keep things orderly. Hurry though, MacNeille says nearly all slots are booked up over the next 6 weeks!
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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