Cultural Observation Project:
Assessment Paper
Assignment
Name: Melissa Sirmons
Location of Observation: Big Air Trampoline Park
YOUT 201-Section # B01 202240
Observation:
My son, daughter as well as two of her friends arrived at Big Air Trampoline Park about
7:15PM. Upon arrival we encountered many teenagers as well as young children. The building has
the air turned way up but all the children seem to be sweating. There appear to be a couple of
birthday parties going on. We approached the counter where the young man working the counter
was helpful in every way possible. He informed us that anyone under the age of 18 must be
accompanied by an adult at all times. The children are allowed to jump and participate but an
adult must be always present in the building. As I looked around there were few parents seated
on the benches that are placed all throughout the park.
There is an area that parents can sit that has full WIFI and massage chairs and most of
them were seated there. There is a café area that is filled with teens ordering candy and slushes.
The kids are kids waiting in line that are rough housing and yelling random words. There are
parents seated in the café area as well eating pizza and having conversations. I send the kids off
to jump and find a seat at a high-top bar that has plug ins and a lot of counter space that is
overlooking the park. Directly in front of me is a beam that people walk across and meet in the
middle with long foam sticks. They are trying to knock each other off the beam. Two girls are trying
to go at the same time but there is a young boy already on the beam. He gets off as the girls did
not want to go against him. Shortly after the girls finish the boy attempts to play again but the girls
leave. The staff person overseeing the game then grabs a pole and proceeds to play the boy as he
was by himself.
The girls that are with me come over asking for drinks and talking about how so many
kids are just screaming for no reason. It is loud and there are lots of random screams. To the left
of me there is a beam that spins around over a set of small trampolines. There are 3 boys playing
on this attraction. One boy is wearing a mask and it is obvious that he is smiling under the mask.
The other boy jumps over and introduced himself and tells the boy with the mask that he is
homeschooled and because he did so well on his assignments this week his parents brough him
here, but he did not have anybody to hang out with. The boy with the mask then tells him that
they can jump together because he came alone as well, and all of his friends were at the football
game. They jumped on over the beam a few more times and then left together and went to the
foam pit.
After a few minutes I decided to walk around to the foam pit and obstacle course. There
were roughly eight to ten older boys trying to compete on the obstacle course. One boy is waiting
at the end with a timer on his phone while another it is watching closely to see it any feet touch
the ground. One boy finishes the course and the boy with the timer yells “that is a new record
bruh.” All the boys then proceed to lift him up and toss him into the foam pit. Shortly after they
throw him in the pit, they all jump in after him. The person watching the foam pit walks over to
the boys and lets them know kindly that they cannot throw people into the foam pit. One boy
started to argue with the staff person, but his friend stepped up and told him that the staff person
was just doing his job and that it was okay. The boy seemed to take it well and walked away.
I proceeded to walk over to the big trampoline area. In this area there were multiple girls
trying to do flips and cartwheels. Some of the girls are sitting on a foam bench in the middle of
the trampolines observing the other girls. One girl talked about how she wishes her mom would
put her in gymnastics or cheerleading so that she could learn how to do those flips. One girl
overheard her and said that she would teach her how to do a basic flip if she wanted. The girl
sitting on the bench was excited, but she declined because she said she was afraid she would get
hurt. They proceeded to talk about how most of their friends were at the football game tonight,
but their parents wouldn’t let them go. At the end of our visit there were still many kids jumping.
Response:
Upon arrival to Big Air Trampoline Park, I was not looking forward to
observing teens in a crowded setting. I am not one to face crowds especially
crowds involving unattended teenagers. I was very happy to hear that all minors
must be accompanied by an adult at all times. When I heard this though I was
concerned with how this would affect my project. After further inspection it
appeared most parents sat in an adult area while the kids did their own thing. That
gave me a little hope that there would be some authentic behavior from the kids.
I was very pleased to see that the behavior I witnessed was the complete
opposite of what I had imagined. There were many teens that were working at the
park and so many of them had compassion for kids that seemed to be alone. They
helped in many ways by playing some of the games with them and showing them
where to go. I feel like sometimes we get this image of students that kids are just
bad. In reality watching them in this setting was enlightening as they really showed
that they are not bad. They are compassionate human beings that care for others.
When I was watching the boys playing on the spinning jump beam, it really
opened my eyes to how each child is perfectly capable of sharing the love of Christ
by simply becoming their friend. Neither of the boys talking to each other
acknowledged that they had different color skin. They didn’t acknowledge that one
was wearing a mask and that one was not. They simply had conversations and
showed kindness to one another. Sharing the love of Christ does not have to be
throwing the hammer down when you speak to someone. It can simply be
having a conversation with somebody and showing them kindness and
compassion.
There was a moment when the staff person asked the kids not to jump in the
foam pit at the same time that I thought the young man was going to really show
the impression that I had of most students. Man was wrong, his friend really
showed what should happen in those situations. He was not paying attention to
the fact that there were people watching him he just saw that what was
happening was not right and he stood up for it. A young kid with so much still to
learn taught his friend a lesson that day and he was not even trying to teach
anything. Moments like that stick with people. People should be more like that
kid. Stand up for people and speak up for what you believe in.
When the girls were at the trampoline and the one girl was talking about
how she could not do the flips but really wanted to be able to; it was inspiring to
see the other girls step up and offer to teach her. There are so many teachable
moments that present themselves every day. We just need to know how to
recognize those moments. This young girl took a moment to recognize her ability
to teach this girl and took advantage of that moment.
Overall, I was very pleased with my visit. It was phenomenal to see the
students in an environment where they were not pressured to be on their best
behavior because they were at church. I am very happy that they proved me wrong
in my view of how I thought this trip would be.
Integrity Statement:
I, Melissa Sirmons, went to Big Air Trampoline Park on September 6, 2022, with Emma,
Brayden, Caitlin and Savannah and have followed all the necessary instructions.
