Last updated 17:08, Friday, 29 August 2008

AROUND 150 people went to Whitehaven harbourside yesterday to play on a bouncy castle.

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Eye, eye: Charlotte, seven, and Michaela, five, Jackson Wainwright have some fun creating sounds on the inflatable

Digital arts organisation Folly put the portable playground – which is suitable for all ages – inside The Hub at the harbour as a free event.

The oldest person who used the portable playground was 21, but Matt Wootton, of Folly, said that the average age was children between four and eight.

The bouncy castle sound sculpture Laughing My Guts Out was created by Andy Best and Merja Puustinen.

Inside the bouncy castle were different body parts.

Mr Wootton said the day had been a huge success, with everybody enjoying themselves.He added: “There has been a lot of interest and it has been quite tiring. The kids really enjoyed themselves.”

Laptop games were also available to create 3D landscapes of impossible staircases and structures and a cast of characters.

Mr Wootton said that the laptops were a hit with the youngsters, especially the older ones. “People said they have more fun on the bouncy castle, but their favourite was the laptop,” he added.

The portable playground is part of Folly’s two-year touring project in Cumbria, to research people’s reactions to digital public arts.