Jungle Bus: A Traveling Gym for Kids

You may have seen this unusual bus around town. The brightly-colored bus is emblazoned with jungle animals on the outside. Look inside and you'll see padded floors instead of seats. That's because the Jungle Bus is a rolling PE classroom, and every week students pile in for gymnastics class.

The Jungle Bus is the brainchild of Leigh Bruce, who used to lug around lots of gymnastics equipment when she taught classes at schools. Bruce says she simply got sick of carrying things. The solution to her problem came in an unexpected form: a retired school bus, which Bruce transformed into “The Jungle Bus.”

The bus has painted animals on the outside. The inside features padding, carpeting, a ball pit, a set of monkey bars, a zip line and a variety of removable gymnastics equipment. It just takes a few energetic kids to put it all to good use.

“They love it,” said Bruce about her students. She usually teaches groups of kids between the ages of 2-5.

“They’re not all gymnasts and I don’t expect them to be,” she said, “but it’s a great way to teach the kids that it’s fun to be physically active.”

The fun is certainly not in short supply. Bruce says the kids also learn about nutrition. “February is fitness month, so we teach the kids about healthy eating and exercising,” said Bruce.

This is the Jungle Bus’ seventeenth year, and Bruce sees it as a perfect option for schools who are tight on space: “We’re self-insured, we don’t take up any of their space — and kids can use some of their energy in a good way.”

The Jungle Bus is such a hit that there is now a “Jungle Bus 2,” and Bruce, who owns Jungle Bus Gymnastics with her husband Michael, employs three other instructors. “The busses run all day every day,” she said.  “All the girls that teach are pretty petite, so everyone always asks if we drive the busses ourselves — we all do!”

It’s mostly daycares and private schools who use The Jungle Bus as a physical education outlet, according to Bruce. The Jungle Bus provides what Bruce considers a creative solution to space constraints — and a great way to let the kids use their energetic jitters in a productive way. "It's so important for kids to see physical activity as fun," said Bruce. A Palm Harbor resident herself, she says the busses travel all over Pasco and Pinellas counties.

Bruce can’t imagine a better job, “It’s what I love.” Bruce says gymnastics is in her blood — she grew up a gymnast, coached in college, and managed a gym after college. “I just never really stopped,” she said.

The bus itself is truly any kid’s dream. On one day, kids in a class at Growing Tree Preschool in Palm Harbor got to practice their cartwheels and monkey bar stamina. They even got to glide the length of the bus on a zip line, ending triumphantly in the ball pit at the back of the bus. The Growing Tree preschool has been using The Jungle Bus for 15 years. Bruce enjoys this history: “We’ve had a lot of siblings through the years so you get to know the parents,” she said.