It's called Kaleidoscape and basically it's completely amazing! It costs $10 per child per visit, but I am convinced that it is worth every penny. Also there is a frequency card that allows you to visit ten times and get two kids in free on the eleventh visit - love that. It is geared for children ages 3-12, but Riggs had a blast there too, crawling all around and exploring everything.
It's not an indoor playground, instead it's a play 'studio', with many different learning stations for kids to enjoy. There's a performance theater with lots of dress-up clothes. There's coloring, a reading nook, and a music corner with lots of creative instruments. There's an adorable little 'house' with a kitchen, an easy chair in front of a cozy 'fire', a nursery, and a formal dining room that's perfect for tea parties. I love that there's no running or climbing, and owner Jennifer is really great at keeping an eye on all the kids to make sure that all the rules are being followed.
For those of you living in Anchorage or the Valley, I highly recommend stopping by for a visit. You can even make a reservation online, which I find especially convenient so that I never drive all the way from Palmer only to find that there's a private party or the max number of children playing once I get there. Go check it out!
[Just to be clear, I was not compensated in anyway to write this post, I just really enjoyed our visit and wanted to share about my great experience]
This is the first I've heard of this. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy sister (who is a preschool teacher) went to the grand opening event for parents and educators. She said that the idea of everything was really great but there did not seem to be a long term durability to many of the activities. The owner or manager was militant and rude to the adults attending the event (yelling about no shoes in certain areas, practically forcing people into photo booths for advertising purposes). I had high hopes and may still visit once just to see for myself but $10 seems pretty steep for regular visits.
ReplyDeleteBravo for new local businesses though!
Thanks for commenting Amy!
DeleteWe stayed there for about two hours and my nephews (who are 4 and 6) never seemed to get bored from the activities. They've gone a few times and have really enjoyed it every time.
I'm so sorry if your sister felt that the owner was rude, that's not good. I'm sure it was pretty stressful for her on the first night and one thing I loved about going to Kaleidoscape was that the rules were enforced so well. This is very important to me because it is so frustrating when you're trying to make sure your child is following the rules and other kids are breaking them with no apparent consequences.
I hope you get a chance to go and check it out, I think you'll really like it!