Little ones have a new place to play, learn, and explore in west Fort Worth. And lucky for parents, it's in the cool indoors. Play Street Museum, an interactive children’s museum, opens its first Tarrant County location July 12 at 5925 Convair Dr., Ste. 533, in the Waterside development.
Named one of USA Today’s top 10 awesome museums for families in the Dallas area, Play Street Museum is designed to encourage a young child’s sense of independence, exploration, and creativity, the company says. "By narrowing the focus of the space to the interests and imaginations of children age 8 and under, young explorers discover educational exhibits and activities in a world specifically crafted just for them," they say in a release.
Here's what families will find inside the 2,365-square-foot museum space:
- Playhouses themed after a town square — a diner, a market, a pet shop, a doctor’s office, a house, and a fire truck.
- A discovery rug offers a rotating curriculum of puzzles, books, dress-up, and toys (with themes from space to gardening to medieval times).
- Activity tables offer weekly crafts, sensory bins, play foam, and coloring.
- A block area hosts a large assortment of wooden blocks for open-ended building.
- An 8-by-8-foot custom train table allows children to play not only around it, but in the middle.
- A small retail area sells an assortment of gifts and learning-based toys.
"Because of Play Street Museum’s deliberate and manageable scale, children are able to self-navigate throughout the museum to engage deeply in activities that they are most interested and passionate about," the company says. "This freedom reinforces independence in the child and also has the benefit of creating a more relaxed and accommodating museum experience for the caregiver."
Owner Courtney Bennett says she fell in love with the Play Street Museum concept when she and her husband lived north of Frisco and took their now 2-year-old daughter to play. Then they moved to Fort Worth and discovered the need for such a family-friendly place for fun on the west side of the Metroplex.
"Our family believes in the power of learning through unstructured and imaginative play, as it’s not only important for a child to have fun, but also to lay the groundwork for problem-solving and social skills," she says in the release. "We are excited to provide a safe place for children to explore and learn.”
Play Street Museum creates every activity with children's development in mind — building confidence, fostering creativity, developing motor skills, and more. This includes an art program called Craft Co., which, according to the release, includes stations and programs such as:
Paint & Play: Kids learn a few facts about a famous artist, then express their creativity by painting their own masterpiece on a canvas.
Clay Date Events: Parents and children may spend quality time together and each take a turn at making a clay creation.
Slime Lab: Here, kids will doctor colorful slime creations.
Pottery To-Go: A great alternative for parents hosting a playdate or looking for a fun and engaging activity to do as a family at home. Play Street Museum provides everything needed to complete a pottery project. Parents then return the piece to go through the firing process and will be called when they are ready to be picked up.
Play Street Museum also will host private events, such as birthday parties, kindergarten graduation parties, sports team award ceremonies, and more, they say.
Admission is $11.50 plus tax for children ages 1 to 8; kids younger or older are free when accompanying a paying sibling.
Play Street Museum is open 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, and on Thursdays with extended hours until 8 pm. Note that it is closed on weekends for birthdays and private parties.
Play Street Museum opens July 12 in Waterside.
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