EDITED REVIEW: My 7…read moreyear old is attended Lavner NYU this summer (2025). My son was in the robotics camp and was injured. Another child dropped their metal robot on his head. My main concern was that there only one instructor who was a recent college CS grad with the kids. There should have been another person monitoring the class especially with classroom teaching experience (classroom management). I complained and their main office responded after one week. They promised to post two adults to the class, one of which would have classroom management experience so we hope this will change going forward and the camp will be safer. It's great that they have a subject matter expert but that expert should be paired with real teacher. I think Lavner is a good STEM camp for older kids but younger kids may need more supervision. This camp is similar to the other for-profit NYC camps for young kids and we have attended a ton of them (i.e. - NORY, iCAMP, etc.). These camps often hire teachers to double as class stand-ins and admins so this could have happened in a similar camp with similar safety standards depending on who is "managing" the class to prevent accidents from happening (i.e. - teachers who have eyes in the back of their heads type management) especially for a larger class of mostly boys in the 7-8 year old range. If Lavner does this, they would definitely be ahead of other for-profit camp competitors.

My son Theo went to 2 different sessions, and loved both. He wants to get there on time to do all…read moreof the activities. He wants to stay afterwards to hang out with the other kids. He even wants to have the lunch on campus. We've now done the camp 3 years in a row, and I'm glad he's still asking for it, and having a great time when he goes.

We love BCSYC and cannot recommend them enough. Our older daughter has been there for 2 years and…read moreour younger daughter has been there for 4 months. The teachers are wonderful and the leaders of the school are also great. I love that they value and teach kindness and inclusion. They have been great about communicating during COVID and I feel comfortable with their protocols. Their curriculum is engaging and I love hearing the songs my daughters have learned each week. My older daughter has Spanish as well and even learned to swim over the summer. I feel at ease knowing my kids are happy and well-cared for there.

We absolutely adore the teachers and staff at the Bala Cynwyd School for Young Children. Our kids…read moreare in the preschool and toddler classrooms, and we have been thrilled with the kindness and thoughtfulness of their teachers and administrators. Many of the teachers have been there for decades (a family member went to BCSYC 20 years ago and had three of the same teachers our kids have today). The teaching staff is quite diverse, as are the families. We have been impressed with their approach to COVID safety, including clear and prompt communication with families. The Spanish and music lessons have been a big hit, and our older child loved the swimming lessons last summer. It's an excellent program.

We had my granddaughters 3rd birthday party here. Both kids and adults had a wonderful time…read more Heather is so organized and great with the children. I strongly recommend having a kids party with her - she works with many age groups to determine a project that is fun and interesting! She helped us every step of the way and we were so pleased!

We had our daughter's 6th birthday here and it was AMAZING! The space was large enough to fit 20…read morerambunctious kids. Heather is a saint -- she led the kids through an awesome dinosaur project and had the timing perfect. We were able to decorate the party room and bring in outside food. For free use of the space for 2 hours (set up/break down plus 90 minute party) and all of the supplies included, it was very affordable. Would recommend!

My daughter's birthday party here was amazing. It's a little bit of country paradise right in the…read moremiddle of town!

The BEST place to have a birthday party for a little kiddo. We have had three birthdays here over…read morethe years, and each time has been perfect! Cindy and her crew do such a great job entertaining the kids and executing all aspects of the party. Guests always give the best feedback. LOVE THIS PLACE, will continue to host parties here ! Thank you Cindy, we love your farm and we love Oscar the new pig !

The JCC staff and facilities are top-notch. Every program we have participated in as a family has…read morebeen a great experience, and we are so happy to have the JCC in our community.

loved the JAB Basketball Clinic today !!! my 3 kids had a blast !!! thank you K JCC !!!read more

This camp was rude, unprofessional and incredibly inappropriate. It has treated my friends and my…read moreparents horribly. As a camper, i had an okay experience. There's a pool, different "specialized camps", and plenty of opportunities to make friends. As a Jr. CIT (basically an employee that still pays ~2,000 dollars to attend the camp), it was a whole different story. A couple of friends and I were Jr. CITs for the summer of 2017 and worked under the supervision of the directors. Again, this was a camp so during lunch and such the Jr. CITs would hang around the lawn and eat some lunch. One day, my friends and I got called down to the office, and were told that we were spotted climbing the fence out of the campus and then seen climbing back in. This was an absurd accusation as neither my friends nor I had been in the vicinity of the fence. The directors would hear none of our explanation. When I was trying to explain we had done nothing wrong, I was interrupted and called a liar. (Imagine: a 50+ year old male director calling a 7th grader a liar.) However, they did take the time to let the one Caucasian girl off the hook, leaving her free to go while my friends and I (all of whom are racial minorities) to take the blame. Now other than the fact we were accused with no evidence whatsoever, with no opportunity to defend or explain, other than the fact only the racial minorities of the group seemed to be implicated, and other than the fact my friends and I were paying 2,000 dollars to attend the camp, the directors were also incredibly rude and dismissive of my parent's concerns. When my mother called about this fiasco, she was rudely brushed off, asked by one of the directors (Bill/William Darling) "What can we do about it?" in an incredibly rude manner. After calling and being ignored and having my mother's time wasted, Mr. Darling said he would issue an apology to the girls. When I came to camp the next day, the apology turned into a warning speech. We were told we were off the hook for our actions and that we should be happy. The whole speech given was incredibly condescending and obnoxious. Never was I issued an apology for a very wrong accusation, never were we explained why the minorities were the only ones implicated, never were we treated as real, paying customers (which we were) and never was my mother apologized to for the horrible way she was treated. After speaking to a few of the other paid employees, much of them felt much of the same and experienced similar interactions from the directors. I would strongly advise you not to go to this camp. The directors (the aforementioned Bill Darling and also another by the name of Kristi Kallam are extremely rude, inappropriate and not worth the time of day.

From the owner: Friends Central Summer has traditional day camps for ages 3-12. We swim twice per day with…read moreinstructional swim every morning. We offer a balance of structured activities and free play opportunities, experienced early childhood educators, cooperative rather than competitive activities, and a low staff/child ratio.

I take my 2 y. o. granddaughter nearly every week. There are so many wonderful things to explore…read moreand learn from. They have a walking path through the woods with a natural playground and sandbox, a bird house building to watch and interactive displays, a mini zoo inside a house with small animals and activities including a treehouse. They also have weekly activities and seasonal events for elementary school kids. My granddaughter calls Briar Bush "The Animal House" and loves to put a donation in the collection box before we leave.

They were so friendly and it was a great little center to see the local wildlife and learn. We…read moredidn't get to do the whole path with a stroller but it was nice and shaded on the trail so even on a hot day it felt cooler.

I enrolled my child in a wheel throwing class, hoping for a fun and creative learning experience,…read morebut it turned out to be a disaster. The class was integrated with children with special needs, which I fully support and appreciate (especially since I have worked with special needs children for years). However, the teacher was completely unable to manage the diverse needs of the group. My daughter told me that one child was drinking the clay water, another child had her phone in her mouth the whole time and she child was left ignored and disengaged. Sadly, both her and a friend (who felt the same way) only attended two classes making it a complete waste of money. I spoke with someone who said they would speak with the teacher and call me back but I never received a call. The lack of communication was also terrible. I was so surprised by this after reading such positive reviews.

I can not express enough how lucky we are to have such a wonderful place in our community! The…read morebuilding if beautiful, there is always something amazing going on and the classes are amazing! and they offer a variety of classes! I bug shout out to the management team because they are always hosting fun and creative events! LOVE THE MLAC

Great equipment, plenty of space and available machines/equipment. It's so modern and accommodating…read moreyou would have no idea it's also part of a community organized nonprofit.

I am new to this YMCA so time will tell. Really enjoy the yoga classes so far and overall everyone…read morewho is in the classes seem very friendly

Cool place. Very quiet during the day on a week day as you'd expect. Staff was super friendly and…read moreenthusiastic about their community and programming. They apparently host a lot of events. Day pass was $28, but there are sometimes deals on Mondays or Friday evenings. Equipment is included in the pass, so no separate rentals which is nice. We like bouldering. They correctly informed us that they set their routes on the difficult side. I could even tell during a simple warm up route that they're much more challenging than usual. You can top out, and climb up the top, onto the platform, and down a simple route with extra handles. Good experience, I'll be back!

Great climbing environment to learn from coaches or get certified yourself. It's a great workout…read moreand opportunity to push yourself. There are a variety of climbs, ratings, and auto belay. Have fun!