The nature trail here is amazing. My favorite local place to walk the pup. People are generally…read morevery friendly on the trail, as are the security guards and students I've interacted with. I like that you can take the long route all around the campus or cut through campus and keep it shorter. The duck pond is always photogenic and they have some great trees which they tag and label. Definitely a treat for the pups, lucky to have this in walking distance from home.

Free concert ! There was an incredible Japanese performing group in town from Tokyo. The free…read moreperformance which was great aside, this venue was incredible for music and dance. Great acoustics. Parking tip: Its an oldtime college campus so parking is not near anything. Plot your location out beforehand and park accordingly by viewing the campus map online. . Be prepared to walk as much as 1/3 of a mile to any performances here on campus. Well worth the effort.

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

This place offers a variety of classes and i can speak for the Beginner Jewelry class with Dawn…read moreBergmaier, since i'm taking that right now (winter 2012). the bottom line is that the class is great and i'd recommend taking it. the class teaches you "design layout, piercing, forming, basic construction, filing, soldering, coloration and finishing." i've also learned pickling, annealing, riveting, and print rolling (onto metal, of course), and that was all in just the 5-week course! there's a standard 11-wk workshop but i wanted to try the shorter one just to get my feet wet and see if i liked it. if you take this class, don't forget your earplugs! there's lots of hammering going on. no prior metalshop experience was required, and although i've worked in both wood and metalshops, i still learned a lot and it's also a great class for total n00bs. one of the best things about the class is that you get to learn the foundation of jewelrymaking and techniques for working with all the tools. the other cool thing was that the class size was small -- it started out with 8 ppl but dwindled down to 5. after Dawn gives her demo, we repeated what she did and then had the freedom to make pretty much anything we wanted to. it's great to be able to put things together with the techniques that i learned. Dawn was always helpful and open to any questions or ideas we had. She also explained things well and really poured out a lot of knowledge. i guess since jewelrymaking is metalshop on a small scale, they don't need floor machines like a bandsaw or a drillpress. instead we use handsaws and the flexshaft (which is really ideal for working on small pieces). the equipment seemed pretty well maintained, except for the jeweler's bench pins. the only drawback for me is that since it takes 1.5 hrs to commute there from center city Philadelphia (via SEPTA), and another 1.5 hrs for me to get home, i've been resorting to eating "dinner" on my walks to class from Haverford Station. the walk from Haverford Road to the Art Center has no sidewalks and is barely lit so that in some parts, i've been using my phone as a flashlight and have been carrying a huge, bright yellow bag to be more visible to passing cars. also note that if you take the Norristown High Speed Line to get there from 69th Street Station, you pay as you leave (not as you enter the NHSL). i didn't know that the first time and thought it was a free transfer! If it wasn't so far, I would def take Beyond Beginner Jewelry, and perhaps some other classes here.

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!

great place to stay in shape and get some sports related lessons for your children. A terrific…read morecenter for the community.

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.

This was my 13 year old son's first summer camp at Lavner. They offer so many great classes and he…read morechose the YouTube Content Creator class. He absolutely loved every moment. At the end of the day during pick up, he would rate it a 10. He wants to do it again next year! My son's review- The best thing that happened was meeting new friends, being taught great lessons, and making videos!

My sons, 10 and 13, just completed the Graphic Design Camp from Lavner at USD. This was their…read moresecond year participating in some of their summer camps. They really enjoyed themselves. They were excited to create their designs, and I can't wait to receive their t-shirts and totes in the mail. Over the years, I have enrolled them in different camps, and I have never seen the level of engagement they showed at Lavner. We will definitely be returning next summer.

My daughter attended what was advertised as "writing camp." Her experience was awful. None of the…read morestaff was qualified to teach writing, and for that matter nobody attempted as much. There was no writing instruction. In addition, the staff seemed to have neither talent, nor experience in working with children and regularly treated the kids as if they were much younger than they were. It was amateur hour to be sure. Finally, and I'm just going to be blunt, the staff were weird. If you're looking for some kind of legitimate writing experience for your kid, then look elsewhere. This is just oversold babysitting, and bad babysitting at that. But the food was actually pretty good.

My kids really enjoyed their time at Dean camp. The flexible pick-up and drop-off times are so…read morehelpful. And the fact that lunch is included is amazing. My kids really liked their instructors and the activities they did. We have already signed up again for camp this summer.

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.

I wish I could rate this more than 5 stars! A nature center/museum and I don't have to do the…read moredrive downtown/pay for parking...and admission is free for Abington residents/friends of Briar Bush? Amazing. (Admission otherwise is only $3 for adults and $2 for kids 2-17). There's animals/insects inside such as owls, huge cockroaches, giant turtle, snakes. And a cute reading corner full of nature books. There's also a discovery den AKA play area indoors for $1. There's animals/insects outdoors such as turkey vultures, turtles, a butterfly house and a bird observatory (cute on the inside with toys for the kiddos - be sure to read the story about the couple who opened the center). And a natural playscape outdoors. There's also a bunch of fairy houses throughout the property that girl scouts donated. And lots of trails through the forest. They also have Magic Mornings for ages 2-4 Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays - but register ahead as they only have a certain amount of spots each day (it's seasonal - they have in fall and spring but not summer - see website). It's an hour class for $10 and includes a snack, craft, nature walk etc. They usually pull out an animal each class. It's great to get some time in nature with other kids. In summer, they have a full week of Magic Mornings in their Itty Bitty Briar Camp. Ms. Heidi teaches it and she is just great. They have a different theme every day such as sun, water, clouds etc and there's an activity each day (visit pond and catch tadpoles, water play, craft pertaining to theme). They have preschool pioneers for ages 4-5 and summer camp for older kids for a week in late June. *Just beware in June that parking is limited due to school field trips and you may not fit in either of the lots; you may have to park out front of the house to the left (which is fine - she just doesn't want buses idling there) They also have field trips to gardens and to the shore, classes for seniors, family nature nights, hot smores nights... Only negative (besides parking, which they can't really control), is the "snacks" for kids at Magic Mornings aren't the healthiest. One was cinnamon sugar graham crackers with whipped cream- regular would have been fine. 2 days were cheddar gold fish. Another day was blue jello with whipped cream. And some red licorice - the kind that whips. Fruit Loops were used for colors. So, if you don't like your child eating sugar, let them know you have a dietary restriction or bring your own snack (snack time is ~10 min and probably not needed but the kids always love snack time!). Some options that would be healthier and just as easy would be pretzel sticks, fruit, crackers, popcorn, veggies, string cheese...but I guess those all cost more besides pretzels/crackers/popcorn.

I love this place! It's a community center and, it feels that way. The halls are full of "Hello" or…read more"good morning" and include people from all walks of life. You begin to recognize and chat with people you meet regularly. The 9:15 group fitness classes are delightfully challenging yet can be adapted for those on the learning curve as well as those recovering from injury. Great instructors! There are many other classes as well. The Robert J. Wilf Preschool and Kindergarten has nurturing, creative teachers and happy children (infants through kindergarten). Camp Kef (Kef means Fun) was voted Best Camp on the Main Line 2016. The summer swim club is active on weekends and after day camp closes each day. Aqua Zumba is fun! Evenings often have an added activity. Nana's Kitchen is a yummy café in the front lobby and also serves at the pool. Order the hummus or falafel platter among other relish dishes!

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.