My kid did a week of this camp at the beginning of summer, and we liked it so much that we signed…read morehim up for two more weeks at the end. Kids are given a good mixture of guided "we're all working on this type of project" as well as free construction time to make side figures and add personal touches. He is hooked. I love that he is getting to explore a new creative outlet with practical applications. A+

This camp is truly awesome! We have done it for a couple of years now and my kids always look…read moreforward to it! Kami and her team are amazing! The kids come home exhausted, dirty and with a huge smile on their face! Highly recommend this awesome Austin organization! Looking forward to next year!!

I took an online class through Zoom to learn how to make fresh baguettes and loquat jelly. It was…read morean adult class and I had my 17 year old son engaged as well, mostly because he wanted to impress his girlfriend. My son and I worked side by side on our own batches, watching and listening to chef Pascal as she walked us through the process. Bake Austin provided a way for my son and I to spend special time together during quarantine. Not only that, we learned a great deal and have become better cooks because of it. Since the class I purchased an oven thermometer and a scale. I leaned that my oven takes much more time than I thought to come up to temp! My younger son watched a recording of a brownie class from Bake Austin and made a batch of brownies. The next day he flipped through my cook book and made a 2nd batch of brownies. He's baked at least once per week since watching his first Bake Austin video. I think the video made him realize he could bake, and bake he has! During our strange quarantine period Bake Austin and Chef Pascal have been a bright spot in our lives. I'm incredibly grateful for their time and effort and I hope they receive enough paying customers to make it.

Chef Pascal offered donation based quarantine camps for the kids. They were an absolute blessing…read more My daughter is hyperactive she and doesn't entertain herself well. We have a house with five kids so that led to many fights. Chef Pascal's classes kept her focused on something she has been interested in since she was little. They kept her busy, planning, buying, organizing, and led to nice treats for the family. While not everything she made was easy or worked out, she learned to work through it and learned from the mistakes for next time. She has grown much more confident in her abilities and excited to try new things in the kitchen. We look forward to Bake Austin's summer camps and other future opportunities.

My son enjoyed the camp this summer. He came home exhausted but looked forward to the next day. He…read moreshared many stories and was comfortable with the staff. Mr. Yo Han greeted them with so much energy each morning during drop off and had the same amount of energy at afternoon pick up. Thanks for the wonderful experience!

This is the second year my son has joined Camp Fire summer camp and has had an amazing time each…read moretime - hiking, learning archery, swimming, building forts, making new friends. The counsellors are so kind and enthusiastic about learning about nature and having fun. Its a special place!

A fun museum for most kid ages. It has changed a little over the last 8years for the better. I used…read moreto come with my nanny charge and now I come with my 3 kids. We were there atleast 3 hours. We went at 1pm and it was NOT packed.

TLDR: STEM-focused kids' play center with a hefty admission fee ($19.95 for anyone 1 and up,…read moreincluding parents). Best for older kids who can utilize the majority of the exhibits. Easy parking in the garage directly behind building. They validate parking -- don't forget to ask. While I love the STEM focus of the Thinkery, I have to be honest -- I just did not find it worth the admission price. COST/VALUE: It's expensive to get in here. $19.95 for anyone 1 and up. Let's compare that to many other indoor play centers where parents/guardians are either free or merely a couple bucks. Additionally, let's say your child just turned 1 -- they're not getting that much out of this -- there are only a small number of play areas they can enjoy (pretty much the gated baby area upstairs and the enclosed baby area within the STEM area). Everything else is really geared toward older kids. So to pay $60.00 for that visit (assuming both parents are joining) is just silly. Ultimately, it's probably best for older kids who are able to interact with all the exhibits. Both my kids (almost 4 and almost 2) definitely skipped a few of the more complex exhibits (microscope, wiring, etc.). ACTIVITIES/EXHIBITS: There is a decent variety of activities here -- outdoor playground, light room, water room, and a main STEM room (which includes a painting area). The water room is pretty neat and they offer Crocs and smocks. My youngest refused the Crocs (he hates Crocs for some reason) and I was relieved. There was a really strong musty smell coming from the shoe shelves. I hope they sufficiently sanitize the wet shoes. Upstairs, there is a play area for younger kids -- a gated (shoeless) area for babies and toddlers and a play area for older toddlers and younger kids (grocery store, kitchen, chicken coop). This area was chaotic and overrun with kids (some of them older). I brought my almost 2-year-old into the baby area and we both found it underwhelming. There just wasn't a lot to do and there is way more they could have done with the space. I actually preferred the second smaller baby area (in the middle of the downstairs STEM room) since it was much more packed with interactive elements). Ultimately, for the cost (we paid $80 for a family of 4), it just didn't seem like enough activities to justify the price tag, especially since my kids are younger and weren't interested in and/or able to appreciate every exhibit. For reference, for $80, we could visit Mt. Playmore twice (it's $30 for our whole family to get in plus any arcades). Obviously it's not educational like this but toddlers don't really care, they just want to interact with objects and have fun. GIFT SHOP: Small but cute gift shop. Well-curated with a nice variety (games, science kits, puppets, etc.). PARKING: We parked in the garage directly behind building. They will validate. They won't tell you that so make sure you ask. The garage attendant was amazing -- he came out and explained everything in the friendliest way. I wouldn't have known about the parking validation if it wasn't for him.

Fantastic Magic Camp was a great experience for my daughter. She loved learning about magic and…read morehad fun with the other campers. I also found their hours to be better than a number of other options. I definitely recommend it!

We had them out for our son's birthday party and I gotta say it went well. It was refreshingly…read moredifferent and he handled the kids well and kept them engaged despite the party having like 15/16 kids. It was a large group for sure. He arrived early and was set up on time. He stayed a bit longer than expected. He was professional yet fun and dealt with some of the difficult kids like a pro. I can't recall his name, but think he was from Sweden originally. The show was fun and he taught them magic tricks and did a magic show. Apparently he inspired a few of the kids to learn magic as weeks after the party they are practicing what they learned as well as learning new tricks. That's cool to see. Anyway, highly recommend.

I can't say enough incredible things about this kinder pod. My son has autism and requires a little…read moreextra support Ms. Madeline had made such a difference for him The school has a great curriculum, tons of outside time, dance, yoga and even a gymnastics class. They go on field trips, have parents night out I'm kept up to date with pictures of activities and class work all day. The support Ms Madeline had given my son and us throughout the year has been instrumental to his progress. She's kind, calm and collected. She address any problems quickly and works w the parents to address and resolve. I wish I had found them sooner. My son is moving in to his next chapter prepared and im so thankful to xpresso for that.

We love Xpresso Beans Kinder Pod! The small class size is a big draw (8 kids in our group), but the…read morebest part is Mrs. Madeline. She is a true gem/angel/superhero/miracle worker. She's professional and we have full trust in her educational abilities. She keeps the app updated through the day with our child's daily learnings and activities, and she's always quick to respond to any communications. Most of all, I love the way she connects with our child. He often tells me how she comforts him and helps him with many things. He's often not one to hug or want physical affection, but he loves Mrs. Madeline and always asks her for hugs before we go. This is major for us! Just a few more things that come to mind: Flexible Easy-going AFFORDABLE! Secure Fun Compassionate Respectful I highly recommend Xpresso Beans to anyone looking for a special learning and socializing experience for their kid.

This review is for the Creative Action after school program including the pre K portion and the…read morefull afternoon with children from pre K to 5th grade. This was a huge disappointment. There are 2 teachers for 14 pre K children and maybe 3 teachers for all the total program. With too many kids, my child experienced bullying by both pre K students and older students. There will hitting, name calling and pushing that happened. The staff didn't do anything about it, write up a report or inform me this was going on. My kid told me everyday that boys were hitting him and calling him names :( The expectation is the children sit and color or sit and do a project for most of the afternoon. This is fine if a child is older but very hard for younger kids. Instead of thinking of creative ways to work with the younger children, they just kept telling my child to "sit" and that "my child should listen to them". The staff all have art backgrounds, no necessarily childcare backgrounds. They are teaching the pre K kids about "imagination". My child now tell me that "I don't like imagination". Between there being too many kids, the bullying, and the sitting, my child kept escaping. The teachers weren't paying attention and had trouble finding him and another kid. They had both either hid in the bathroom or left the building. This happened 3 times in 3 weeks (that I was told about) and probably more. Needless to say after a month we have pulled our child from the program. I would not recommend this program for younger kids. Wait until they are older, show interest in art and can defend themselves.

I took my 5 month old to his first baby music class at creative action today, and we both loved it…read more Miss Carrie is a great teacher: lots of energy and musical talent. She sang about eight songs using a range of instruments (ukelele, drums, jingle Bells, maraccas) and her CD player. This is a high quality, donation-based class for newborns to five year olds, offered most Saturday mornings during the year. I'm so glad it's in my neighbourhood. Highly recommended! There's also a movement class for toddlers (2 to 5 year olds).

I thought this place was awesome since I watched the TV show American ninja Warrior and it cost $20…read morean hour

Had my 5 year old's party here recently. It was fine overall, but a few things would make me pause…read morebefore recommending it for young kid's parties: (1) Cost for value: The Little Ninja party is for ages 5 and below and only lasts 1 hour. Then 30 min in a very small room eating. There was a larger room available, so not sure why 15 kids plus parents needed to squeeze into that tight space. Consider the add on costs: It's $50 for the basic party leader option (guiding the kids through 30 min of activities on the floor--which is a good value IMO), and $50 to bring your own food. Or if you use their food, it's $25 per pizza. So the $450 party is really at least $550, unless you just have the little kids run around the space (no leader) for 1 hour and not eat anything except cake. In that simpler case, you're probably looking at about $500 (with tax). (2) Activities: About 70% of the activities the led activities could have been done in any safe space (think variations of chase, like sharks and minnows, etc.), no need to be at Octo Ninja. One activity stood out and was fun, but not for all the kids, since it took courage and muscles. My kid and several others absolutely loved that part, but it was also a one-person-at-a-time thing so it was mostly waiting in line for that. If we'd gone with the cheaper party package that is $299 for ages 5-12, you get 30 extra minutes on the floor, but younger siblings wouldn't have been allowed on the floor (bc of the time of the party) and quite a few of our guests have siblings. But I do think that version of the party is a better value and worth it. But the Little Ninja version/package is a different story, though maybe still worth it for some. The staff was very nice and everyone had a good time overall. Hot tip: Know that your Party Host is the only one allowed to bring you things like forks and plates. So get that stuff sorted out before they start to lead the kids, otherwise, you're kind of stuck, waiting for them to be done with the kids, even if that's also when all the people come into the party room to eat. The front desk will not be allowed to help you, even though forks and plates are part of what they always provide and you confirmed it on the phone ahead of time.

Super inclusive, super fun place. I'm taking the Beginner Hooping for Plus Sized Bodies class and…read moreI'm so impressed by how they accomodate all people and make class fun no matter your age, fitness level or experience. We LOVE our instructor Leigh and appreciate the huge variety of sizes and weights of hoops to try and use in class. Even if you aren't looking to hang from the ceiling, take a look at Sky Candy's schedule because so many classes are on offer!

I took the beginner bungee class Cata (sp) and had the best time! Highly recommend! Lots of laughs,…read moresome sweat and time just flew by.