My daughter was invited to her friends birthday party hosted by PlayArts and she as well as her school and neighborhood friends had an amazing time! We attended on a Saturday afternoon after nap times. For the party we were instructed to enter in the back side, not on front street, and we signed our waivers in advance of attending which made the intro experience speedy. Once we entered we took off our winter wear and shoes as the facility only allowed socks in the play space. The space is amazing, it has great sections to run around, climb, and experiment. The climbing part can be a little stressful if you have adventures little ones but it's designed for them to navigate correctly with parental support. It was a great time to connect with other parents and consume beverages as our kids run wild. There is a separate room for the birthday food which we used as a wind down, pictures, and celebrating. Now that I'm aware of this space, will definitely use it on a day for my little one to run wild as others have mentioned. They also have events or programs that you can register your little ones, which is exciting. read more

See all

My husband and I brought our son here for a birthday party. He had so much fun! There's a ton of stuff to do for kids of all ages. The play area is huge, bright and organized. It's clean and the toys are clean as well. There is a cafe area on a second level loft type area and you can watch your kids from there. There's a corner section for infants as well. There is a reading corner with many cute books. There are classrooms as well, but we didn't see them due to us being there on a Sunday. The staff is friendly and accommodating. They were on hand and available the entire time we were there. There is street parking and a paid lot a block away if needed. read more

See all

What an amazing space! I've been wanting to attend a drop in play session for a while, but when PlayArts held a special mini photo session in collaboration with a local photographer, and free play after the photos, I jumped on the deal! While not part of the normal business operations, the mini photo session was amazing - in a private room in the back, plenty of time for my daughter to feel comfortable and get a number of amazing photos. Then we moved to the play space and let my toddler go wild! The space is truly safe and entertaining for crawling babies through older elementary aged kids, with areas only the older kids could access and plenty to keep the younger kids entertained. We spent a solid hour, my child had a ball, and she was exhausted and took a loooong nap afterwards. I'm so happy we have a space like this in Fishtown, and we look forward to more playtime! They also are available to hold private parties, and it's definitely a space I'll consider as my child gets older and we have parties with other kids attending. read more

As someone who is not a parent, this is not a place that I would usually seek out. But I was lucky to have the opportunity to stumble upon PlayArts for my friends' daughter 1st birthday party yesterday. The building of PlayArts is interesting as it used to be a historical public bath but it's converted into a children's activity center. The entrance to PlayArts on Front Street was a bit confusing as I had to go to the back entrance on Lee Street. But the staff didn't really communicate it properly and I had to call my friends who were hosting the event for directions to the birthday party entrance. The back entrance for the event has multiple shoe cubbies where you can put your shoes in. Then I entered a spacious room which was where the birthday party was in with a very long picnic table and birthday decor. What was very notable for me was seeing staff interactions with the children and how kind, genuine, and engaged they were with the child attendees in the birthday party. PlayArts seems like a great spacious place to customize into any theme and definitely is a great place to host events for children! Thanks PlayArts :) read more

See all

This place is everything! Hosted a 6-year-old birthday party at the peak of omicron and it worked -- the space is large with good air filters and circulation so people felt comfortable coming. We had about a dozen, masked the whole time, and the kids ran around like crazy having the times of their lives. We were afraid a party wouldn't be possible...PlayArts to the rescue! read more

PlayArts - Safe for a covid birthday party. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Super adorable little kid play mecca in you-blinked-and-Fishtown-changed-overnight. The building is really cool, a former bath house (no, not that kind of bath house), and it has really cool bones (see what I did there?). With exposed brick and some new skylights, the inside is airy and bathed in light even on a rainy day. The interior is well conceived and has a very modern Scandinavian industrial esthetic with a couple thin bright neon metal trees perched in the main play space. There are at least a dozen separate play spaces with duplos, train tracks, dress up, magna-tiles, fuzzy green 'grass' reading nook, little trikes, play kitchen, climbing castle and a two floor play house, along with a little crawling hideaway. The toys on the whole, seemed to be sourced part Etsy, part Ikea, part Melissa and Doug, along with tons of European imports like HAPE and Plan toys. There's a classroom in the back for classes, parties and a variety of specific kiddo activities. There are entrances both at the front and back of the building and there is an observation elevated space dedicated for snacking, for working and most importantly, for coffee drinking. The snack/coffee area is on an honor system (which I love - yes, we are adults!), offers a variety of kid friendly snacks (not just junk, unless you consider pirate booty, junk? ha!) beverages, along with Perrier and coffee (did I mention, there was coffee?) Yes, there is coffee. Thank god. Unsurprisingly, the place is packed on weekends and especially on rainy days. As far as the age group it appeals to, my preschooler finds it lots of fun, although the majority of the population that I have observed in there is younger. When the space is in fully over-run, staff could make efforts to better organize the space, and there should be perhaps labels as to what's where, or where things should go? (would that ruin the whole look?) The house and castle have some perilous stairs/ladders that require more parents oversight (helicoptering?) than I would like and I wish there was a tumbling section or a little climbing wall so we could really tire the kiddos out. Without a membership, you are out $12 per walk-in visit per kid. Much better play space than the underground Nest downtown. read more

It's a cool building but there's no toys in there ... it's pretty boring use of space with not much to do.

This is not a great playspace for anyone under the age of 3. There are a lot of climbing playspaces, and a lot of small toys for older toddlers and children. It is also a very loud space, and very expensive compared to other playspaces in the city. read more

Great toys and great space to the kids to play. We have been to a lot of different play areas but playarts is by far the best I have seen. Usually this places are a madhouse but here is it a much more calm environment even when there is a lot of people around. Fosters community not chaos. Gear music also. read more

We do the playground circuit in Fishtown pretty often - Shissler, Fishtown Rec., Liberty Lands in Northern Liberties, Cione Playground, etc. On a colder day this past February, we decided we still need to get out and moving, so we visited PlayArts, and it was well worth the visit! The old cliche about first impressions is true. And PlayArts nails it. From the moment you walk in, you're greeted in a nice, clean reception area by PlayArts personnel who explain to you the concept, the rules of play, and the pricing scale. We initially decided to visit just for the day, but midway through our visit, I decided to go with a monthly plan. The kids had that much fun. Highlights include: tons of interactive toys, play areas for older toddlers as well as kids as young as a few months old, cool seating areas for parents, the snack/coffee/tea mezzanine area, the cash-free policy, etc. This past summer, we held our son's birthday party here as well. And it was awesome. Both the kids and parents had a great time. I could base my 5-star review entirely on the party because it was that excellent of an experience: from booking, to communication with PA staff, to the execution the day-of. I have a feeling it won't be our last party there! read more

Loved the space, and so did the kids, ages two and five (but the whole party ranged from two to ten). We were there for a birthday party and the two hours flew by. The music circle with the big drum was great, and so is the play area. We aren't members, so I can't endorse a membership, necessarily, but we did think it was great for a party and we'll consider booking it in the future. read more

I love the fact that the parents can setup shop upstairs and observe from a birds eye view. It's bright and beautiful. But, this place is really better for older children since there are no physical barriers to separate the toys by ages. So with my toddler, there are toys that she can walk to that I consider choking hazards. They warn you at check-in about this, but I still think that's something they could work on. read more

My daughter and I absolutely love our Music Enrichment for toddler! We are so excited about the future of PlayArts! Songs were interactive, developmentally engaging and age appropriate. The song selection was excellent and fun! We have been to several music classes around the city and haven't returned to most. PlayArts instruction, methodology, music choice, and reporrot with the children was above par, refreshing, and inspiring. PlayArts is the bees knees of child center music instruction and engagement! I was impressed with the purposeful sequence of songs in class. As well, as the beautifully balanced movement with music. I felt my daughter was more engaged because of the sequence and skills building that crescendoed into a closing dancing party!!! We can't wait to sign up for more classes! read more

PlayArts is a magical new addition to Philadelphia's array of offerings for children. The teachers are extremely skilled and support the interests and abilities of kids of all ages and abilities. read more

PlayArts changed my life! It's the absolute best addition to the neighborhood - super friendly staff, beautifully designed space, and most of all kiddos love it. If you're raising a kid in the city, you NEED to become a member, especially in the winter months. read more

So much fun for my soon to be two yr old. He still looks at the pictures and remembers with a twinkle in his eye and an occasional giggle. Very pleasant atmosphere. Staff is very helpful and friendly. There is a toy for every facet of learning. Sensory shapes and textures were awesome. My son and I will visit again for sure, its like perfect especially since winter is here and the park is going to have to wait for warmer days. Oh yeah and the lighting is cute, just two concerns. The little step up in the back part of the kitchen. Two kids tripped stepping up one being my son. And the shapes in the under tunnel kinds tucked away, my son hit the top even when he ducked. Maybe it can be a rectangle instead of a square. And some colors like red on the trim. Making it look similar to a real doorway. And triangle window. Funny triangle shades would be fun. Otherwise we both loved the place, Josh and Tash read more

Let's just start by saying my 2 year old LOVES this place! We live in MT Airy/Germantown section of philly so it is a bit far for us, but well worth the trip! After coming here a few times I decided that we had to become members! I'm so glad I did. The first fridays are awesome and it's BYOB so you get to have a few drinks while watching your little run wild lol! Very clean, welcoming and relaxed environment. The staff are always friendly and welcoming to my family. Usually when we go we're there all day and when it's time to leave my son has a fit! So glad I found this place. No charge for parents which I think is awesome! And for former Chesnut hill Nest members (they recently closed down and I thought my world would end) this place is awesome. With winter quickly approaching and having a very rambunctious 2 year old little man this will be our new home and I am very happy about that! Thank you Play Arts! You da bomb!! read more

I had my daughter's 1st birthday party at PlayArts. We had about 60 people including kids and it was amazing. Everyone had a blast. Obviously the space is fantastic but the team was equally as wonderful. read more

PlayArts is amazing! My 2.5 year old loved the music class and it was very age appropriate. I also loved the parent engagement as well. The teachers were enthusiastic and the flow of the class felt perfect. I can't wait to take more classes!! read more

The play space is modern, very clean, and fun. We had a 1st birthday party here and everything was perfect from start to finish. They provided the decor, cups, plates, water, etc. It was nice not having to worry about all that. You can bring your own food and drinks and they will set it up/clean it up. Party room is huge. Staff is very nice and helpful. Memberships, daily rates, and party fees are all very reasonable. Can't say enough great things about this place! read more

This review is about hosting a birthday party there. The good: play space is spacious and fun with good music; can do a private rental. The bad: for all the money we paid we expected a stress free party. Unfortunately, the two "helpers" that were there were not well trained. They were polite but did not know where to place food or how to host. Most of the food and drinks stayed downstairs even though most of the parents were upstairs. They kept asking me what to do even though i was busy trying to keep up with the birthday toddler while trying to speak with some of the guests at least. This included very common sense things like should we serve cake before or after pizza. They spent most of their time talking to each other in the back instead of ensuring the party was running smoothly. The birthday girl did not have a central seat at the table and ended up with trash in the back ground of her photos. And the list goes on. So while the space is cool,hosting a party there is stressful as you provide all the food and do the hosting and only get very basic decorations (no themes) plus plates/cups with little help and no guidance. They even charge for ice despite the hundreds you'll spend. Hopefully they'll come up with better packages and trained staff in the future. read more