Play in Place

Do opposites attract? Big versus small, loud versus quiet, drop-in versus registered—each has their time and place and we have one on each end of the spectrum to send your way this week.

Tommy K Play is Calgary’s latest indoor playground. Located just off the Deerfoot Trail and 130 Avenue SE in a large retail complex (beside Sounds Around), Tommy K Play (even fun to say) is big, loud and fun. Designed for children 9 months to 12 years (but really best suited for 3 and up), the complex is one extra-large room with an extra-tall ceiling that accommodates a three-tier play structure, wavy slide (you’ll get air if you don’t hang on) and a Mission Impossible-esque laser maze ideal for kids 5 and up.

We love that you can see the entire play area from the tables and leather couches facing the structure. We love the seven closed-circuit television cameras that peer into the nooks and crannies of the space (including the laser maze) and we especially love that the entire structure is sanitized nightly, particularly in cold and sniffles season.

Tommy K Play hosts birthday parties in their four party rooms for up to 24 people (although we don’t recommend you actually invite that many kids to any party) for $200. You bring the cake and food is extra. There’s a small café on site serving kid-friendly food like pizza, pasta salad and banana bread. Drop-in rates are $12.95 for kids 5 to 12, $8.95 for kids 9 months to 5 years and free for adults.

On the other end of the spectrum (and the city), we’ve been dazzled by Brite Studios. Located across the street from the Westside Recreation Centre in the city’s west end, Brite Studios offers full and half-day preschool programs (as well as one with daycare hours), dance, yoga and karate for children 3 and up. All programs are pre-registered with options for children up to age 12.

With nary a piece of plastic on site, Brite Studios has developed their own approach to early childhood education by combining elements of the popular Montessori (math and language) and Reggio (science and art) philosophies.

We love the ‘lite’ and ‘brite’ learning environment. We love the family approach to early childhood education (they will keep your child an extra half an hour to attend their on-site dance classes) and we love the drop-off, two year-old, pre-preschool program where Pull-Ups are A-OK.

The two opposites are moving toward one another (slightly) as Tommy K considers a membership program and Brite Studios looks at offering drop-in samplers of their registered programs, but for the most part they’ll keep their relative positions.

We’re happy having access to both.

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