Several of you have asked about special needs. Based on my experience I would say-- do not even try it. My 5 year old son has hypotonia (this is a disorder that causes low muscle tone) in his hands. He struggles with holding a pencil, zipping his coat, holding a fork, etc- basically seemingly simple tasks for most people. He does PT. That said, we thought a hands on experience would be great for him.
He had fun in the activity rooms and we were loving it until we got to the craft area. I encouraged my son to try to the project. He was visibly nervous. After a few moments of gentle cajoling I kindly asked if we could take the project "to go." (this was a project that involved glueing a few pompons on paper) I said, we of course have the glue at home (and would not have asked of course if there was paint, or glitter or sand being used). I really asked as a courtesy so I would not get odd stares as I put some pompoms in my purse. I was shocked and disgusted when the woman in that station told me in a haughty way "we do not do- "to go?"
How disgusting. Had she been paying any modicum of attention to my child versus the piece of cut out paper and pompoms she would have seen he was struggling. In a space where there are kids and parents everywhere I was in no position to start explaining my childs needs to her-- nor did I feel I should have too. A few pompoms was not worth my sons dignity.
Maybe they need to add this to their little list of policies on their website. They clearly have their way of doing things and if you do not fit the mold-- you do not fit in.
we are disheartened and will never go back. Guess $5.00 does not really give you full access to the facility.

We have staff in touch with them.
Given that many of us staff have not been there, we greatly appreciate reading feedback and suggestions from parents/caregivers with kids with special needs who have experienced the consideration it takes in planning a trip of this nature. We value what the experience was like for them. We want to make sure we are placing the kids in a place where they can be comfortably accomodated and allow those around them to feel equally comfortable. Often it is a delicate matter to broach.

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone taken any students with special needs to the Playseum? My place of employment is considering an outing and has asked me to look into the Playseum. We are planning a small field trip with a few kids. The young children have various needs on the spectrum. Some speak loudly in an effort to communicate, can get very excited etc. We noticed on the Playseum site, there is special mention to parents regarding visitors:

"If your child becomes upset or throws a loud fit, which all of us mom’s are used to, feel free to step outside for a moment until your child responds to your direction."

"The Playseum is meant to be a fun-filled place with laughter, singing, dance and movement, but if your child’s actions become so disruptive to others you will be asked to leave."

We have never seen this type of mention at other facilities. Out of respect for everyone's comfort level, we certainly do not wish to bring the children if their disabilties could be misconstrued as disruptive and this could result in their being asked to leave.

The site does not indicate if there is an alternative entrance or has a ramp or if they make special arrangements with people with needs. If anyone has any info. on this-- please feel free to post.. many thanks you's. The children are in the age 4 and 5 age range.

Why not just call them and ask?

Has anyone taken any students with special needs to the Playseum? My place of employment is considering an outing and has asked me to look into the Playseum. We are planning a small field trip with a few kids. The young children have various needs on the spectrum. Some speak loudly in an effort to communicate, can get very excited etc. We noticed on the Playseum site, there is special mention to parents regarding visitors:

"If your child becomes upset or throws a loud fit, which all of us mom’s are used to, feel free to step outside for a moment until your child responds to your direction."

"The Playseum is meant to be a fun-filled place with laughter, singing, dance and movement, but if your child’s actions become so disruptive to others you will be asked to leave."

We have never seen this type of mention at other facilities. Out of respect for everyone's comfort level, we certainly do not wish to bring the children if their disabilties could be misconstrued as disruptive and this could result in their being asked to leave.

The site does not indicate if there is an alternative entrance or has a ramp or if they make special arrangements with people with needs. If anyone has any info. on this-- please feel free to post.. many thanks you's. The children are in the age 4 and 5 age range.

I agree. Sometimes it is better to pay more and get better service. Or go to the Smithsonian! It's free and has great exhibits!

Most people love a bargain. I would venture to say most people would not complain about the cost of $5.00. Agreed- it is the cheapest entry fee you can find anywhere. For the most part- you get what you pay for. It appears that everyone has distinctly different experiences at this venue. If a family had a great time, then it was money well spent. For those people who appear to have had staff balking at them, items stolen and no room to move about it was not worth the inexpensive entry fee. I would surmise that people would happily pay a particular fee if they knew the service was consistently good every time around. We know for example, when we walk through the door of the baltimore science museum, we will be greeted with a smile, have a secure place to put our stuff and get the same level of service everytime. I think ultimately when we pile our kids in a car for an adventure we are happy to spend a little more from time to time for a great experience with our kids. Not a mediocre one for a low price.

I am surprised that people complain about the price so much. My two year old loves the place and we have spent over two hours there at a time. It is bargain for us! Most classes last an hour or less and typically cost more than ten bucks. In addition, you are obligated to go at a particular time.

My jacket was taken from the playseum a few months back. And I never got it back. I am still very angry about it. Lack of empathy is why we will not return. That is something they need to work out. There is no space to accomodate loads of coats, etc. The stroller system is poor. You walk into a foyer, leave your stroller at an unattended small area and hope for the best. There is only room for like 3 strollers (folded up). When your customers are kids you need to be able to accomodate the stuff that goes with having kids. Strollers, jackets, spaces for diaper bags- etc. Subsequently some parents drag the stuff around with them which makes the already narrow passages just a little more smaller and does not make it easy to interact with your children. The website indicates it's a place for kids to interact with parents. If this was greatly so I would not mind paying $5.00. $5.00 is more than reasonable an entrance fee to go in and have some quality time with your child/children. Family friends have told us they have had to drag their stuff around with them. At our visit we were not able to go into the majority of the rooms with our kids because they were simply too filled with dozens of other kids. Parents on the whole stand on the sidelines and observe as their kids brush from space to space. That is not $5.00 worthy. As I see it, this would only be a fun place to go to with several kids if you go on a quiet day. No one seemed phased that our belongings were stolen. That is beyond disappointing to my family. My coat was more valuable than the $20.00 it cost my family to get in and I was not prepared to explain thievery to my 3 year old as we drove home.

There is nothing wrong with charging for adults. They use the bathrooms, sit on chairs and increase the general wear and tear of the place, too.

My stroller was stolen at Playseum. I'm so upset!

16:50 PP, I'm pretty sure there is handicapped access at the rear entrance through an alley. Don't know if you can park there but you may be able to at least pick up/drop off.

Anonymous wrote:My child uses a walker. Does anyone know if the Playseum has handicapped parking or is equiped to handle kids with special needs? thank you!

The parking is all public parking so there is likely some handicapped spots. However, to get into the Playseum, you have to walk down a flight of stairs. I didnt see another way down, so that may pose a problem, unless you can just carry the child down.

My child uses a walker. Does anyone know if the Playseum has handicapped parking or is equiped to handle kids with special needs? thank you!

Lice is a very specific thing and no parent wants to deal with it-- trust me. At my daughters school lice broke out in the classroom. It lasted for months. Plus it spread from class to class because of siblings, playdates and shared classroom dress up. Kids had to bring everything in ziplocks. It was a nightmare (for the teachers and for us parents) Stuffed animals, classroom carpets, smocks were tossed into large plastic bags, nights of hairwashing and nit picking. It spread from kid to kid and we had to deal with this in our respective homes. I believe that hand sanitizer and wipes ward of germs. It is great that they do have it like most places nowadays have it readily available to customers. Does not keep away lice as far as I have been told unfortunately. There is probably something in between being a mom who never lets their kids participate and being a mom who inherently sees a potential situation and tries to prevent it before it happens. Some will let their kids try them on, some will not. I would tend to think that the playseum would not like it if their clientele got lice because of wigs and costumes being worn by hundreds of kids daily.

RE: Cleanliness, I think you are either a mom who lets her kid try on a hat/wig/whatever that a lot of other kids have had on or you aren't one. And my experience at Playseum was that there was Purell and wipes easily available, if that helps with your decision.