Review of Charlotte, NC at Play-A Children's Museum

Charlotte At Play is a hands-on children's museum geared towards preschool aged children located at 10504 McMullen Creek Parkway in South Charlotte. I am always looking for new and fun things to do with my three year old in the Charlotte area, so I was excited when I found out that there was a children's museum right here in my backyard.

As soon as I heard about the museum I found their website, grabbed a couple of my mommy friends and their preschoolers, and off we went to check it out. At first sight I was surprised by the location. I imagined more of a museum type building, so I drove by the location a couple of times before I found it. It appeared to be in an old store. (I later found out it was actually an old Goodwill warehouse). It was much smaller than I imagined. Looks can be deceiving so we still went in with a positive attitude.

The next surprise came when we realized adults had to pay the $6.00 admission. Some of my mommy friends had two children, so by the time it was said and done they had to pay $18.00 to play. We were still hopeful. After all, $18.00 is a small price to pay to keep your children entertained all day right?

Charlotte at Play is full of various exhibits or "stations" There is the grocery store area where the kids got a child sized grocery cart and wheeled it around the grocery area and shopped. There were posters and charts that explained what foods make up a healthy diet etc. After the kids are finished shopping they can go to the check-out area complete with kid cash registers and bag their groceries in paper bags. After they finished with all that grocery shopping they took their groceries over to the diner and cooked a well balanced meal for all the parents.

The next area was the race track area. I was excited about this particular "station" because the website made it sound like it was a speedway complete with pit road etc. I was disappointed in this area because basically it was just a large loop with ride-on toys. The cars weren't even race cars, and there was not even anything resembling a pit road. I've created a more exciting race track for my son in my back yard.

My son's favorite area, was the veterinarian area. It had cages with stuffed animals and vet equipment. The children could bandage, feed, bath, brush, and play doctor to animals. Since we've been to Charlotte At Play I believe that they have replaced this exhibit with a dental exhibit , which I was disappointed to find out.

The smallest exhibit by far was the dino dig. Basically it was a small pit with plastic dinosaurs hidden in rubber mulch. There were tools in which the kids could dig out the dinosaurs. The pirate and castle area were disappointing as well. There was not much to do in thiese areas. The pirate area had a large pirate ship that the kids ran around on, and the castle area had costumes for the children to dress up as princesses and knights. Our kids spent about five minutes in each of these areas before they got bored.

The campground area and music stage area were fun for the kids. The campground area contained a tent, a grill, campfire, and all kinds of tools that the kids can use to pretend to have a camp-out. The music stage had a drum set, a microphone, guitar and piano. The kids loved playing all the different instruments.

The boys especially loved the construction area. This area contained tools, blocks, and the children could pretend to lay bricks and install siding. They also got to wear hard hats and goggles to complete the experience.

The art area was also a hit. Our kids got to paint on easels and play in different craft areas. They also got to take their masterpieces home after letting them dry.

The one area that we were unable to explore was the toddler and baby area since our children were all over the age of two. (Only children under one get into Charlotte At Play for free. Everyone over one are charged $6.00 flat. ) It seemed like a very cute area, complete with age appropriate toys and areas to crawl through and explore.

At the end of the day, all our children had a great time, although we did not stay very long (Our preschoolers have short attention spans). In fact, they have been asking to go back soon. Unfortunately, the fact that parents have to pay the $6.00 admission is one main reason that we have not gone back. The size of the facility and the time that we actually spend there, in my opinion, is not worth the admission for both the children and parents. Compared to other Children's Museums that I have visited in the past, Charlotte At Play ranked towards the bottom of my list.

I would definitely recommend going to Charlotte At Play at least once; however, it is not a place that I would visit on a regular basis.