Smith Kids' Play Place in the Park

Location: East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia

Website: http://smithkidsplayplace.org/

Bathrooms: Yes in the Mansion playhouse and Bathroom Access from the outside playground

Eating area: YES on the Mansion covered side porch

Attractions: 6 1/2 acre playground, Giant Wooden Slide, 24,000 sq. ft.Indoor Mansion Playhouse 

Around the area: The Philadelphia Zoo, The Please Touch Museum, Mann Music Center

 Fee: FREE (donations are appreciated)

The Smith Kids' place is an impressive mansion indoor playhouse and outdoor playground that your kids will L.O.V.E!! You must make time to visit this truly unique play area! Smith has been getting a lot of press recently and has becoming pretty popular, but this is not a new play area at all...in fact it opened in 1899 and has been a favorite play place for Philadelphia area children for over a century!

There is so much to do and so many things to play at the indoor playhouse and outdoor playground that you should plan on spending several hours at the park. At the playhouse mansion there are covered porches with picnic tables for having snack,lunch, or for a birthday party.  If you need snacks, there is a vending machine available with access from the outdoor playground. One reason I love coming to the Smith Play Place is the location! It is so easy for this suburban Mom to get to, the parking is plentiful, and there are so many other attractions(The Please Touch Museum, The Mann Music Center, and the Philadelphia Zoo)  within close proximity that you could easily spend the entire DAY in the Fairmount Park area.

Yes, THIS is the playhouse!

The beautiful and big (24,000 sq. ft) Mansion playhouse is the first thing you will see upon entering Smith Kids's Place. The large expanse of lawn in the front of the mansion is also another great place to have a picnic. The kids can run around, toss a ball, or just enjoy the view of this historic building.  The playhouse has three floors of fun and so many ways for kids to stretch their imagination! On the first floor, the kids can put on a puppet show, ride a train, and play house!

Take a flight of stairs down to the basement area to find the area set up like a street scene complete with a working traffic light and bikes for all kids to ride around and a trains to ride or climb!

On the top floor, play with building blocks, trucks, a shopping cart, puzzles, a play house with babies and more! The book room is also located on this floor. Pull a book from the shelves, sit at the tables and read or just enjoy the view!

A view of the outdoor playground

So, all of that was just the indoor mansion playhouse....now for the outdoor playground which is the size of 6 football fields!  You kids will enjoy the famous wooden slide, the giant spider web with trampoline, the pirate ship, the tire and saucer swings, and TONS more! This playground is A.M.A.Z..I.N.G!!!  There is even a special tot lot for the tiny youngsters and plenty of benches for adults to take a rest...because you are going to need it! Take a look at just some of the fun at the outdoor playground:






Tips:

• Make sure before you make the trip to check the weather.  SMITH reserves the right to close the Playground or Playhouse in the event of inclement weather, including rain, snow, excessive heat, etc. So be sure to check the forecast before making plans to play at the park.
• The park has lots of special events that go on throughout the year. Check out their events calendar and became a fan on facebook to be kept up to date!
• Bring sunscreen! The park does have some nice shade, but you will be exposed to the sun so bring the sunscreen
• To make the most of your trip to the Fairmount Park area, Visit Smith Park, then have an early dinner, and then go to the Please Touch Museum on their First Wednesday where admission is only $2! Or, go the Mann Music Center for a morning concert and then head to the park to play and have lunch!

See you at Smith!