With children home from school or summer camps being canceled, Nicole Simon, a mother and owner of Play Street Museum, knows that keeping kids engaged and entertained can be a challenge.
To help provide parents with more options, she's launched a kids' craft studio pop-up just across the street from her Play Street Museum, in Streets of St. Charles. Play Street Museum’s Craft Co. opens this Saturday, July 18, and will run through Labor Day weekend, with the possibility to extend its closing date. Reservations are required and cost $20 per child and $5 per adult that accompanies them. Each reservation allows for 90 minutes of studio time.
“We wanted to do something that allowed for people to come that did not want to rent out the entire play space,” Simon says of choosing to open the temporary spot.
The Craft Co. pop-up, ideal for ages 4 and up, includes small individual tables for each child, but if children come in together that are friends or siblings, they can choose to push their tables together. The art sessions are not led and do not have specific art projects to follow. Instead, it is a time for the children to let their imagination run wild and create what they are inspired to make, choosing from an assortment of materials provided.
“We are focusing on process art, so it's more about the development of what they are thinking they are going to use,” explains Simon. “Their art creations may not look like anything to adults, but to them, it's really special.”
When children arrive, they can choose from the rainbow dough wall, and either play with the dough before they begin to make their art or use it in their creation. Each individual table has a tray of craft supplies to use as well as an area filled with cardboard boxes and larger materials the child can choose from and bring back to their table space.
The Play Street Museum’s original play space has also recently reopened, with adjusted measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. They are taking reservations for private sessions only. These sessions allow for up to 15 people that the booker chooses to bring, or even just an immediate family to use the entire space. Sessions are one-and-a-half-hours each and are a flat rate of $149 for the group. “It is great for a friend circle to have a playdate with that you are maybe already playing with,” says Simon.
Toys and surfaces are cleaned with a hospital-grade disinfectant in between each booking. Simon also rotates in and out fresh toys to allow ample time for the used items to be thoroughly wiped down.
Contact the Play Street Museum or check its events page to learn more about other socially distanced upcoming options or events like their "squirmy worm and bodacious bugs”–themed patio party. The play space has also launched an online shop for its curated educational toys and items that can be picked up or delivered.
