By Vicki Little
Winter in Colorado is crazy. It is warm at 1pm and cold at 3pm, then there’s a blizzard after it was hot and sunny for a week. Who can blame the kids for getting a bit stir crazy? This is definitely a great time of year to have a back-up plan, and indoor play spaces make perfect solutions. Here are five of my favorites:
Jungle Quest: Love the idea of indoor play areas but looking for something different? How about a zipline, a safari bridge, and rock climbing? Jungle Quest is a fun and creative indoor play place for kids ages 5 to 12. They even offer day camps!
- $12 for the first hour, $14 for 1 ½ hours, and $3 for each additional half hour. Please make reservations!
- Birthday parties are offered
- Located at 8000 S. Lincoln St., Suite 10, Littleton, CO 80122
- 303-738-9844
Jumpoline: There is something irresistible about a trampoline — and Jumpoline offers bouncing fun that includes dodge ball, basketball, and crazy-fun, long trampolines. This is the perfect place for kids to get the wiggles out — and adults, too! All ages are welcome to play. There is even a Kidz Kingdom, so kids under age 7 can play without worrying about getting trampled by bigger kids.
- Prices vary, depending on the hours and the ages of your children. For Kidz Kingdom, weekends are $6 for the first hour, with $3 for each additional hour. For Megajump, it’s $12 for the first hour, with $6 for each additional hour.
- Birthday parties are offered
- Located at 15380 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora, CO 80013
- 720-974-0977
Monkey Bizness: With two locations, Monkey Bizness is the perfect place to let your little monkeys giggle and play! There are three locations: Parker, Westminster, and Centennial. The locations include inflatable slides and fun structures, as well as an art room, so your little one can release their creativity! The location in Parker is for the smaller crew and has a fantastic craft room where kids can paint, draw, and get creative. Monkey Bizness also includes toddler areas for the younger siblings to have fun! The Parker location is Lil’ Monkey Bizness for kids ages 6 and younger.
- Prices range per location, but average price is $8-$10 for older kids and $5 for toddlers.
- Birthday parties are offered
- Find the Monkey Bizness closest to you here!
Children’s Museum: Kids love to learn through play, and the Children’s Museum of Denver takes that to the top! And if you haven’t been there lately, their recent expansion that opened in November of 2015 just took the fun a level higher. The six new exhibits-Altitude, The Art Studio, Community Tree, Energy, The Teaching Kitchen and Water- add even more activities to fill a day full of fun. In addition, the museum features a real fire truck, a bubble room, a grocery store, a vet clinic, a train room, a build-your-own workshop, and more. The only problem that my kids ever have is leaving the museum. If it is a warmer day, there is a great park right next door!
- $7 for seniors and 1-year-olds, $9 for ages 2 to 59. Babies under age 1 are free, and the first Tuesday night of each month is a FREE DAY!
- Birthday parties are offered
- 2121 Children’s Museum Drive, Denver, CO 80211
- 303-433-7444
WOW: The World of Wonder Children’s Museum is a wonderful place where creativity and play come together in education! Art, games, books, science — there is a little something for everyone. The current featured exhibit is “Build it WOW, ” and my kids loved taking random objects and figuring out what they could make! Each day the art room has a different theme, so your child can dig further into clay, stamps, paint, and stencils!
- $9 for ages 1 to 11. Babies under age 1 are free!
- Birthday parties are offered
- 110 N. Harrison Ave., Lafayette, CO 80026
- 303-604-2424
Laser Quest: Laser tag is all the craze lately and why not? It is fun, it wears the kids out, and we can passively aggressively get them back for every time they didn’t clean their rooms! Be prepared to want to play multiple rounds because it is addictive.
- $9 for 15 minutes, $12 for 30 minutes
- Birthday parties are offered
- 8988 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, CO 80231
- 303-796-0707
South Suburban Family Sports Center: This center has a little bit of everything. There are fitness classes, a rock wall, golf, inflatables, ice skating, laser tag, bumper cars, a game room, and Lollipop Park, which is an indoor amusement area for smaller children.
- $14 for an all-day wristband that includes most activities. (It does not include activities such as the bungee trampoline.)
- Birthday parties are offered
- 6901 S. Peoria Street, Englewood, CO 80112
- 303-708-9500
Rainbow Play Systems: At first glance, Rainbow Play Systems is just a huge superstore that sells outdoor play sets. However, it also doubles as a play place for kids! All those great displays are “working models, ” so that kids can slide, swing, imagine and explore.
- $6 on weekdays and $9 on weekends for two hours of play
- Birthday parties are offered
- 5250 North Broadway, Denver, CO 80216
- 303-292-0206
Where is your favorite indoor spot to take your kids to play? Let us know in the comments below.
