This in-your-face lacrosse team delivers plenty of indoor action. One of four original members of the National Lacrosse League (which started in 1987), the Wings are the most successful team in league history reaching the playoffs 15 out of 18 seasons and playing in the championship game nine times.
Contact number: (215) 389-9464
Location: 3601 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145
Learn more here.
So what if it’s impossible to get tickets for the Philadelphia Eagles? The Philadelphia Soul, an AFL arena football team owned by rock stars Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora delivers nonstop action without the pro-ball attitude.
Contact number: (888) 744-5235
Location: 3601 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Learn more here.
If your children play soccer, take them to see the Kixx, Philadelphia’s indoor professional soccer team. Founded in 1999, the team has already brought two Major Indoor Soccer League Championship home. The team’s mascot, SocceRoo, is good for laughs.
Contact number: (888) 888-5499
Location: 3601 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Learn more here.
If your children love basketball, the best place to take in a game is at the historic Palestra gymnasium located on Penn’s campus. It’s intimate with just 8,700 fans crowded in the bleachers, but the Palestra makes up in spunk and spirit what it lacks in modern day bells and whistles. Aside from Penn athletics, the Palestra also hosts Philadelphia Big Five men’s basketball (Penn, Villanova, La Salle, Temple, and St. Joe’s) games that never disappoint.
Contact number: (215) 898-6151
Location: 220 South 32nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Beautiful giant puppets, civic theater, and pageantry join around themes of social change at Spiral Q, whose founder was inspired by the Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont. Call for an appointment and visit the museum for a look at more than 100 puppets and masks in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Or take the children to one of the Theater’s neighborhood parades, performances, or make-your-own puppet workshops.
Contact number: (215) 222-6979
Location: 3114 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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This world-renowned orchestra offers a family concert series every season, performing in Philadelphia and its suburbs for the 6 to 12 year old set. Another initiative, Sound All Around, appeals to 3 to 5 year olds. Music is chosen for its appeal to children, often with the addition of visuals, dance, and drama. For Sound All Around, the children sit up close to the musicians, who demonstrate their instruments, perform short pieces and tell musical stories for 40 minutes.
Contact number: (215) 893-1999
Location: Broad Street and Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
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The oldest festival of its kind in the U.S., the annual Philadelphia International Children’s Festival spotlights some of the world’s best children’s performers to celebrate culture, storytelling, dance, music, and art. You and your children will love the wide range of performers, with website descriptions offering helpful details and age ranges. In 2007, a few offerings included the American-based Zoppe Family Circus, Los Folkloristas from Mexico and Amara, and The Shadow Theatre Of Java from Indonesia.
Contact number: (215) 898-3900
Location: 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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This high-tech addition to Independence National Historical Park puts you and your children in the middle of the action. The show unfolds at five different points in the park, where you can see and hear images and sounds depicting events that led up to the colonists’ fight for independence from the British. Kids love the cool headsets, five-story images projected onto Independence Hall, and the special audio children’s channel. Lights of Liberty also boasts sound editing by George Lucas’s Skywalker Sound; the engineers for Star Wars and Titanic, among other movies.
Contact number: (215) 524-3789
Location: Sixth Street and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Learn more here.
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This performance venue, located in verdant Fairmount Park, offers a wide range of entertainment; from pop to opera, classical to dance, jazz, and rock and roll. Free lawn seats to Philadelphia Orchestra performances are one highlight, another is a free young people’s concert series, which includes multi-cultural music, circus performances, and gospel offerings. Bring a picnic before the show, and sing along with your children under the stars.
Contact number: (215) 893-1999
Location: 5201 Parkside Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
Learn more here.
This division of the Arden Theatre Company is dedicated to producing high quality children’s shows that rival anything on the mainstage. Shows like Ferdinand the Bull, Looking Glass Alice and the Dinosaur Musical will delight you and your children. After each performance, the director leads a Q&A session, giving kids the chance to ask questions. Afterwards, they can meet the cast in the lobby.
Contact number: (215) 922-1122
Location: 40 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Learn more here.
