MacGuffin Theatre and Film Company helps kids ages three to 17 learn to express themselves and grow confident through acting classes; musical, film and play productions; and summer camps.
Contact number: (215) 922-1141
Location: 2030 Sanson Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
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The Philadelphia Dance Academy offers classes in creative movement, ballet, modern, tap, and more.
Contact number: (215) 922-2422
Location: 219 Cuthbert St, 3rd Floor, The Creative Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA 19106
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Jen Goldstein, Philly’s premier in-line skating instructor, founded Skate101 School, the city’s first skate school. She has taught thousands of students to skate, including basketball legend Julius Erving and actor John Cusack. Skate101 School offers one-hour group, private, or semi-private indoor beginner skating classes that start at $25. Classes include free skate and gear rental. Outdoor and advanced classes are also available. Jen also produces “learn to skate” CDs, rap music designed to help teach students. The CDs can be ordered online.
Location: One Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, PA 19130
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This highly regarded dance center offers instruction in a large range of dance styles, including Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Ethnic, Hip-Hop, and Funk. Exercise classes are also offered with Exercise with Dance leading the way. Classes are offered daily and private and group lessons are arranged as needed.
Contact number: (215) 222-7633
Location: 3611 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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The Music Class offers developmental music and movement classes for babies and toddlers.
Contact number: (215) 701-0594
Location: Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church, 8812 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118
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This vibrant studio dedicated to the ceramic arts offers a range of workshops and classes that encourage you and the children to get in touch with your inner potter. Explore the Sea is a three-hour workshop just for adults with children of ages 4 to 12. This class plumbs the depths of the ocean, inspiring the creation of whimsical creatures from the deep.
Contact number: (215) 925-3453
Location: 39 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
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This little gem of a museum houses a theater and exhibits that tell the story of the Schuylkill River and its human connections throughout history. With a strong emphasis on environmental awareness, the museum invites the children to re-route historic streams, peak inside a 48 inch water main and explore the original 1812 pumping station. They’ll especially enjoy seeing where the water goes when they flush a toilet. A visit to Pollutionopolis will inspire everybody to keep it clean. The adjacent — albeit pricey — restaurant offers patio seating with a river view. Ask about kid friendly menu items.
Contact number: (215) 685-0723
Location: Philadelphia, PA 19130
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This interactive experience brings history to visitors in a fresh and engaging way, using storytelling and costumed interpretive guides. The children ages 10 and younger will love becoming junior detectives on the “Colonial Kids’ Quest,” a kid-friendly, stroller-friendly “Whodunit” in search of a missing copy of the Declaration of Independence. During summer, storytellers visit 13 different locations and reveal little-known secrets about Philadelphia’s history in the Storytelling Benches program. Locations and times on the website.
Contact number: (215) 629-4026
Location: 500 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
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Folk artist Isaiah Zagar, who owns the Eyes Gallery up the street, has transformed a once trash-strewn empty lot into a magical warren of walls and passageways, a stuccoed sculpture studded with shards of mirror, pottery, ceramic tiles, bicycle wheels, and colored bottles. Zagar is inspired by many artists, but especially by the whimsy and genius of Spain’s Antoni Gaudi. This is folk art at its best. Exploring the garden will be as much fun for you as for the children.
Contact number: (215) 925-0193
Location: 1020-22 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146
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Philadelphia’s newest attraction is also one of its oldest. Franklin Square, one of the five public squares that William Penn laid out in his original plan for the city, opened in the summer of 2006. The children will love this family-friendly park, which includes two playgrounds (one for children ages 2 to 5, another for ages 5 to 12), an 18-hole Philly-themed miniature golf course, a classic 30 figure carousel, storytelling benches where you can hear tales of Franklin Square’s past (courtesy of the friendly storytellers of Once Upon a Nation), and a picnic area. Four brick walking paths with nighttime lighting lead to the centerpiece of the Square, the Franklin Square Fountain, a marble masterpiece built in 1838 surrounded by wrought iron fences.
Contact number: (215) 629-4026
Location: Sixth Street and Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Learn more here.
