Mamalu, the doomed indoor playspace and cafe, finally had to shut its doors. The last day of business was April 5, 2009. I'm not surprised that Mamalu closed. The food was tasty but the playspace needed help.
Because of the lack of toys, it was really only suitable for older children who could have fun playing make believe with the large foam structures that were scattered about the floor. Children under about 2 really didn't have much to do there except get run over by older kids.
If someone does try to resurrect the business please:
- keep it clean
- have a protected play area in a corner for crawlers
- have a variety of toys and structures that appeal to babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers
- rotate the toys every month to keep children's interest and imaginations growing
- have a special "big kids" only time so that older children can run free
- consider making the eating area smaller so that there is more room for playing.
Great inspiration can be found at http://www.amysindoorplayground.com/photoalbum1.html
Thanks to the owners who put in countless long hours trying to keep the place afloat. It was a great resource for me when Junior was a newborn. To have a place where you can breastfeed and no one cares if your kid is wailing... that was great!
It's too bad that this neighborhood doesn't have any child-friendly indoor playgrounds. If I had the money I would love to open something.
1 comment:
Could have totally used it on super rainy Saturday 4/11 ended up settling for a mild case of cabin fever. A loss for the neighborhood indeed.
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