The Wheelhouse Way

A confidence-boosting, adventure-filled play space
where parents take a hike, so kids can take the wheel.

Inside the space

What will they actually do?

Nobody hands them a plan. Kids come with friends from school or the neighborhood, or come on their own and leave with new ones. One day it is a fort that takes an hour and a whole crew to build. Another day it is a fashion show on the stage, a puppet theater, a pulley system, a mural, or a pretend business. There are tires, wood, rope, fabric, cardboard and clay, plus costumes, a stage, a garden, an art studio, a basketball court and a construction area, across more than 12,000 square feet, indoor and outdoor.

Kids pick what to do, who to do it with, and when to change their mind.

Kids stacking wooden blocks
Each part, on purpose

What each part of Wheelhouse does for your child

Drop-off by design

Kids do more when the adults are not in the room, and you get two hours back.

Children rise to the occasion when adults step back, and it is even easier with a few friends along. The Play Crew watches the way lifeguards do, close enough to help and far enough that the kids lead.

Research: Gray, Lancy & Bjorklund, 2023

Real materials, real stakes

Kids make real decisions, so they build real problem-solving.

Tires, wood, rope, fabric, cardboard and soil invite kids to imagine, invent, and build. No plastic toys, no prescribed outcomes.

Research: Bundy et al., 2017

Trained Play Crew

Someone always has your child’s back, without taking over.

Our staff are trained in conflict resolution and positive discipline. They hold safety boundaries and support kids without controlling them.

Research: The Playwork Principles

Healthy risk

Kids build physical confidence and sound judgment.

Climbing, building, digging, and working through real challenges give kids a feel for their own limits, with a trained crew nearby.

Research: Brussoni et al., 2015

Unstructured time

Kids learn to start things themselves.

No schedules and no directed activities. Kids choose how their time unfolds, and boredom is welcome, because it often comes right before the best part.

Research: Barker et al., 2014

Mixed-age play

Older kids grow into leaders. Younger kids stretch to keep up.

We do not sort by age. Older kids build leadership and empathy, and younger kids reach for what the bigger kids can do.

Research: Gray, 2011

Like how this sounds? Get updates, focus-group invites and a first look at the space before we open.

Get the dirt
What we stand for

Three values. One big idea.

Children grow best when they are trusted. These three values shape every decision, from how we design the space to how the Play Crew shows up each day.

1

Independence

Kids rise to the occasion when given the space to lead.

When kids make real choices and take the lead without an adult choreographing every move, they discover what they are capable of.

2

Resilience

Boredom, bumps and healthy conflict are part of the plan.

Resilience is built the first time a kid tries something hard and figures it out. We allow healthy risk, let boredom turn into creativity, and help kids work through conflict.

3

Connectedness

You are not just dropping off. You are joining a community.

Kids of different ages building and negotiating together. Parents finding a community for their kids and, potentially, for themselves. A space that belongs to the neighborhood it serves.

Be in the know

Get the dirt before we open

Pop your email in and be part of building Wheelhouse Play. You will get updates as we get closer to opening, invitations to focus groups and feedback sessions, access to the space before the grand opening, and special deals on memberships.