Top 5 Indoor Play Places

Indoor play places allow kids to work on their heart-healthy gross motor skills while letting their imaginations run wild. They can also socialize with friends, which is important when the weather outside is too cold for playing.

Geared for kids ages 1 to 11, this long Island space has endless diversions, including a huge jungle gym style crawl tunnels, Merry-Go-Rounds and a large inflatable bouncy house. Reservations are recommended.

1. Kanga’s Indoor Play Center

After relocating to Long Island in 2020, Kanga’s Indoor Play Center has become a neighborhood favorite. This massive play space has loads of fun activities for kids that encourage physical activity, creativity and imagination. The 4,000-square-foot facility features a two-level train, an oversized ball pit with slides to enter, trampolines and swings, a sand box filled with herbs for sensory cognition, a pretend shop and even more.

This independently-owned, climate-controlled play space for kids gets high marks from parents for being clean and safe. The open play area is stocked with natural toys that are geared toward child development including toy kitchens, puppets, trains and wooden cars. Classes like Jazz Baby and Toddler Art are also offered here.

This inclusive indoor playground for kids with special needs was designed by occupational therapists and offers play opportunities to children with different physical, cognitive and sensory abilities. Crawl, climb, slide and jump on the trampoline, explore the modular gym or the rock wall during a one-hour drop-in session. Reservations are required.

2. Union Square Play

Union Square Play is one of the city’s newest play spaces that offers classes, open play indoor play structure and birthday parties. Their goal is to empower parents to build a meaningful community while helping children learn and explore through playful learning. Their classes focus on a variety of topics including art, music and developmental movement.

Kira Greenfield is a mom of two who found her tribe in Westport when she moved here from New York last year. She started Mo’ Mommies, a website and meetup group for mothers with young kids, and has since co-founded Union Square Play.

The newly-opened space features a full schedule of drop-in classes, as well as open play for kids from infants to age 5. Union Square Play offers flexible scheduling so that parents can attend when it’s convenient.

Give the gift of endless play and meaningful community with a digital gift card to Union Square Play. They come in a few different packages to cover a few classes or all of them, and make for an easy-to-buy and thoughtful gift for the special little ones in your life.

3. Xplore Long Island

Xplore is a massive indoor playground that features laser tag, dodgeball, party rooms, a big bounce room and an arcade. The cost is a little higher than some of the other spots on our list but it’s still a great place to take your kids to get a break from all that screen time. The best thing is you can buy a ticket that covers almost everything except the birthday rooms and the arcade.

This Suffolk County spot recently upped the ante with glow-in-the-dark go-karts for those who are ready to rev their engines. It’s a sister to Safari Adventure in Riverhead and Xplore Family Fun Center in Port Jefferson, which also has climbing walls. Memberships and arcade cards are good at all three locations.

You’ll want to bring socks if you’re planning on spending time at Xplore. They sell them in the lobby if you forget yours. There’s no age limit to play so the whole family can have fun together here. They’re open seven days a week and the location in Commack is easy to find with plenty of parking.

4. Pustina & Marke’s Playhouse

This whimsical Victorian playhouse from Step2 is the perfect place to ignite kids’ imaginations, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in their favorite make-believe world. From the Dutch-style door with moveable shutters to the mailbox and flag holder, every detail is designed to encourage children to develop sensory, motor, and communicative skills while playing.

This wide-open Montessori-inspired tot spot has a water table, firehouse, salon and general store, plus lots of indoor play structure climbing and sliding structures. Designed by occupational therapists, the space is open to kids with neurodivergent needs as well as those who are more typical. One-hour open play sessions are available by reservation only.

This clean and bright space is known for its beautifully presented birthday parties, but it’s a great choice all-year-round. Geared toward ages 1-11, kids will love exploring the tunnels, ropes and slides at this Queens destination that offers a variety of themed areas that showcase different parts of the world. Kids can also ride around on a two-level train or enjoy the wood cube pit and dump truck, as well as a dress-up area.

5. The Game Room

While a dedicated game room is a great option for families with children, adults can enjoy the space, too. Blogger Zoe Hunt threw together a multifunctional space in her home with everything from a pool table to a dart board and board games. She also included a seating area to relax and watch TV, and she incorporated storage solutions that make it easy to swap out the various entertainment options.

If you have the space, a ping-pong or foosball table can make an at-home game room feel extra special. Oversized dice and a witty sign create an arcade-like aesthetic, while clear storage bins are helpful for organizing equipment.

If you’re a fan of electronic gaming, consider adding a twisty slide to your game room. This fun feature encourages physical activity and adds an element of surprise. When a game starts to get too intense, a clock in plain sight can remind gamers to take a break. This is especially important for those who struggle to put down their controllers for even just a few minutes.