MADE For Kids - Where Kids Make It Happen

MADE Experience Summary

I went to Maid for the first time today and enjoyed my time there. Both of my sons, my three-year-old and my seven-year-old, have been there many times for birthday parties. My wife told me there are usually one or two parties each weekend day, with kids running around in circles.

It's a big open area with many different maker stations spread throughout. It's hard to describe all of them, but they include:

• A paper rocket stations

• A paper parachute station

• LEGO Bricks

• 3D Printing

• Painting

• Circuits

• Many other novel maker activities

Today, they had a tape jungle gym - a series of tubes made of wrapping tape that my three-year-old loved running around in. I've seen similar tape-based setups in other science centers, so it must be a fairly common building material. It was a relatively small setup, so older kids wouldn't enjoy it as much as the little guys did.

In terms of pricing, you can't beat it at $6 per person. Compare that to Magic Houses's $14 per person entrance fee - it's the parent organization. A yearly membership at MADE will run you $75 for unlimited visits for the entire family.

MADE Activities Aimed At Slightly Older Kids

MADE is the type of place where I had to spend the whole time playing with my three-year-old and couldn't socialize with the other parents. Most activities required better dexterity, which his seven-year-old brother would have handled much better.

That being said, we had fun playing together during the party. My son's favorite activity was a make-your-own marble run out of PVC pipe pieces. We also made our own potholders out of these potholder knitting kits. We also had fun making circuit board kits.

Again, he could have done these with help, but my seven-year-old would have had no problem playing with them.

Furthermore, only older kids could access specific maker spaces. For example, they have two TV-sized monitors where you use your hands to paint directly on the screen. And the 3D printing stations looked like you needed special access to use.

Birthday Parties Are Made For MADE

There are just a ton of parties going on here, and for good reason. During this visit, we had the little kid's party and at least one other older kid's party going on simultaneously.

It's only $6 per person to enter, so I'd imagine a 20-person party would come in at $100 plus miscellaneous fees. That's a very affordable deal for a children's party of that size - places like Main Event may cost 3-4x as much depending on your chosen activities.

They have big birthday rooms in the back where all the kids can go and eat. There are five or six big tables and a sink, so that's great for the food part of the birthday party. They call it the classroom, so I imagine they also do lessons back there at certain times.

MADE Staff And Miscellaneous

The staff is super friendly and helpful in helping you make whatever you want to make. The attendants are also stationed at the entrance of the building to help you find your way to the maker space.

Parking At MADE

Parking was straightforward. There's an adjacent parking lot, and there's also street parking. The lot was packed when we arrived, but finding a spot at 11 a.m. on a Saturday was still easy.