State Library of Victoria - Play Pod : The Treehouse - Review
Our little guest explorers have sure been keeping busy - this time they checked out the Play Pod at the State Library of Victoria and enjoyed reading, creating and bouncing! Yes this was all in a library - oh what fun! Thank you Kate for the great review!
Photo credit: @kateflatman for @busycitykids
It’s well and truly winter in Melbourne, and although we have had a few glimpses of sunny skies, most days have been a dismal shade of grey with enough muddy puddles around that even Peppa Pig would be out-puddled! So after a few days at home with sniffly noses, it was time to get out of the house and where better to escape the cold than Play Pod at State Library of Victoria.
Play Pod is the Library's program for children aged under eight years, packed with activities to read, create and play. With a new theme every season, Play Pod is always changing, fun and interactive, so children are free to explore and engage with the support of their parents and carers.
Photo credit: @kateflatman for @busycitykids
We bounced into The Courtyard (which is completely indoors) ready to explore the current theme - the hilarious adventures of The Treehouse series, inspired by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s bestselling books. I have to admit that I wasn’t familiar with this series prior to visiting but am now eager to purchase the books and start reading about all the amazing things going on in the incredible ever-expanding treehouse!
Arlo was the first to spot the ‘Anti-Gravity Chamber’ (mini trampoline) and was energetically jumping before I had managed to take his shoes off! Macy enjoyed jumping too and it was super cute when they may have sneaked on together; albeit noisy with their loud screams of excitement!
Photo credit: @kateflatman for @busycitykids
When they were all jumped out, they both headed over to the craft tables and took part in making headbands in the ‘Ninja Snail Training Academy’ and stamping, colouring and gluing a ‘Baby Dinosaur Petting Zoo’ artwork to add to the Play Pod treehouse. The Treehouse structure which sits in the middle of the space is jam-packed full of colourful artwork that has been created by little artists. I couldn't help but think that it must be so cool having your artwork on display in the State Library of Victoria!
Photo credit: @kateflatman for @busycitykids
For their last hoorah, Macy went off to check out the ‘Tank Full of Man-Eating Sharks’ (a large, round light box covered in swirly pieces of blue cellophane with shark figurines to play with), had a building session with an adorable wooden tree stacker and investigated the music basket. I'm sure the sound from her maracas could be heard in the famous La Trobe Reading Room all the way up on level three!
Meanwhile Arlo, being my little energiser bunny, took to running in and out of the rocket that blasted ‘Professor Stupido’ (the world’s greatest UN-inventor) to the dark side of the moon. Just quietly, I would have loved to have dressed Arlo up as the ice cream serving robot, ‘Edward Scooperhands’ but being decked out in a loudly coloured (slightly scary) outfit wasn’t on his to-do list. Bummer!
Photo credit: @kateflatman for @busycitykids
After a fun 1.5 hours, we headed off in search of lunch and feeling a little bit tired from letting our imaginations run silly all morning. We highly recommend visiting The Treehouse at Play Pod (which is on until August 31st). I am sure that we will be back again soon and I for one, cannot wait to see what book inspires the Spring theme.
Photo credit: @kateflatman for @busycitykids
Our tips:
- Entry is FREE, woo hoo!
- The space isn’t big and can get quite busy on weekends and school holidays – so go early when the library opens at 10am.
- Be aware that the doors into The Courtyard stay open at all times. If you have a little one who likes to go off exploring (like Master Arlo!) you will have to keep an eye on them going into the Thescowthick Information Centre. Although this did provide ample entertainment for the Library staff member at the help desk!
- No food or drink is to be consumed within The Courtyard, except for bottled water.
- Pram parking is available in The Courtyard or you can check them into the Cloakroom at the Welcome Desk on level one.
- State Library of Victoria is very family friendly with designated baby-change and feeding areas located adjacent to The Courtyard.
If you're interested in our other Play Pod reviews, head to this link.
> For more ideas of what to do with the kids in Melbourne, checkout our Daily Spots List, CBD Spots or Blog.