Through dress-up, sensory toys and a farm-themed playscape, children at Play Street Museum in McKinney are able to immerse themselves in their own adventures while their caretakers sit nearby.
“What we love about Play Street is it’s a smaller environment that allows parents and caregivers to sit back and take a break, take a breath,” owner Courtney Muccio said. “But it allows children to be more independent and to be able to explore on their own and learn to solve problems. They’re learning social things, or they’re trying to figure out how to build things without parents constantly telling them how to solve every problem.”
The overall goal of the business is to scale down children’s museums to give families a convenient space for their children to play freely, Muccio said.
The McKinney location has a general store, ice cream shop and barn with a life-size cow statue that children can pretend to milk.
Play Street Museum charges $11 for children ages 1-8 with no additional charge for siblings accompanied by a paying child.
Muccio said she established the McKinney location because McKinney is a family-friendly city that is still growing. Play Street’s first location opened in Frisco in 2014, and a second location opened in Plano in 2015.
Muccio said she believes in the “power of play” as a way for children to learn.
Play Street also launched changing units that allow children to explore topics more in-depth. McKinney’s first unit is “Over by the Ocean,” which gives children a nautical learning opportunity through dress-up, books, scientific models and toys.
“It’s a little bit of a children’s museum and a preschool or kindergarten classroom combined,” Muccio said. “Most children are going to school all day, which is fairly structured, and then they’re going to activity after activity that are all very structured and so what we want—and what we think kids need—is unstructured play time to be creative.”
Play Street Museum
3851 S. Stonebridge Drive, Ste. 400, McKinney
469-362-8624
www.playstreetmuseum.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 am.-5 p.m., Sat.-Sun. open play by reservation
