Hands On!

What a wonderful spot. My preschooler is having a wonderful time exploring, building, playing — doesn’t want to leave. Enjoying the slide, veterinary hospital area, shop, car building. Nice staff. So convenient in downtown Hendersonville. We took a lunch break at a nearby restaurant. Are back to baby doll room. And what a delight — a musician playing his flute as well.

Fun place for kids! My 3.5 and 1.5 year old were entertained for hours! It’s a large room of «play pretend» and manipulative play. My only complaint is that you pay for the adult, along with the child. I’ve been to places like this before and usually you pay for the child and the adult is free. Fortunately, it’s cheap — only $ 5/​per person. I’d also like to see them have a «frequent buyer card» — after 10 visits, get one free, or something similar.

I was visiting Hendersonville with my kids and as we were walking along Main Street checking out the shops we stumbled across Hands On. We went in to check it out and while I was talking to the woman at the front desk my youngest child took off and started playing. So, of course at that point I had to pay for admission and just let her carry on playing. (It was $ 5 each for kids and adults, so not a big deal). They give you a sticker to wear to show that you’ve paid admission, and you can leave and return as long as you have the sticker on.
I sent my two older kids to continue shopping while I stayed inside Hands On with the little one and let her play. She had a blast!
Hands On is divided into different play areas, all designed to teach different skills, but in a really fun way. My daughter especially enjoyed the ice cream shop and the puppet theater. There was also a dentist’s chair, a grocery, a race track, a fishing area with a boat and a dock. There is so much imagination in this small space it was really inspiring. I want one of these in my town!
My daughter played about 30 minutes until I dragged her away for more shopping, but I had to promise we’d go back in before we went home, so we spent another 15 minutes or so playing after we finished shopping.
This was the first day of our NC vacation, and she asked me if we could go back every day. She still says it was the best part of the trip. The center is geared towards kids under 10, and unfortunately she’s getting close to the age limit, but hopefully we’ll get up there again before she’s too old. She loved it!