Local Mom to Open ‘Modern’ Indoor Play Area on Lee Highway

An Arlington mom is set to bring a “modern” play place to a Lee Highway storefront this fall.

Nook Play Space is slated to open at 5649 Lee Highway in mid-October, providing an alternative to play areas like Chuck E. Cheese, owner Maria Vogelei said.

She said that many of the D.C.-area play places she and her young daughters have visited are overcrowded and in dark, windowless spaces that are “completely outdated.”

At Nook, Vogelei said, children can engage in creative play without overstimulation.

Inside the 3,000-square-foot space, children who are five years old or younger can visit corners dedicated to art, construction, costumes, the senses and the city. For example, kids can build with white Lego blocks, explore a “forest” of bungee cords or play on structures that resemble an art installation of cardboard boxes, Vogelei said.

The design elements are “pleasing to the parent’s eye,” she said. “It’s a place parents would enjoy, too.”

Parents can buy monthly Nook memberships online for $120 for one child, with discounts for multiple kids. Day passes are $20.

Vogelei plans to keep the play space open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Photo via Facebook/Nook