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With the recent completion of renovations to our historic Playhouse, Smith is excited to announce the opening of Smith Urban Nature Preschool!
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View the SUN Preschool Virtual Info SessionView Frequently Asked QuestionsView 2021-2022 School Year Calendar
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Parents can get playful learning tips and games and track their children’s points from playing at Smith for FREE!
Click to download the Smith Playground App on iOS or Android.
Smith Memorial Playground has been a diverse, treasured play space in East Fairmount Park since 1899. Smith offers opportunities for unstructured creative play for children through free family visits and special events and programs.
Play is a powerful tool for children to learn, grow, and heal. Parents can use the app to get playful learning tips and games, learn about our events and programs, track the points their children gain from playing at Smith, and donate or sign up to volunteer at Smith.
This app is for new or current visitors interested in engaging their children in unstructured creative play!
Creating an account is simple and easy! Go to the App Store or Google Play on your mobile device and type Smith Memorial Playground in the search bar. Once you’ve found the app, click on it, and start downloading. Click here to see a demonstration!
Open the app and create your very own account to get started!
Users can use the app to check-in at Smith, earn points and rewards for playing at Smith and at home, attend events and get playful learning ideas for home.
Users can learn about Smith’s spaces, events, and programs that promote unstructured play that fosters social and physical growth in children.
Users can engage with Smith by signing up to volunteer, making a donation, and more.
Smith Memorial Playground worked closely with MilkCrate to build an app for our volunteer coordinators and volunteers to use. MilkCrate is a tech company that empowers nonprofits to grow their mission and achieve goals all from an app.
To learn more about MilkCrate, visit www.milkcrate.tech and get a referral from us for a discount if your organization is interested in building their own app!
“Smith Play Jawn” is Smith Memorial Playground’s new TV show which encourages and models playful learning at the Playground, in nature, and in everyday spaces. Join us for music time, story time, at-home and nature play ideas, and to share YOUR jawn! Smith will produce a new episode with a special theme each month which will air weekly on Wednesdays.
Tune in Wednesdays at 3pm on:
Comcast 66/966HD | Verizon 29/30 | phillycam.org/watch
Each month, Smith features something made by a young person on “Smith Play Jawn”. Submissions may be artwork, videos, poetry, or something else creative!
Smith also needs recorded music and/or music videos to for the “Music Time” feature segment of the show as well as for background and transitions.
If you are a musician or music artist interested in submitting music, please email zoe@smithplayground.org to discuss further.
Friday, June 18 (Funky Rock/Dance)
Johnny Shortcake + Ms. Niki
Friday, July 16 (R&B/HipHop & Bluesy Rock)
Alex & the Kaleidoscope + City Love
Friday, August 13 (Upbeat Pop/Rock)
Lard Dog and the Band of Shy + Larissa Hopwood Band
Smith’s Kidchella Music Festival is BACK with 6 nationally acclaimed Children’s Music artists and other festivities on the 6 1/2 acre Playground! Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy this unique live music experience at Smith.
Pre-show Play Time 5:00pm-5:45pm
Enjoy food trucks, giveaways, pre-show performances, and fun on the Playground
Main concert 6:00pm-7:30pm
Enjoy live music on the Playground by a diverse lineup of family friendly musicians curated by Jeff Bogle of OWTK.com.
Admission is $12 per person* (adults and children of walking age).
Proceeds directly support sustaining our nonprofit and free programming for children during the pandemic and beyond!
*$6 Admission for current Smith members and ACCESS cardholder households.
Fill out the form below to receive the discount code. Tickets may also be purchased the day of the event, please bring your ACCESS card or member confirmation with you (we will also have a member list)! Questions may be directed to info@smithplayground.org
Generous support for the 2021 Kidchella Music Festival provided by Good Buy Gear, Herr’s Snacks, The Miquon School, OWTK.com, and Wawa.
Smith Memorial Playground has been a treasured destination for generations of families for over 100 years. An individual’s “Smith memories” can illustrate our positive effect on a child, which can last a lifetime.
Last month, Helen Porter, a 92-year-old Philadelphia resident, visited Smith for the first time as an adult. She brought two family members with her to reminisce about her time at Smith as a child. Helen recalls her first visit to Smith in 1930:
When I was 6 years old, my Sunday School teacher took our class and some of the mothers to Smith Playground. The year was 1930. It was a very long ride on the number 3 trolley. Because I got “trolley” sick, I was always given peppermint Chiclets. To this day, I seldom eat anything peppermint!
Helen (middle) visited us with her daughter, Gale, (left) and sister-in-law, Joanne.
We spent many hours in the big house playing checkers and other games, but the highlight of the day was the big sliding board. We went up and down, up and down. Every so often, it was adults only and the mothers stood in line and took their turns.After that visit, my mother took my brothers and me every summer. And now, the summer of 2016, 86 years later, I went back to Smith Playground! I remember the sliding board being much bigger, housed in a two story house with lots of steps to get to the top. Of course, I was very little and it seemed huge! What a surprise! My daughter, Gale, enjoyed her turn on the slide. We had a wonderful visit.
The mansion and grounds are a treasure and I was so glad to see it maintained so that it can be enjoyed by today’s children. Just like me, these children will have wonderful memories of Smith Playground.”
Gale goes down the Ann Newman Giant Wooden Slide for the first time!
We want to hear from you. Please email your story/memory to Zoe Hillengas, Communications Manager, at zoe@smithplayground.org.
Thank you to former Smith board member Terry Ruggles and film maker Meredith Nutting for creating this video about Smith. Feel free to share, so that more families can learn about us! Watch “A Mansion for Kids”
