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Summer is almost over and it’s time to think about after school and weekend activities for your tween. It’s all about merging interest, convenience, and affordability for us but there is no perfect formula!
Here is a round-up of some of our favorite local fall activities for your tween. From pottery to ballet to tennis and beyond, we have activities for after school, weekends, and more! Plus we have included directories for free and low cost programs throughout the city.
Urban Air Delco
1260 E. Woodland Ave., Springfield, PA
Indoor play for a cold, rainy day? Urban Air offers wall-to-wall trampoline arenas, Dodgeball Courts, Stunt Airbag, Slam Dunk Tracks, Runway Tumble Track, The TUBES Obstacle Course, The Urban Warrior Course, and Warrior Battle Beam. In addition to these attractions, there’s the Urban Air Adventure Hub, which includes the Indoor Climbing Walls that go up three stories high, Pro Zone Performance Trampoline Pit and the zip-rail attraction, the Urban Air Sky Rider Indoor Coaster. The 600-foot-long, 30 foot high Sky Rider is the tallest and longest of its kind in the country! Visit online for more.
All Fired Up!
603 Haddon Ave. Haddonfield, NJ
All Fired Up! is South Jersey’s original Paint Your Own Pottery Studio. Choose from walk-in board art, canvas painting workshops, glass fusing, and pottery painting! With more than 400 designs to pick from, everyone will find something they love that will spark their creativity. Some favorites are dinnerware, picture frames, piggy banks, boxes, figurines and more. All Fired Up! is also a great venue for your next event or party. Learn more at paintatallfiredup.com.
Snapology
Locations Vary
Snapology classes, camps, and birthday parties use LEGO® & DUPLO® bricks as well as other educational tools to teach STEAM concepts in a hands-on manner, integrating coding and technology while also sticking to basic brick building. Learning through engaged play, children develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments. After school programs are available at various area schools. For more information, on fall class offerings, visit Snapology’s website.
BalletX
1923 Washington Ave., Philadelphia
BalletX offers dance classes at the company’s new 5,000 square foot studio including Ballet, Contemporary, Afro Street Groves, Hip Hop, Voguing, Family Fridays, and more! Whether your tween wants to work out, hone their technique, or just move and groove, BalletX has classes for all levels and interests. Taught by BalletX teaching artists and dancers, named “among America’s best” by The New York Times, drop in or save with multi-class cards and unlimited monthly passes. For more information visit their website.
School of Rock Philadelphia
421 N 7th St., Philadelphia
School of Rock Philadelphia’s music instructors inspire and teach students how to perform live. They are successful working musicians who are filled with passion and believe that the best way to learn music is to play music. School of Rock Philadelphia teaches guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, and drums; combining weekly private music lessons and group band rehearsals to prepare students to take the stage in front of live audiences in an authentic concert setting. Students have played at venues such as The Foundry, World Cafe Live, Boot and Saddle, Underground Arts, Johnny Brenda’s and many more. School of Rock also offers complimentary tours and trial lessons; for more information and to sign up, visit online.
Legacy Youth Tennis Education
4842 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia
Legacy is a state of the art tennis facility in East Falls with 16 total courts (indoor/outdoor split) whose mission is to prepare youth for success using tennis, education and character programming in an inclusive environment. Legacy helps players of all ages and levels reach their full potential with the help of their accomplished team of experienced and certified coaches. Tweens can choose between private lessons or group clinics. For more information, visit Legacy’s site for information on various offerings including clinics, private lessons, and more.
Music Theatre Philly
262 S 12th St, Philadelphia
Music Theatre Philly’s goal is to create a professional training ground for young artists by cultivating a creative, encouraging, and disciplined environment while maintaining the integrity of musical theatre. Fall classes are available after school (with some local school pick-ups!) and weekends. They offer everything from tap, jazz, and ballet dance to full theatrical musical productions performed on a Broadway-style stage! For a full write-up on Music Theatre Philly, click here.
AR Workshop Chestnut Hill
8607 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia
AR Workshop is a boutique DIY studio that offers hands-on classes for creating custom crafts from raw materials. Tweens can join an instructor-led workshop to make custom wood signs, photo frames, canvas pillows, tote bags, and more. AR Workshop caters to the tween population by offering projects and has workshop dates on their calendar specific to this age group. In addition to open workshops, AR hosts private parties and events. For more information, visit their website.
Wanda Thomas Photography
7014 McCallum St., Philadelphia
Wanda Thomas Photography offers both private and small group photography classes for tweens this fall during the weekends and school holidays. Students will learn the brief history of photography, exposure, and camera settings as well as studio and outdoor photography at The Wissahickon trails. They will also learn the art of composing a good self portrait–not to be confused with “selfie.” At the end of each session, students will receive a print and parents receive a mobile application of their child’s work! Visit Wanda Thomas Photography’s site for more details and to register.
Independence Seaport Museum
211 S. Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia
Special programs for the tween age group include EAGLE STEM Mentorship Program; a four-year program exclusively for young high school women that takes students with a strong interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and presents them with challenges in a hands-on and fun team setting. and SeaPerch; a nationally recognized, innovative underwater robotics program that presents an engaging platform for developing student interest in STEM fields. River Ambassadors is another great program offering for older tweens that focuses on learning about the surrounding rivers and watershed of Philadelphia and why/how to protect them. Visit the Seaport Museum to learn more.
Philly Improv Theater
2030 Sansom St., Philadelphia
Philly Improv Theater’s Kids & Teens comedy classes build confidence, teach collaboration, and grow creativity for students from kindergarten through high school. It’s also a great place to develop comedic talent and make friends with the funniest kids in Philly. Their improv curriculum is designed to delight and challenge each student at a developmentally appropriate level, allowing them to feel comfortable and accomplished as they learn the art of improvisation. In addition to improv, for middle and high school students, their stand-up classes teach your child how to take their thoughts, experiences, and observations about life and blend them with their own unique sense of humor and personality to create a short routine. All classes end with a final show for family and friends! Learn more here!
FREE and Reduced Cost Programs
The Free Library of Philadelphia has some incredible free and low-cost programming for tweens. Topics include college prep, culinary literacy, computer classes and more. Visit their website for more details and to register. Also be sure to check out their free on-line homework help and tutoring program Brainfuse.
LEAP is a FREE drop in program offered at after school program presented by the Free Library The Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP) offers daily literacy activities, Maker projects, health and wellness programs, homework assistance, computer literacy, and library skills for students in grades K–12, and daily literacy enrichment activities for elementary school students.
Philadelphia Parks and Recreation also offers excellent after school programming as low as $5 a month for ages 5-12. Check it out and register here.
The Philly After School Activity Partnership offers a full directory of free and low cost after school programs!
