Millburn, NJ - I knew about the Genius Gems in Manhattan and was thrilled to discover the Millburn location that's closer to us! It's such an incredible place - with an almost overwhelming amount of Magnatiles lol - to activate children's creativity and imagination. The Magnatiles are helpfully sorted by color and shape in wooden bins. Kids can complete builds and challenges, and collect tokens to trade in for prizes. There were some pretty impressive structures in progress there. In addition to the main Magnatiles room, there is also a separate playroom with different activity stations and play/exploration areas, suited to younger kids. The recommended age range is 4-12, but my under-3 toddler had a great time as we play with Magnatiles at home and he loves them. He also spent some time in the playroom with the wooden train tracks and checking out various things to do. The admission charge for adults is slightly cheaper than the child pricing. A couple of parents - way more skilled and inventive than I - were building some pretty grand castles and towers as they waited while their kids played. The space is bright and clean, and the staff are very nice. For parents who don't wish to be "in the trenches" with their kids, there is a small cafe area with chairs and tables where they can hang out. read more

See all

Updated overall rating as I think this is more fair on the whole. I know there are a variety of factors for their cost and rule structure

we enjoyed the place so much today. it is a one big room but theres a lot to do ( including slime / tile making). the space and magnets are super clean and the staff members are very friendly and helpful. parents are welcomed to relax in the small cafe while watching their kids play. we will be back! read more

Genius Gems - Indoor Playcenter Near Me - Millburn, New Jersey

See all

A simply amazing kids' educational play space. I stumbled upon it through Mommy Poppins email and I couldn't have been happier! My super-active 8-yr old son almost immediately dove in to a house-like metal frame structure and went to town building a castle with me with their 3,000+ magna blocks of many colors and shapes for the next two hours. We ended up building a castle with a ping pong ball maze housed within. At $15 a piece per person, we spent nearly 4 hours there on a slower-than-usual Saturday afternoon. There were many young ladies on staff and some helped my son create stronger structure by explaining and demonstrating triangular support columns and they cleaned up after the kids whenever they can without being disruptive to the young builders. They also have helpful magna tile challenges separated by age groups, and award tokens upon how well you did. My son went freelance but when I asked them to award him for his magnificent castle, she gave him two tokens which sent him abuzz with joy. There were two parties going on, one after another and kids all seemed to have a BLAST when they were coming out of the party room. They usually recommend a 2-hour limit and advance ticket purchase/reservation for busy weekends, but this Saturday was slow likely due to great summer weather so they let us stay longer and were flexible when I called in to say I'm coming in later than the slot I reserved. Area is bright, spacious, and clean with shoe cubbies near entry so everyone walks shoe-free which I appreciated since kids are tumbling around. They also have nice food and beverage items and toys for sale (and for token redemption!) to allow you and your kids to play for hours and take fun home too. A helpful staff that aids in kids' learning is just an icing on the top of this great kids' learning space. My son was hooked and did not want to leave near the 4-hr mark for a good reason, and I promised him I'd bring him back again to try mini robots next time. They also offer classes and summer camps for a reasonable price. An easy 5-star recommendation for all you parents of toddlers all the way to upper elementary kids, I'm a fan. read more

See all

A wonderful engaging activity for young children. The staff is very helpful. The kids enjoy collecting the points and trading them in for prizes (nice touch). read more

Delightful spot for young children. Great for expanding their minds, using their dexterity in a no stress environment. Great for kids birthdays. read more

I took my 3.5 year old son here today for the first time, and he had a blast making pictures with the MagnaTiles, special "slime", and other cool sensory games. He normally needs to run around like Seabiscuit, but he was so engaged with their unique offerings that after 3 hours he did not want to leave. This is definitely a very unique experience for kids and adults. Great job to owner Jennifer for creating a place where you really get to use your imagination. The excellent local coffee is a plus, and the staff of Jasmine Baejar, Darrelle, and Vanessa are engaging, kind, fun, and professional. They were fabulous with my son. We will be back next week for another unique experience! Best, Jen Shuster read more

Genius Gems - Make your own slime!!! - Indoor Playcenter Near Me - Millburn, New Jersey

We took my son here for an hour and a half today for his birthday. We had the most amazing time. In particular I want to shout out Cam who was so good with our son, engaging him in ideas, activities, play, independent learning. I come from a museum education background and I used to look for people like this to hire. Really exceptional with children. On the way out my son said "this was the greatest birthday of my life!" Highest praise from a 5 year old!!! read more

I loved bringing my two boys to Genius Gems. It kept them happy and engaged for hours. It was such a fun activity for our whole family.

I took my kids here over the summer and they absolutely loved it. My kids are a little older now, but when they were young they played with magnatiles a lot, and they had a lot of fun with all the tiles and accessories at Genius Gems. They also loved making the glitter tiles. They are slime obsessed and they loved making and playing with the slime there. I'm all for keeping glitter and slime out of my house when I can, so we will definitely be going back! read more

Looked on yelp for things for my 4 year old and 21 month old to do in the area. Genius gems is clean, bright and well organized. Staff was A+ and interacted with the kids as though they were trained and enjoyed it. Not a big space but on a Wednesday morning, it wasn't crowded. Plenty to keep the kids occupied. We did walk in open play for $15 per person. Under 2 is free. There's a 2 hour suggested time limit. We stayed probably 15 minutes past that as it wasn't crowded. My 4 year old was so engrossed in building the brick house that she didn't want to complete a puzzle to win prize tokens. Staff member generously came and gave her tokens for completing the house. Also has a good selection of snacks and drinks for kids and adults. Will return next time in the area and needs to entertain the kids. read more

We had my daughter's 5th birthday party there this weekend and it was a huge success!! The play space was so clean, the party was so organized, and the craft (they made their own tiles) was creative and cute. Sadie, Neil and Cam were able to wrangle sixteen five year olds seamlessly and everyone had a blast! The kids loved the ice cream at the end and I loved that they provided pizza, dessert and a craft so I did not need to worry about bringing anything :) When we left, my daughter asked if she can have her 6th birthday there next year. read more

My daughter has been attending the summer camp sessions and she loves it. She has made new friends and looks forward to going everyday. I hear no complaints from her except that the sessions goes by too quick. She (as well as I) wish the daily camps were for longer durations. read more

We had tried Genius Gems out over the summer for open play to see if my son would want his birthday party there. He totally did! We had the most amazing birthday party in the fall! Jennifer and her team was on top of everything- from responding quickly to emails prior to setting up and moving the flow of the party as it was going. Everyone had so much fun and there was even the option to have our guests (small extra cost) to extend their time for open play after our allotted party time. The party space was big and everything was so organized and clean. What amazed me the most was that Jennifer (the owner) herself lead all the party activities while she had only just had a new baby a couple months before. Such dedication. Can't say enough of what a great place to have our 6yr olds birthday there. The only thing to note about open play is they charge for child AND adult. (They sometimes to run promotions with no adult charge.) However you CAN stay over two hours if it's not crowded, there is an amazing cafe for snacks (and Most importantly- coffee!!), you can bring outside food for lunch, no shoes in play space so everything is clean and plenty of parking. My son has been asking to go again and to bring his baby sister (who luckily is under 2 so free!!) Can't say enough about this place. We drive 45 mins to come here ;) read more

Everything said about genius gems is true. It's bright, clean-ish, the staff is welcoming, and the activities are fun and challenging. I take off a star because it's gone down hill recently with the token system. There are challenges, which, when completed, earn a token. The token can be exchanged for candy or toys. Now children don't create or build. They just try to complete the challenges (which are very hard-3-4 to a page) in order to get toys or candy. Also the slime bar is super expensive on top of the already high entrance fee. I miss the mystery boxes and the open ended play. read more

This is my kids FAVORITE play place. They love the creations they can make and the opportunity to earn coins to use for prizes. We have done camps and have had birthday parties (multiple times) here and it is always a hit. Highly recommend! read more

We recently brought our Daisy Troop to Genius Gems for a STEM badge. Jennifer and her staff were beyond engaging and accommodating. The Daisy's learned how to code video games and give commands to robots. Every single one of our girls were super engaged. They all had a wonderful time. On top of all of this, the place is super clean. There's plenty of space, lots of hand sanitizer, no crowds, and a mask compliant staff. Highly highly recommend. read more

I really love this place it's an amazing place for kids. I just wish they would steam the carpet lately it is looking a little dirty and I think there is a smell read more

Super facility - helpful staff and well laid out with enough tiles for everyone. Very impressed by the whole place - which does come with a decent price tag but it is clean, interesting, well run and a great space with room for you to be away from kids if old enough but still with eye on them. My kids - aged 3 and 5 loved it. read more

The kids truly enjoyed the virtual camp and learned a lot of STEM while having fun and being creative. I have to say the quality of the products used in the projects was quite impressive. I have ordered my fair share of STEM kits, only to find they are low quality. But the products used in the camp were top notch and the kids have some awesome fun toys and keepsakes as take-aways from the class that are very creative and they will always remember. Also, the variety of the projects for the virtual camp was great, from hands on projects learning about circuits, making slime, creating edible art, playing games online, to creating artwork with graphics. Truly a lot of fun, the kids keep saying how much they enjoyed themselves. Since we live a half an hour away, I hope that Genius Gems will offer more virtual classes that our kids can take advantage of. Thank you Genius Gems, you made the summer fun and educational. read more