"Northbrook Play" is a children's play area located inside the Northbrook Court. It's a wonderful…read moreuse of a vacant space, as many retailers have closed their brick and mortar stores nowadays. I would say if you happen to be nearby with a young toddler, stop by and let your kid release some energy and gain some fun playtime. It's a small venue. Parents get to sit down on comfy couches and watch their love ones play. I would say some parents there were too comfortable and they were on their phones while the kids were left unattended for a little bit... Anyways, all I wanted to say was that parents may take a short break to catch a breath. There are a theater stage, a walkway leading to a small slide, climbing obstacles, a fun selfie station and an infant playground. There is not much else, so don't make a long trip coming here. There is a designated stroller parking and shoes are asked to be taken off. I saw most kids do that, yet the parents were walking with shoes on. I wasn't sure what the policy really was. Certainly everyone's shoes should be dirty enough and shouldn't be worn on this relatively clean area. Our 2-year old toddler had fun. There is a tree house downstairs in the mall for kids as well, free of charge. I found this mall pretty boring and noticed a good amount of vacancies. I think they started some type of renovation or expansion. The restrooms were quite clean and maintained, with toliet covers provided. "Northbrook Play" is completely free and anyone is welcome.

Can't believe this place is free. The cleanliness and well-made decor remind me of other play areas…read morethat you have to pay to get into. We came here with some friends who also have young kids. The parents hung out on the comfy couches (enough room for us and much more) while the kids ran around and played. There's no staff on site, so I'm amazed how well they keep it clean. There's things to climb, a slide, a stage for pretend play. Not too many interactive activities like at a children's museum per say, but my kids just needed a place to run and climb around. There are certain times of the day it's closed (for cleaning I'm guessing). We came at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon and had the whole place to ourselves. It was luxurious. I'll definitely be back again.

I first found out about Giggles Play during a Yelp event, and have since been back for their Easter…read moreEggstravaganza event (did I spell that right?! Haha). My daughter (2) has a BLAST every time she's here. It's so nice to have a play space where I can actively engage with my daughter, or, if she's feeling like she needs her own space, she's comfortable enough to go do her own thing because she can see me, and more importantly, I can see her from any spot in the play area. We had my daughter's bff with us the last time, and he's a mega sensory-seeker, and it was nice having a space where he could run around and get his energy out while exploring safely. And because there isn't an overload of primary colors and jumping/climbing/loud play, it was so much easier for him to get back to a calm body to focus on his fine motor play, due to there not being sensory overload to all senses. Love this place, and highly recommend.

Literally the best place to take your child. Everything is laid out so intentionally. Everyone is…read moreso welcoming. It's extremely calm and not overstimulating. It's also a great place to host a party. Jess helped us plan the details and made set up and clean up a breeze. This is the best place to have your children spend time in the northern suburbs.

Have you read the story behind funbox? The owner and his reason behind this? I could not- not go…read moreafter hearing it. I will start by saying I had an issue with my reservation and the staff was extremely sincere and worked around my challenges without any attitude or reservation. I have to give massive credit to the staff who are mostly high school/college students for their level of professionalism and customer service skill because a lot of time this generation is labeled as entitled or doesn't care. I got here on a Saturday for the first session at 10:30 am and I thought it's the perfect day for this- cool and 80. Just as a disclaimer, you should wear comfortable clothing that is breathable because you're in for a workout. I have a 5 and 2 year old- it took my two year old a lot of time to get adjusted to it because it's not the usual bounce house we go to and so many colors and things to do, it was sensory overload. Not the fault of the business, just my kid in true two year old behavior. We got out of the fun box to get a shaved ice and ended up going to the "obstacle course" section of Fun Box which was a big hit for my two year old. He literally went through the obstacle 3 times (I was drenched in sweat as a result) My five year old loved it too- the only thing I would make a complaint against is that there were not nearly enough basketballs for the hoop area which is a huge hit. I get it if balls were lost or broken but it would've been nice if there were more balls. I read some of the comments about water getting stuck on the inflatables or that there were some dirty areas but truth be told, I go to a lot of trampoline parks with my boys and this is by far the cleanest one I have ever been too. Yes, there was a little water but you're outside, you will have a little bit of bugs or water here or there but that comes with the territory. We can't fault the owners for natural occurrences. I had an amazing time with kiddos and I wish I had gone sooner because it was a lot of fun. If you can handle the heat, I would highly suggest going in the morning because it's not so crowded and you don't have to wait long to use some of the amenities but be warned it gets super hot super fast in the morning and as a result, the plastic gets hot too so it's a little tough going down some of the material. There are some shaded areas that are so nice and welcoming within the fun box. Overall, a great experience for families! Highly recommend!!

This was a fantastic concept, and would have been so much fun, but the experience left a lot of…read moreroom for improvement. It rained the day before, and the crevices were puddled with water, but as long as you watched where you were going, you didn't step in it. It was very hot, which allowed your socks to dry out fast. but unbearable without the purchase of snowcones. They can't really control the weather though. That said, it was as clean as you can expect an OUTDOOR bouncy house to be. No bugs except typical flying ones. Staff was all around in different areas, I'm not sure what they were supposed to be doing, but they took up all the shaded areas, so the kids couldn't even go up some of the towers. I made a quip about it to them, but we were about to leave anyway, so I didn't ask them to come out so the kids could actually play. I was very annoyed by this. It was not crowded at all. Front staff and snowcone staff was super friendly, and the bounce house itself is amazing. Cost of water and snow cones are pretty typical of any "event-type" place, so I wasn't surprised and they gave you a ton. I had the kids eat some, and I sat with it in the tent as they went back and forth playing and getting a few bites of snowcone, and it lasted nearly the entire 1.5hrs. I also was smart and brought my own ice water in an insulated water bottle..... it was fine! Areas of improvement: -staff taking up all the shaded areas in the bounce house- this itself deserves a 1star rating - honestly. -Maybe some industrial fans? To move the air a bit? Not sure how it would work in a bouncy house. Or leaf blowers to dry up the areas especially the "locker room" which smelled super moldy. Overall, it was an experience, and so much fun! We would go again on maybe a cooler day!

It's a great place for parents to hang out with the their children while enjoying some relaxation…read moreon their own. I believe I have a contradictory statement on the last paragraph, that is, "how can relaxation and kids-monitoring happen simultaneously?" "Sunny Village Cafe" is the answer because the children can play while the parents sip on coffee. The space is designed perfectly that guardians can keep an eye on their little ones. Of course, the circumstances can depend. My partner and I checked out here on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. We were the only patrons for an extended of time. My older one enjoyed the slide, while my little one followed his afternoon-nap route and fell asleep after playing a few things. The admission fee was $15/child and waiver for each child would need to be completed. I thought this was reasonable because we really had the venue all to ourselves for a couple of hours. Coffee, non-caffeinated beverages, and cafe-style pastries were available for purchase. The place was clean and cozy. I looked up their website and learned that membership was available. We already had other memberships that would keep us busy. Therefore, at this time we didn't see the need. I hope "Sunny Village Cafe" can last like the sun that never sets! We live in the neighborhood and would love to come here from time to time.

I've been looking forward to the opening of Sunny Village Cafe for at least eight months or so…read more They've had some challenges on the way to opening but they're finally here! I don't work on my birthday, so since I had the day off I took my toddler here in the morning. The concept of the cafe came from the owner's visit to family in Korea, where these play cafes are common. There are about five tables along the west wall and then the rest is for children's play! There are toys as well as structures, such as a little CTA rail car. There's a little play house. Various toys can be found throughout the play area. There are "yuck boxes", where you can place toys that children have put in their mouth so the staff can clean them. There's hand sanitizer in a few areas as well. There's a couple chairs and couches in the play area as well, adult-sized ones. There is also an infant section for children up to age 24 months. That section is smaller and has a couple of baby bjorns for the littlest friends. Near that area is a quiet room. I didn't get anything to eat or drink whilst here but I'm curious to try one of their -ades. They have some pastries and stuff from nearby restaurants, including Delightful Pastries across the street, I think. I'm not sure how I would have managed them both since the tables ended up getting all taken; I wasn't able to stake one out since I was following my little one around. Maybe I could have kept it with me in the play area and just held it but I wasn't sure if that was allowed. I also wasn't sure if I could order something from inside the play space or if I needed to go out to get one. The play area is enclosed so for the most part you don't have to worry about kids getting out, although there's a bit of a gap along the side and bottom of the swinging door to the cafe/play space. No shoes are allowed once you enter that door, so you'll leave them in the space outside the enclosed play space/cafe. I'd highly recommend going to the website and completing the waiver before you arrive, as that just makes it easier and gets you in to play more quickly. You must complete a waiver for both parent and child, separately, which I thought was the case but then whilst reading through it I was unsure. The cost to enter is $14, unless you have a membership or have pre-paid for a particular number of visits. They also offer private rentals for parties and stuff. I think my little one enjoyed it, and I think we'll return so she play around. Parking is relatively limited since it's in a small strip mall. But there is parking along the street around here too.

One of my grand-darlings had her birthday bash here and it was a ton of fun for all involved…read more  There are a bunch of ninja stations for the kiddos to burn up much of their energy before a birthday celebration meal.  They get 2 hours of supervised fun and it is broken up into 80 minutes of ninja stations and then 40 minutes birthday meal time.  My daughter arranged everything and I was just one of several parent/grandparent photographers/observers basically. Maggie was the welcoming receptionist and she provided a gift t-shirt to the birthday girl (part of the BD package) and got everyone signed in and made sure they had all of their waiver forms signed haha.  This place isn't cheap (ballpark $600 for the birthday package per the daughter) but it seems you get what you pay for - a clean and well maintained facility, a staffer to direct the kids' activities and help serve food, plenty of fun ninja activities to choose from, a private room (there are 2 of them) for the birthday meal, and pizza (by Viccino's, a local favorite anyway) and fruit provided from a local vendor, plates and utensils, and most importantly - a big and grand blast of a time for all the kiddo participants and us by-standers as well.  Apparently, you can also bring your own food in, but there is a healthy $25 per entree charge for doing so, and besides it's an additional hassle.  There is a downstairs and upstairs party room and both are nice and spacious.  One of my grand-darlings has been here several times as a birthday party guest, and she has always had a great time.  I didn't pay, but I still can say a big thumbs up for this place!

Had my kids birthday party here - and everyone had an amazing time. This place is great for all…read moreages, which I loved! The staff was phenomenal and went above and beyond with making sure everything went smoothly. HIGHLY recommend this place to host an event!

They refused to release my child to me unless I show them a photo ID everyday. It doesn't matter if…read morethe child says hi daddy or I showed them my ID yesterday. They treat parents they know as unknown persons. This policy is beyond annoying and I'm sick of seeing the scorn on their faces at pickup. I will not patronize this business in the future.

If you want value for money, The Science Lab is not it. I don't know who is giving all the positive…read morereviews but Im being generous giving 3 stars. We had my son's 5th birthday party at the Northbrook location this past June and I was shocked. The kids had fun with the experiments but the place was dirty and unkempt. The overalls the staff and kids had on needed a good clean. The room we were given for the party was small and a dump. For almost $800 and just 2 hours start to finish was a joke. I don't know what i was thinking. This place is not worth it, it is a complete rip off. And the do called gift box that comes with the package is laughable. It probably cost them $2.

This review is way overdue, as we've been regularly going to Uppie Yuppy for nearly 2 years now,…read morehave attended many Birthday parties, and my son had his Birthday party here in August of 2025. This place is wonderful and the staff are so friendly/helpful. I have a 2.5 & 5.5 year old and they absolutely LOVE coming here to play. Great for when the weather is bad, but they also consistently have fun events every week as well as camps. When we had my son's Birthday here last August, it was one of the most low-stress and cost-effective options we could've picked. The kids had a blast, pizza was great, and we were able to add on things like extra drinks/snacks for very minimal cost. All we had to do was bring decorations and cake! The staff were very attentive and helpful throughout the entire party. Overall, Uppie Yuppy has been a wonderful addition to the neighborhood and I'm so grateful to have this option for my kiddos!

This is a great, family-run place to have a fun-filled party for your kids--or even just to bring…read moreyour kids for a few hours to let them enjoy themselves and let you take a breather. There's a nice party room with a big screen movie projector as well, and the best part--you don't have to clean up afterwards.

Noggin Buiders Summer Camp is absolutely terrible! First of all, the rooms are very tiny, messy,…read moredirty, and cramped, which is unexpected given how expensive the price for the summer camp is ($600 for a week! There are cheaper and better summer camps). Not only that, there camp is boring, unuseful, and they follow the material that another university provided for them, and all they did was supply the parts. The instructors are unprofessional (high schoolers at a STEM academy? what?), and it was the worst summer camp ever. The stuff is unengaging and the experience from both the parent and the kid is terrible. Don't come here!

LOVED The Escape Room created just for kids! Ever since I went to an Escape Room with my husband,…read morethe kids have been begging to go to one. I could never find one that was appropriate for my kids (ages 4,6 and 8). This one in Northbrook Court was absolutely brilliant because it's designed for kids and involves math and science. We had a blast, did it with one other family (ages 3,5,6) and were down to the wire in solving the mystery for Professor Quarkenstein. The kids loved it so much they can't wait to come back and do another one!