I have taken my toddler here for drop in play twice and we had a great time. The staff is friendly and knowledgable, and the variety of Lego toys to play with and buy is really impressive. I'll definitely be bringing my son here a lot over the summer while it's too hot for outdoor activities! read more

See all

This is a great place for Lego fans - especially kids who want to drop in and play or host a birthday party. They have some cool parts and lots of sets although they are very expensive. Id recommend more for an "experience" vs shopping. read more

We thought this was a chain. Or I should say, my wife did. She had seen their ads and signs all over the place. A little investigation revealed that they hire people to run camps and after school programs but there is only one store/drop in center. It's really nice. For $11 an hour you can leave your kid here or stay and play. They don't charge adults which some children's activities places do (I find that practice to be super cheesy). They're not closely supervising so perhaps I wouldn't drop off a 5 year old. But you can chill and sit off to the side if you want your kids to play by themselves and explore. They have so many pieces organized by what it is: doors, people, boat hills, wings etc. you can also buy a Lego set here priced just a bit higher than jamazon I'm told. They can also host birthday parties and do camps. The facility is clean and cool with the fans blowing. No overdone AC here. I recommend it here. By the way Stanford asked these guys to make replicas of some of their buildings. Photos attached. read more

See all

Marin County is so lucky to have an activity center like Playwell. They mainly focus on building through legos! If you love Legos this is the place! This is a great place to have birthday parties and drop offs! The staff are friendly, thoughtful and will help you if you're in need of lego pieces. I highly recommend the drop offs if you are a parent of a Lego fan! This doesn't mean this is for kids. It's for the kid of heart as well! Check them out!!! read more

My two children have been visiting Play-Well for several years and have done plenty of camps and classes before covid and had wonderful experiences there with the main instructor, Ian. Unfortunately, it looks like things have shifted and Ian is not teaching at Play-Well anymore. This past weekend we had a birthday party and the instructor was completely unenthusiastic, awkward, and seemed very new to working with kids because he had no control of the classroom. read more

our daughter had fun playing with the duplos! fun to have an indoor play activity place in the area, and i'm sure she'll enjoy it even more as she gets older. everyone working there was friendly. read more

Our daughter was invited to a birthday party at Play-well this past weekend. This was the first time we had been there. First of all, there is ample parking around the area--which is great because it is always hard to find parking in San Anselmo. The space itself is huge! Lots of space for a lot of kids. They have a two large rooms. The first room is separated into a regular, drop-in space that has tables and boxes of legos that are ready to be built, and a separate section for toddlers with large duplo-style legos. The second room is a large party area which has space for tables and chairs and quite a few kids! The whole party was from 10-12, with lego time from 10-11:30 and half an hour for cake and pizza. The lego building time was organized really well. The young man working with the kids was very engaging and he was able to keep their attention for the entire time. They were able to do three separate projects. First they had time to build whatever they wanted. Next they built cars that they were able to battle each other with and finally they built their own little lego-bots that walked around! All in all, a lot of fun for the kids. You can also drop in on any given day for an hour of building (which costs $10), so this is a great place to have a play date as well. OF course, they have lots of different sets available for purchase, as well as a whole section of individual pieces for sale. Definitely check this place out! read more

See all

Now that our lives involve grandchildren we are rather frequently attending birthday parties. And these birthday parties are not the ones in my memory of mom making a cake and having a handful of friends over to the house to play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. Decorations were balloons and maybe some theme napkins, but nothing elaborate. Times have changed and birthday parties are major productions, involving a party site and a lot of children. Even when the children are in pre-school, the rule seems to be followed that everyone in your class is invited. OK...but now the exponential frequency of future parties is realized with every child there inviting your child to their party. Calendars are filled with party dates. The challenge to parents is to find a location. We have been to sites filled with bouncy blown-up things, a black light shooting range, trampoline facilities and variations of them all. But recently while in California we attended a birthday party at Play Well, a Lego building enterprise. Play Well has a ton of Lego sets and parts. It is a Lego headquarters what has a large room for events. Literally footlocker sized boxes of Legos are on the floor and the kids go to town creating and building, while screaming, yelling and running around. Employees are there to help and to host downhill races for those who made wheeled vehicles that are launched down long tables set at an angle. Amid this cacophony of children are moms and dads who referee among the mob and do their best to include all the children. Pizza, cakes and cupcakes with punch were set up later in this three-hour session where the traditional birthday song is done and slowly, very slowly, the party attenders filter our of the building. The silence is deafening! But, alas, it was a good time for all. Ian McAvoy is the Marin Activity Center Manager and Engineering Instructor, so give him a call to set up your event. We had another party just ten days after this one, back at Play Well and the children really like the place. It is different from the bouncy things and very enjoyable. Wife and I really got to see our youth of today in action. read more

Playwell in San Anselmo is a community gem for Lego loving families. Fantastic enough for all the amazing offerings - drop-in play, cool camps and workshops, and fantastic birthday party options - but made even better because of the amazing staff. Each and every interaction my child and I have had with the staff has been wonderful. Not only are they trustworthy, they are respectful and kind, and incredibly knowledgeable about Lego. They're always happy to help with a project and they guide with a great affinity and knowledge of children and child development. Just held our son's 6th birthday there, and Ian led the kids in a fun and age appropriate activity for our 20+ guests. The kids were engaged and thrilled with the experience. It was a true pleasure to work with Ian, and the rest of the Playwell staff. We'll be longtime customers for sure. read more

We have been going to playwell for awhile now. We do the drop in and the a lot of the classes. Our favorite classes are the stem class, the jedi training class, and the Minecraft adventure class! Stem Class: These are a great way to introduce your kids to how gears work and how to build using the more advanced pieces of legos. Jedi Training: These classes only happen once or twice a year but they are a joint class with the Dojo! It lets them get some building time, and some action time at the Dojo. Minecraft Survival Class: This is a great building class where the kids get to play a survival style game. Rolling dice for random encounters, fighting monsters, etc. It's lots of fun. Ian is a great teacher and takes his time to make sure all of the kids understand what's going on. read more

Lego store meets kids party venue. Went here for a birthday party for my 5 year old. At first it looks like a Lego store, but it's so much more (rhyme accidental). Well, it IS a Lego store with two large rooms of Lego sets lining the walls. They sell the Legos at retail prices so it isn't cheap. The biggest room is the party venue where there are bins upon bins of loose Legos that children (and adults) can sit on the ground and construct whatever they want. It was quite a bit more fun than I was expecting. After about 20 minutes of freely building from the bins, the staff of the store gathered all of the children around in a semi circle and walked them through how to build simple 'Star Wars' car. In reality it was just a box with wheels so the kids could have something to play with. We set up ramps and jumps for the cars. The kids did that for about 30 minutes before they brought the cake out. The staff was great at setting the place up, leading the activities, giving directions to the kids, and (my favorite) cleaning up when we're done. Good place to throw a 5 year olds birthday party. Not sure about the prices. Have also heard its a great place to go on those too infrequent rainy days. read more

See all

My son and his buddies had the very best birthday today! He is 5 and turning 6 this summer so had his birthday today. His friends are 5 and 6. Ian did an incredible job engaging the kids, and allowing their creativity to shine. He explained everything really well, captivated the kids, and allowed them to explore and play. Lots of giggles, playing and learning. Extremely impressed with Ian and PlayWell. Essentially any theme/interest your child has they will cater the party too. The kids had lots of fun. I will definitely have another party with PlayWell! And my daughters who are 4 were totally stoked too. I would do their party with Ian/PlayWell too. Thank you! read more

This place is a treasure. We have been attending the drop-in sessions and after school camps and summer camps since my son could walk. As a result, our son has improved his social skills, his fine motor dexterity and his love of all things LEGO! Ian, the manager, really bends over backward to help and make sure all the kids have a good time and get a wonderful educational experience. The staff are fun and super helpful and friendly. We also hosted our son's 10th birthday party here and it went off without a hitch. A great time had by all! If I could give it 10 stars, I would! We don't know what we'd do without Play-Well! Thanks for all that you do for our community! read more

We hosted a LEGO party here for our six year old, and invited about 10 or so classmates. They had a plan ready for play, showed the kids how to build some cars, then let them build and race them off ramps. It was about two hours long, and everyone had a blast! I would do another party here again. read more

See all

My son is 6 and this was the 2nd year in a row he has asked for his birthday to be at Playwell. We have had Ian facilitate the party both times and it is a fantastic experience. He is incredible at managing groups of LEGO-fanatical boys and you just sit back and watch him manage the entire party. You do the cake/snacks/candle lighting and let him show the kids a great time. Both times we have had co-Ed guests and everyone has an amazing time. I love this place and am so happy my son enjoys it. The best thing about it is how organized they are and that they truly create an engaging activity. My son is 6 and my daughter is 11, and both times we have been here for a party Ian has engaged them both. Would highly recommend. read more

3 flags I'm up. This is getting annoying. As a program coordinator for an after school program, I was invited to sit in on a few sessions to see if this program would be something that would work for my district and site. It was awful. There was no lesson plan, no educational value to speak of and no control of the classroom. I saw three different sites. All three were nothing I would suggest appropriate for a learning environment. There was simply nothing enriching or academic about the way that the children ran wild with the supplies. I attended classes in what Play-Well refers to as "Oakland" and in the walnut creek area. All of the sites were nice, but the program I saw never changed. It began with a 5 minute talk about some current event and how some facet of engineering related to it and then the students ran around the room trying to build their item of the day. Nothing seemed to be retained by the students at the end of the time. Older students even seemed stressed to remember simple vocabulary words, showing no sign of knowledge being gained through the process. I can not in good faith tell you that this program is anything other than babysitting with Legos. It may be great for a party or in a more controlled camp environment, but this program falls way short of being ready for the classroom. CHAD read more

Who doesn't love Legos? Okay, I don't, but my girls and their dad love 'em! To me they are annoying pieces of pokey things that stab my unsuspecting soles and clog up the vaccum, but to them these little blocks and cubes and pieces of primary color plastics are magical molecules, the basic materials of engineering to bring the products of their imagination to life. We have a large tub of Legos as well as complete sets at my house. Chances are you don't. Chances are, a lot of you wish you did. But I'm willing to venture a guess that most of you would rather be caught with a box of sex toys than a tub of Legos under your bed. Then the Marin Engineering Center is just the place for you. It is a place with floor to ceiling Legos, any shape or color you could possibly want, arranged in neat stacks of plastic tubs. For $8 an hour you can let your child or your inner-child loose and, well, play with Legos. My daughter happily spent an hour there building a fancy motorized vehicle. To my relief, we managed to leave without succumbing to the lure of hundreds of kits for sale by not only Legos, but Erector, K'NEX, Gundam, Mega, Zoids, RC Vehicles, and more. Play-Well, the group that runs this place, also has workshops, classes and camps. They also hosts birthday parties at their center and they will also come to your house. Unless you can get to the Mecca, Legoland down near San Diego, this place will do for your Lego fix. read more

My nephew had a birthday party this weekend. He turned 6 and LOVES legos. He had a "lego master" party in a San Francisco park and this company brought a ton of legos to the park. The kids worked on a battletrack 'monorail' project which was exciting and easy for the 6 year olds to build and learn about engineering at the same time. The kids had a blast, the company was very organized and the teachers were very nice and patient. This was a birthday party where learning was the main attraction. The 6 year olds were so enthralled with the lego project that the cake and the presents took a back seat to the activity. Now that is a great party! read more

My son adores this place. It is my number one threat when he starts acting up- no legos! I have my 5 year old signed up for a pre-engineering program that meets once a week and they build bridges, robots and everything else that a little boy loves. Another great part of this place is the drop-in's. It's $9 per hour to let the kids goes bananas while you run to the grocery store or get your hair-did. read more

Play-Well TEKnologies teaches children the principles and methods of engineering utilizing something they love to play with --- Lego's! My 6-year-old daughter has been enjoying a weekly class of Lego Engineering at her school. I have to say this is one of the best after school activities I've ever invested in! She comes home every week excited about the project the class has worked on and what she's learned from it. She's exploring engineering, architecture and physics and developing problem solving and critical thinking skills but, in her 6-year-old head she thinks she's just having fun. Play-Well instructors all have engineering and teaching backgrounds. Projects include catapults, pyramids, demolition derby cards, buildings and other constructions out of LEGO bricks. CLASS GOALS include: 1. Develop and enhance student's problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. 2. Expose children to concepts and vocabulary of engineering, architecture, and physics. 3. Provide an opportunity to create and have a great time with a versatile building and learning system Interested in bringing Lego Engineering to your school? Visit http://www.play-well.org/index.php?id=675 read more

I have not, would not, will not go(ne) to PlayWell on a Saturday. That's like going to Costco or Whole Foods on New Year's Eve. I stopped in with my 5 year old son on a Monday afternoon. For $9/hour I could "drop in" and apparently, just leave him there! There are two 20-something-ish Playwell employees there who watch/herd and are supposed to interact and help teach the kids how to build things. Didn't know about the childcare! Was sort of surprised there wasn't anything really to fill out - just sign in your kid and leave your name and tel no and then you can just walk out the door...Which I found cool, weird, uncertain about and also slightly liberating in some way? Shouldn't I have to fill out more paperwork to just leave my kid and take off somewhere? Or am I just being paranoid and uncool? I didn't feel 100% sure about leaving him, so I just walked a couple doors down to get a smoothie and came back to sit and watch. Basically it's like a big store with hundreds of little drawers housing thousands of categorized Lego pieces and a little kid (big giant legos) area and a bigger kid area and the kids just go to town, under the guidance of the staff. Great for kids who like to play independently, too. Hand sanitizer bottles are everywhere, at least. The staff mediates any little conflicts, explain the rules, enforce manners. There's a little art supplies store, an upscale consignment store, coffee/smoothie/korean food cafe, a restaurant and a hair salon right there too so I guess this would be a good place to drop off your kid and get to do any of that stuff. We're coming back. This is a perfect rainy day activity! read more

Ian and the entire team at Playwell are amazing! We have attended camps, and recently had my son's 6th birthday at Playwell. Ian Did a fabulous job of leading the entire group, teaching the children new skills, all while throwing a great party! We will definitely be back soon!!! read more

Awesome! Had my son's 5th birthday party here last weekend and it was great. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Ian kept the kids attention and the parents could socialize with each other. read more

As a preschool director, I am so impressed with Play-Well. The instructor gave a very helpful, educational short class to the students ages 3-5. I was so delighted that he added math in with his lesson. He kept them interested and allowed their creativity to flow. The students continued to have good behavior during the class. The teachers as well as the students are learning. The parents are also very happy, because they know that this is building skills for the future. Play-Well has enhanced our program. Gillian Smith Brighton Preschool Pacifica read more

my son started taking Play-well classes shortly after his 5th birthday. We started with a 3 day "pre-engineering" workshop, and a few sessions of weekly classes around the East Bay before we discovered the center in San Anselmo. I think we've mostly been there in the off hours (early on weekdays) so it's quiet and I love that my 3 year old can play in the drop in area while the 5 year old is in class in the next room. They have a great selection of kits that appear to be about 10% less then the big box stores (or about the equivalent of what they sell for on Amazon). At home my son follows the kit instructions and puts them together himself but I believe, because of the classes, he has really learned to improvise and change the kit designs freely when building. He's not locked into the kit design so true play, engineering, and imagination have emerged at home. It's very exciting to see. The class instructors have all been excellent as well. I do recommend! read more

Playwell Teknologies, known simply as "the Lego studio" in our household, is heaven for any young Lego aficionado. The first time my son walked in here, his eyes got very wide and he looked around in disbelief. Could such a place be real? Believe it, Virginia. It's Lego heaven. Enjoy. Playwell has two large rooms, the first devoted to a free play area and surrounded with giant containers of every Lego under the sun. Here, your child can go nuts and use his or her imagination to build whatever they desire. We have come for drop-in play, where you can simply show up and hang out, and are billed by the hour ($9 hour). Staff members are happy to assist with your child's project, if requested. My son often requests help getting something motorized to work, or a complex train track assembled, and the employees have been eager to pitch in. The first room is divided into thirds, with one third devoted to Duplo and large Legos for younger kids. The remaining two-thirds contain bins and bin of smaller Legos, tracks, motors, and anything else you can imagine. Before a child goes off to play, staff members instruct them on the rules (no throwing, be kind to others, clean up after yourself). Staffers also monitor the space to make sure everything is going well. The other room is where camps, birthday parties and special activities are held. We have attended both parties and camps here. These are led by various staff members, often college-aged engineering students (or similar) and are just fantastic. The staff member leads the children in building a specific item (cars, helicopters, Batmobiles, etc.) which are then run on a track, jumped over ramps, or moved in some other cool way. Lessons about kinetic energy are often peppered into the building activity. Camps include break times for snacks. Birthday parties have 90 minutes of building and playing followed by 30 minutes of cake and lunch. It all works well. Free parking is readily available on the street. Playwell is a nut-free facility, so keep the peanut butter snacks at home. There is a small water cooler available to all guests. If you're looking to buy something Lego-related, there's no better place to do it. They have everything, and the staff members can compare and contrast various items for you if you're indecisive. We love PlayWell! read more

See all

This is not really a place for a 5 year old. At $10 an hour I'd rather spend it on a Lego set and play with my kid at home. They do have a lot of Legos though. The workers not once interacted with any child playing there. The only thing the workers said to everyone was to make sure they cleaned up at the end of their session. That's disappointing. read more

I hired Play-Well TEKnologies to send someone to our house to run a LEGO birthday party for my 6 year old son and his friends. We could not have been happier with how the party went. John (from Play-Well) was prompt, brought in 7 or so giant tubs of LEGOs, and got set up quickly. He then called the kids over and explained the project clearly and helped them each get started to create their own vehicle. He was polite, related well with the kids, made sure everyone was involved and able to get their project done, and seemed to genuinely enjoy running the party. Many of the parents have commented to me since the party about how impressed they were and how their child has been talking about what they did there. I would have absolutely no hesitation in referring others to use Play-Well TEKnologies if your child is wanting a LEGO birthday party. read more

The kids i babysit (2,4 &5) love it here!!! Play well has legos for all ages. The 2 year old has an awesome time building huge towers with the gigantic legos on the big tubs and with the duplo (the big kids like them too!). The two older ones enjoy the "big kids" section and the first time they couldn't believe their eyes with the crazy amount of Legos this place has. I've done drop offs for older kids and they really truly enjoy it; for $10 it's totally worth it just dropping the kids off and running errands. Once a family had them come to the house for a birthday party for about 10 boys and they all had an incredible time. The staff brought a battery operated car for the boys to build! So much fun!!! The lego party was a success!!! read more

It saddens me to write this because my son, loves this place. However after Monday's episode....with Ian and Lisa...the owner. I will never return and posting this will let other parents know....#1 this place is not secure. Anyone can walk in and sign your child out. I dropped my son off to play , while I had a meet at work. I usually with Matt, pay when I pick him up....however had my wallet and leather jacket in hand and sat them down on the counter.... Basically, rushing out leaving them.... after only a few minutes of realizing this...immediately,went back in. Spoke with , Ian. He plainly stated he didn't see either of those. Knowing I left them there for a fact. ... As well as coming there regularly....I asked him to look at the camera.... He told the cameras are fake Excuse me ...??? So , you have no record of who's coming in and interacting with these children?! I contacted, Lisa... The manager. She did nothing. Filed a police report,with San Anselmo PD. Still no word. The fact that there is no surveillance of your children being left and sometimes in this place for hours....you have no cameras? Very disappointed contacting corporate as well. read more

I came here for my friend's son's bday party. He's 8 so it wasn't an all ages party but for big kids only. I can appreciate the difference between building Lego cars and going to a bounce house/trampoline place for a party. One is physical and one is mental stimulating. I've been to my share of bounce house parties and other than the temporary loss of hearing...the Play-Well TEK party is quieter, calmer, and a lot more laid back. Although I don't want to typecast this as a "boys" particular party, girls were also invited too, but I believe that the activities skew towards boys. The Lego teacher was very patient and made sure to help any kids with the activities. The playroom was very wide open with lots of room to run around and build Legos from their large bins full of them. As a retail store, they sell all the different types of Legos across the Legos universe but be prepared to pay retail prices for this. I think that this is a good local option for anybody within a half hour drive to trek out here. Not really practical for those living farther away, except for the diehard Lego kids and parents who don't mind the drive. read more

This company provided a great experience for my oldest sons Birthday! My boys are young (with older cousins that are a BIG Lego fanatics!) and this company really gave extra attention to younger kids and let the older kids imagination run wild. I thought it would be great to have an open backyard birthday party, let the neighborhood kids run around with close friends and family in a big jumpy house, have a clown and puppet show and enjoy Legos! But I never thought that the legos would be the best part! Not only did the kids stay entertained, but the dads actually hung around for a while! Thank you Play-Well for helping me plan and execute a great party! I learned about this company from my sister-in law who found it on yelp...thank you yelp, I look forward to "testing out" more vendors and shops before wasting time and money read more

This is our "we love Drew" review. Drew is like a super-hero among teachers--a real-live hero to our Lego fiend. We've been lucky enough to take multiple classes with Drew. He is funny, down-to-earth, knowledgeable, quick-witted, charismatic, and like a big kid (in the best possible way). That said, he has excellent classroom control, is supportive, patient, and encouraging at every turn. His love of Legos (and toys in general) is apparent. Our resident Lego expert said: "The world needs more Drews." We concur. (We also adore Play-Well's other staff members--hi Oren & Michael & others.) read more

This a review is for the summer camps. They are fun, exciting and educational. This young people have high standards. Personally I had to cancel my son registration and they returned my money next day read more

My son had his 7th birthday at Play Well led by Lego Master Ian - it was absolutely incredible! Ian's guidance of the kids in a super fun, entertaining, educational way while keeping the momentum going AND keeping a group of 10 young boys under control was phenomenal. Made it so easy + smooth for us parents. And boys truly walked away with a newfound interest in legos. Recommend wholeheartedly! read more

One of the instructors told a 7 or 8 year old child to "Shut Your Mouth" right in front of me. This was at a school that uses Play-Well to lead one of their summer camps. I was really shocked. read more

Fantastic from start to finish. My 9-year old daughter and her friends loved it. My daughter has already asked to go back next year. Ian is a master at guiding the kids through a very positive and FUN birthday learning experience. read more

So my wife sent me down to this place to pick up two little sets of Legos as gifts. Walking in, the place was an absolute madhouse. Granted, it was a Saturday, with plenty of kids running around. But the employees, all young and frazzled, were barely able or willing to help. All I wanted were two little sets, but one employee didn't know what they had, another wanted nothing to do with me and my simple questions. I walked out thinking there's no way in hell I would host a party at this place. At $10 an hour to have my kid play with Legos, I could buy them their own awesome set up pretty quickly. The "parties" or "classes" run into the hundreds of dollars. Once again, I could spend hundreds on the Legos themselves, and the kids could play with them, without "Lego Engineering Technicians" or whatever the nerd employees are called trying to tell them what they can learn for themselves. I grew up with Legos, spent countless hours using my imagination to build whatever I could dream up. Why would I pay a company to have an underpaid teenager tell my child how to put bricks together? The point of Legos is to figure out how to build stuff- that's the best part! Nope. Not going back here. Another hipster business plan that falls flat on its face. read more

This place is great and so much fun, even I was on the floor building things! The instructors are friendly and help just enough.... so they don't take away from the kids feeling like they've built something on their own. They even have a separate little area for the kids under 5 with bigger Lego blocks. I've done the "drop off" for my older son about 3 times and I have to admit he's addicted. They have every Lego piece ever created plus battery packs to make 'em move! It's a pretty cool place. read more

My son took a "Bashem' Bots" camp through San Carlos Parks & Rec, which was run by Play-Well TEK. Anything with LEGOs is bound to make him happy, so he enjoyed the camp a lot. Looks like we'll have to try a birthday party through this company some time. read more