Imagi-Nation
On our final day in PA, we checked out Imagi-Nation! It is a fun center for little kids with big imaginations. This fun town allows children to explore jobs, their roles, and activities they see their parents do in the great big world. There are hours of play inside Imagi-Nation with an experience that’ll make children want to come back again and again.
Within the town you will find the post office, bank, grocery market, manufacturing plant, health center, dinner, media center, police & fire station and construction site. You can also experience their Scoopendorf’s ice cream center for an addition cost. Each location is complete with job descriptions and costumes to wear them just like on the job. I also love the kids can go to the bank and earn money for doing the job. Then at the end of the visit, they can pick which charity they want to donate it to. Their donation translates to real donations made by Imagi-Nation.
We went on an afternoon weekday and it was really rather quiet. For the first time experience I feel like we really enjoyed the slowness because it allowed for the kids to try out all the roles and explore to without chaos. I would have loved to see it all in action with lots of kids though, too.
The Post Office.
The Post Office.The post office offers a mailbox, wooden postcards, sorting bins, letters and a mailbag. The kids sort the mail appropriately based on which location it goes to. Next they deliver it to the surrounding location mailboxes. The kids loved playing at this station and playing the role of the postal workers! Is B not the cutest postal worker you’ve ever seen?!
The Diner.
The Diner might have been where the kids spent the most time. This adorable little dinner is complete with bar seating, tables, a hostess table, and full kitchen. Behind the counter is complete with pizza, cookies, condiments, seasonings, a beverage dispenser and more. Everything is so fun and well thought out. The kids had so much fun in here taking orders and making creations.
The Health Center.
The health center is complete with a veterinary clinic, pediatrician, and dentist. The veterinary center is complete with kennels, carrier, stuffed animals, and check-up center. The dentist is complete with a dental chair, light, and a large tooth brush with a large set of teeth. The pediatrician office offers baby dolls, clothing, dress up sets, and doctor tools. There is also a fun magnetic skeleton that the kids loved putting together.
The Manufacturing Plant.
The manufacturing plant has a variety of stations that allows the children to give orders, place orders, sort orders, perform quality control, find the addresses, and ship the orders. It’s the Scoopendorf manufacturing plant so the kids fill ice cream orders and sort them accordingly. We walked the kids through each step and fill the orders. They loved each step of the process and we felt like it was well thought out. 
The Grocery Market.
Kids can do their own grocery shopping complete with aisles, carts, groceries, grocery lists, and cash registers. The kids loved being able to go through the store and picking out their groceries, filling their carts, and heading to the checkouts. Once the kids were done, we went back around and placed the groceries back on the selves. 
The Fire Station & Police Department
The fire station features a fire truck, fun dress up firefighter outfit and hat. Kids can climb into the fire truck and explore the cab. They are able to move the mirrors, rotate the steering wheel, press buttons, and turn on the lights.
While I did not get a picture of the police department, this area features police dress up gear, and a fun detective table. Kids can use clues to go on their own detective mission. They also have the option to explore fun police tools, such as, handcuffs. We personally did not spend a lot of time in this due to time constraints but it is an area that would’ve been a lot of fun to engage in.
The Media Center
The media center featured a “developing story” board, dress up, a radio station, and a new set. We finished our time at Imagi-Nation in the media center and were limited on time but had fun during the time we were in there. The kids can sit at the news desk and pretend that they are presenting a news story. In the radio area, they can navigate the radio board, use headsets, and even use the script. Watching other children during our visit, the dress up area seems to also be a huge hit!
The Construction Site
We ran out of time before we got to experience the construction site first hand but we did walk in and explore. The kids can dress up in orange construction vests, where a construction hat, and build with Legos, cardboard blocks, and other wooden blocks. I watched one child play in there the entire time we were at the location. It’s clearly a fan favorite.
Closing Thoughts
Imagi-Nation was a fantastic time! I honestly wish we would have gone sooner Wally lived in Pennsylvania. Finding it was a little bit hard because it’s behind the shopping center on the backside of the building. However, it’s certainly a hidden gem.
This experience is pretty much filled with everything you want to provide for your kids but don’t have the space in your house. It’s hours of fun it has endless possibilities for children that love imagination. It offers a lot of components that make it friendly for all ages. It’s simple enough on many levels for a child of any age to let their imagination run wild but with the additional job roles, Scripps, and directions, it’s extremely accommodating for older children to really maximize the benefits of this experience.
From a parents perspective, I really appreciate that they offer discounted admission for additional siblings and that is free for parents. They also offer bundles to make it even more affordable. They also offer a variety of field trip opportunities for local schools, Birthday parties, and extracurricular opportunities (like their new music class!) for homeschool children.
Our biggest disappointment was self-inflicted – we didn’t spend enough time there! We squeezed this trip into our final day in Pennsylvania and did not budget enough time. We went from 1 – 3 we easily could’ve spent our entire day there. Had it been something that we had gone to time and time again, a couple hour break to go and play for a couple hours would have been perfect. Having never been though, and it being our first time, I do wish we would have accounted for more time.
