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Home | Hands-on LEGO Birthday Parties from Play-Well TEKnologies

Hands-on LEGO Birthday Parties from Play-Well TEKnologies

Play-Well TEKnologies LEGO birthday partyAs a typical second-grader, my son is obsessed with all things LEGO. The little plastic bricks hold an undeniable appeal to kids of all ages, and a lot of grownups, too. For his recent birthday party we turned to Marin's Play-Well TEKnologies, who operate an awesome LEGO shop and drop-in LEGO activity center in San Anselmo. In our case, Play-Well came to our house for a very successful, fun, and memorable birthday bash.

Drew the LEGO guy, a friendly college student, showed up at our house before the party with a hand truck and several crates of LEGOs. We figured that he must have brought a couple thousand dollars worth of the plastic bricks and pieces, all of which were sorted by category or color. One bin held only the little LEGO people, one held basic building bricks, one held little weapons and decorations, and so on.

My son and his friends were given a free play period to create anything they wanted while Drew set up the main attraction: the Battle Track. In this activity, kids build motorized LEGO cars and then pit them against each other on monorail-type tracks. The aim is to push your opponent's car off the track, kind of like LEGO car sumo wrestling. The boys had a great creative time building fancy and outrageous motorized cars, and then experimenting with different car configurations, weights, and shapes to see who would come out victorious.

Play-Well TEKnologies LEGO birthday partyThe entire party lasted an hour and a half, and Drew had them in rapt attention the entire time, which was nice, considering how chaotic a party of seven- and eight-year-old boys can be. Afterward, everyone helped clean up and Drew packed up the LEGO pieces and left us to partake of birthday cake. Everyone agreed it was one of the best parties ever!

Play-Well offers other age-appropriate projects, too, including belt-drive cars, catapults, and more. Parties can be held at your home or at their location in San Anselmo, and are best with at least six participants for maximum fun and excitement. Parties are $250 for up to 15 children, and $350 for 16–24 participants (for parties with over 15 kids they need at least two weeks' notice to arrange adequate staffing). A deposit of $100 is due up front, with the balance payable on the date of the party.

On-site parties at their San Anselmo facility cost $256 for the first 8 children, plus $12 per additional child. Parties generally last about two and a half hours so there's plenty of time for cake and pizza.

To schedule a LEGO party in Marin, call Play-Well TEKnologies at (415) 460-5210 or email party@play-well.org. For more information on Play-Well TEKnologies, visit their website at www.play-well.org. While headquartered here in Marin, Play-Well offers birthday parties throughout the Bay Area. Check their contact list for details.