L.I. Salty Kids Cove indoor playground opens in Patchogue
A new beach-inspired indoor playground geared to ages 6 and younger has opened in Patchogue, offering open play in three rooms.
The first room focuses on gross motor skills, with a tunnel for kids to crawl through, a slide and sand tables. The second is dubbed the village, with a pretend market, car mechanic repair shop, hair salon, campsite and more. The third room offers sensory play with panels on the wall, and liquid tiles on the floor that spread colored fluid as children step on them.
Logan Baker, 3, of Brookhaven, plays at L.I. Salty Kids Cove in Patchogue on Feb. 27. Credit: Randee Daddona
The venue is inclusive for special needs children, says Patricia Gullo, who co-owns the venue with her husband, Michael.
Members can drop in and stay as long as they like. Patricia says she wanted to open a venue for “endless imaginative play. It was a dream for a long time, something I wish I had for my own children when they were little,” she says. The couple, who lives in Ronkonkoma, has three children, ages 16 and twin 10-year-olds.
Arabella Jones, 4, of Patchogue, plays at L.I. Salty Kids Cove in Patchogue on Feb. 27. Credit: Randee Daddona
The Gullos named the venue, which opened this winter, L.I. Salty Kids Cove because it has beach-themed signage including nods to Robert Moses, Jones Beach and Long Beach.
"I bring her here so she can socialize with kids her age," Diana Brito, 33, a nurse from Patchogue, says of taking her daughter, Ariela, 20 months, to the venue.
WHEN | WHERE 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday at 646 Old Medford Ave., Patchogue. Weekends are for birthday parties.
COST $38 a month per child for unlimited play; $60 a month for two children for unlimited play; drop-in is $22 per child for two hours.
MORE INFO 631-897-5910, lisaltykidscove.org
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
