Kid Friendly Philadelphia: UNIVERSITY CITY

 

University City— We aren’t kidding around when we say University City is a family-friendly neighborhood. With a wide array of attractions, University City can be a kid’s kind of place. This neighborhood boasts many beautiful parks, a myriad of family-friendly destinations, and countless entertainment opportunities that can be fun for kids and enjoyable for the whole family. And, don’t forget, just beyond our boundaries lies Bartram’s Garden, the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. So grab the family and head to University City! -University City District.

Parks/Playgrounds:

Clark Park: Established in 1895, Clark Park is in the heart of Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood. With more than 300 trees, the park covers nine acres. The park’s boundaries are Baltimore Avenue, Woodland Avenue, 43rd Street and 45th Street.

Drexel Park:  Both Powelton residents and Drexel students flock to this 2.5-acre oasis for its walking paths, benches and open green space, where picnics, Frisbee games, reading and sunbathing are the main activities. And that view—it makes a typical day in the park visually stunning.

James G. Kaskey Memorial Garden: A densely-planted botanical garden with trees, shrubs, flowers, ground cover, and grass; mulched paths and slate steps; wood and iron benches; branches, railroad ties, Belgian block, is a green space named the James G. Kaskey Memorial Garden. The garden and pond was originally created under the direction of Provost Harrison as part of the great transformation of the campus in the 1890s.

Penn Park: Penn Park, located east of the Highline and stretching from Walnut Street to South Streets, features both passive and active recreation and athletic components. Formal and informal play fields are framed and subdivided by canopy trees, lawns, and meadows.

Camp:

Philadelphia Summer Camps: A blog dedicated to Philadelphia area summer camp programs.

Attractions/ Things To Do:

Shotokan Karate: South Philly Karate Classes for All Ages (222 South 45th Street)

University City Arts League: 40 classes for all age groups being offered including pottery nearly every day (for kids and adults), capoeira (for kids and adults) and a whole set of advanced classes for 4th graders and up.
For the fourth graders the advanced classes include Calligraphy, Graphic Design and Mixed Media and Collage. New classes for younger kids include yoga, and knitting and fiber arts. See the full After-school schedule. (4226 Spruce St.)

40th Street Summer Series: University City District, The Rotunda and Penn come together again this year to present the 40th Street Summer Series, a free family-friendly outdoor concert series in University City. For nine years, the Summer Series has hosted world-renowned performers on the green space at 40th and Walnut Streets, just behind the Walnut West Free Library. This year, the series will expand to five concerts on the last Saturday of May-September, complete with Give and Take jugglers, fire artists, face painting, balloon art, and more.

The Penn Museum: If you called its 12-ton Egyptian sphinx “one in a million,” you’d be right: it is just one in a collection of nearly a million objects at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (commonly known as the “Penn Museum”)—one of the world’s finest archaeological and anthropological museums.

University City Family Fun Card: a PDF with a number of family friendly options in U-City.

Kid Friendly Restaurants / Stores:

Hip City Vedge: 214 S. 40th St.

Little Baby’s Ice Cream: 4903 Catherine St.

Bliss Juices and Ice Cream: 4420 Walnut St.

Children and Infant’s Clothing Stores:

Happy Kid (200 S 52nd St)

Other Kid Friendly Stores:

Locust Moon Comics: (34 S 40th St.)

More Info:

University City District: All About University City