Is there such a thing as a perfect library? One that has a walking trail, beautiful garden beds with a gated patio to take it all in, a vending machine with coffee, and separate, enclosed children's area?
Yes! It would be Meremac Valley Branch of the St. Louis County Library. So far, this is my very favorite indoor place to take both of the boys on a day we're just itching to get out of the house.
While the rest of this post is dedicated to the amazing children's section, this patio is worthy of noting. Not only does is it completely fenced in, it has a view of the garden beds and the walking trail. There's tables, benches and rocking chairs that make the perfect spot for getting work done or reading a book.
But I think the real star of this library is the children's section. There's a door closing it off from the rest of the library so you're not as worried about your children making noise. While it's still a quiet setting, this makes me feel less anxious if my kids happen to be kids while we're here. A staff member is ALWAYS at the desk there to answer questions with a friendly face. Seriously, the times we've been here, the librarians working here have been so kind and actually seem to enjoy their jobs.
There's several rows of shelves of books with comfy seating throughout - including this fun cube with pillows and blankets - which I'm not a fan of, but Rhett loved. ew. However, I will say, he sat and looked at books for a good bit of time!
The life size play house is on the left hand side when you walk in and full of fun things to play with inside like a kitchen, market, living room, table and even a workshop. One of their favorite things to pretend is mailman with mail to put in the little slots!
Leaving the house, there's a story board where you can change some of the words of nursery rhymes by using the word blocks to create a new rhyme.
The boys LOVE this scarf and tubes or air contraption at the Magic House so we were thrilled to find one here, too!
Two touch screen computers to play educational games.
Along the back window wall is a car ramp with a timer and more seating options.
There's more blocks and a magnetic ball ramp set!
And even some mirrors and mounted toys for our smallest friends to play on.
One of the times we were there they had a train track along the back wall, but I didn't see it there the most recent time. Even if they didn't have this there now, it's still one of my favorite places to take the boys. It's like a free, less stimulating Magic House! In fact, the boys call it Magic Library!
Have you played here? Would you play here? Let me know in the comments!