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Frequently Asked Questions
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Is there a cost for parents to attend?No, there is not, up to two parents are included in the ticket price. If you would like to bring additional adults, there will be a charge of $8.00 per additional adult which you can add on during checkout.
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Do I need to register my child that is under 2 years old?If they are attending with a sibling, they are free. Please do ensure you include them on the waiver however. If you are coming with a single child under 2 years old, the regular fees would be due. Please also note that our environment is designed for children ages 2+ that are not mouthing. There are many small parts around, so close supervision is required of young children.
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How much is entry?The cost is $25 for the first child and $20 for siblings (plus gst).
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What are the hours for open play?The schedule fluctuates during different times of the year. In the fall, we have many offerings during the week day, as well as on the weekend. In the summertime, we do not run open play during the week day, only on the weekend, as we are running summer camps. Open play times are two hour windows and pre-registration on our website is required.
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What do children do during open play?In our STEM Lab, embark on an incredible journey of discovery alongside your child. Unleash your creativity together and witness the excitement of bringing ideas to life with our vast offering of engineering materials. Step into our Move Lab, a dynamic space designed for both young and grown-up adventurers. Join your child in active play, exploring the stimulating environment with a variety of equipment. Together, you'll experience the joy of movement and the benefits of learning through physical engagement. Prepare to be captivated by our Light Lab, a sensory oasis that delights both young and adult minds. Immerse yourselves in the enchanting world of glow-in-the-dark wonders, interactive light installations, and a variety of light up and glow in the dark materials. Bond over shared moments of awe and wonder. Indulge in the artistic wonders of our Mess Lab, where creativity knows no bounds. Join your child in the process-based art studio, exploring various mediums and engaging in sensory experiences. Together, you'll create unforgettable masterpieces and cherished memories. As you navigate our space, you'll witness the transformative power of S.T.E.A.M play in fostering imagination, problem-solving skills, and a lifelong love for learning for both you and your child. Experience the joy of discovery, the thrill of creativity, and the magic of shared moments at The Makery.
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Do I need to pre-register?Yes, we are a smaller program with a capacity limit and we want to ensure that we don't have to turn families away if we sell out, which does happen from time to time and will likely happen more often in the colder months. Please purchase your ticket(s) on our website prior to joining us.
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Do you offer a membership option?Yes we do, you can find the info HERE.
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What happens if we fall ill on the day of our open play booking?Please let us know as soon as possible and we can look at rebooking you to a different date.
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How many children attend open play?It depends on the day, sometimes it is quieter and sometimes it can be quite busy. Weekdays are typically quieter on non field trip days. If you are looking for it to be on the quieter side, consult what days we have field trips listed on the open play portion of our website, and choose a non field trip day. Please note that if you make a booking far in advance, we cannot guarantee a field trip won't be booked on that date. It is best to wait till a week out before booking if this is a concern for you.
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How many children and adults can join the party?The party room can hold approximately 30 people. While we can add more, it gets more squishy after this. We allow for up to 20 children (including the birthday child/ren) and we recommend no more than 15 adults in the room. The party includes up to 12 guests plus the birthday child. Only one birthday child is free, so if doing a double birthday, you will need to count the other child (and any siblings over 2 years old that will be joining the activities) in the 12 child count. Additional children can be added to your package for $15+gst per child ($20+gst per child if doing the pet adoption experience). There is no cost for adults.
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Do you serve food? Can we bring our own food?No we do not, you will need to bring your own food. You are welcome to bring whatever you like, but please do not leave the party room with food or drink.
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Do you have a fridge or freezer?We do not have a fridge or freezer, so you will need to bring a cooler if needing to keep food cold/frozen.
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What do I need to bring?Anything you need for your food such as dishes, utensils, napkins, knife, serving utensils, table cloths (we have three 6-8 seat rectangle tables), etc. As well as your candles and lighter if doing cake.
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Do you allow sparklers?I am afraid not - they damage our tables.
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Can we hang decorations?We allow you to hang decor on our large white wardrobes (three of them side by side) but do not allow anything to be taped onto our walls. Free standing balloons and such are a good option.
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What time should we arrive? When do we need to leave?You may come a maximum of 15 mins prior to your party booking time, please do not come any earlier, as we may be running another another party or class at that time. At the end of your party, you have 15 minutes to take your things out of the party room and we ask you do so promptly as we have other bookings in the afternoon and need to clean and prepare. The first portion of the party is open play, the next 30-45 minutes (depending on booking type) will be the experience that you chose (slime, pet adoption, glow, sand or orb) and the last 30 mins will be time for you to use the room for food, etc. Please note that we use the Mess Lab during our public open play, and thus, you will not have access to the party room until 15 mins prior to the experience portion of your party (so the last 60-75 minutes of your party, depending on your booking type will be in the private room, and you get access to it 15 mins prior, not when you first arrive that day).
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What happens if we fall ill?In the event of illness, bookings can be rescheduled to a later date. Please do not come to The Makery if you or your child are unwell. Please email us to rebook at: info@themakeryspace.com
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What is your cancellation policy?Programs cancelled with 30 days notice or more will be fully refunded, less a 5% service charge. Parties cancelled with 8-29 days notice are subject to be charged 50% of the booking fee. Parties cancelled with 7 days notice or less, will not be provided with a refund.
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Do we have a private room for our party?The first portion (open play) is during public open play time so there will be other guests mixed in during this time. The last 60-75 mins (depending on party type) is spent in a private room (the Mess Lab) and it is closed to the public during this time.
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I don't see the month of my child's birthday posted online, why is that?As we are changing our offerings at The Makery from time to time, we only post birthdays three months at a time so we can ensure that we can review our offerings on a regular basis without disrupting other bookings. We post the next month toward the end of each month, and sometimes a few days into the new month if things get a bit busy for us.
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How can I book the facility for a private party?We offer private bookings where you can book the entire facility for just your group. This includes: Access to all four of our exploration spaces Can host up to 50 people (babies not included in count) Table seating for up to 30 at a time in our Mess Lab (adult sized tables with wooden stools) Mess lab activities for your guests can be added for an additional charge (glow experience, slime making, sensory play and/or various art projects) We recommend booking at least one to two months in advance to get the date of your choosing. Please contact us for booking options.
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Are the children separated into different aged groups once they arrive?No they are not, they are all together in one mixed age grouping. The groups spread out into different rooms throughout the day.
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How many children attend the camp?We enroll a max of 45 children into the camp, with 2 - 3 Educators depending on how many children will be attending on any given day. This aligns closely with the ratios that you will find in a child care setting for school aged children.
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What do the children do each day?As a S.T.E.A.M focussed camp, we do a variety of thing and it varies from day to day what that might look like. Some examples of things we plan throughout the week are: - Science experiments - Sensory play (slime, playdough, water, themed sensory setups, etc) - Robotics (operating some of our mobile robots such as Dash, Sphero Indi and Sphero Bolt) - 3D printing - Engineering (building with a huge variety of materials such as LEGO, magnet tiles, plus plus blocks, huge foam blocks, and many more) - Light/glow activities - Stop motion animation projects (for the older kiddos) - Gym activities - Music creation (using various digital tools) - Outdoor activities and park trips - Maker projects (using recycled materials) - Process based art (new projects daily) - Screen free coding activities - And many others Children are welcome to freely choose the activities they are interested in throughout the day. Some activities are mandatory though, such as going to the park, as the entire group goes together.
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What is the average age of the campers who attend?We see mostly ages 5-10 with a few older kiddos from time to time.
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My child often needs support with their behaviour, can they be part of the camps?We are an inclusive program, and want to ensure everyone is able to enjoy their experience. Parents will be asked to pick up their child(ren) if they are overly aggressive, destructive, are using foul language repeatedly, not willing to follow important directions or otherwise making it hard for our guests to enjoy the space.
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What happens if my child is ill and misses a camp day?We do not refund missed days, but if we have an opening on another day, we can look at rebooking you.
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What happens if I need to cancel or rebook a camp day due to illness or emergency?There is a 5% admin fee to cancel for a refund, or we can rebook for a different day if needed.
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What do the children do during a field trip?We are an exploratory program, so the children will get to experience our four different labs and the different materials/activities within. We do not instruct the children during field trips.
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How many adults are allowed to attend? Do adults need to pay?We just ask it be within reason. Normal or enhanced ratios for children to staff plus some parent helpers are more than welcome. Adults are included in the field trip rate, there is no additional cost.
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What are the options for field trips?We offer 1.5 or 2 hour long sessions. You can start your trip at 9:30am/10:00am or 1:00pm/1:30pm.
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What are your supervision requirements?Children need to be well supervised at all times, and encouraged to pick up after themselves as they move along. Adults should be engaged alongside them to ensure a smooth field trip experience.
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How does payment work?We charge for a minimum of 15 guests (even if you have less), which is paid upfront to book your field trip. After your field trip concludes, we will bill you for the remaining children over the 15 you paid for initially (if any). You will be emailed invoices each time and can pay by credit card, e-transfer or cheque.
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How do I redeem my voucher code?When checking out, the system will ask you for a promotional code during checkout, you will enter the code into that box. Our older voucher system required us to send out manual voucher codes. You have an older style voucher if yours looks like the one below. If you are trying to redeem multiple children using the same voucher code, you will need to do each child in a separate transaction with this booking system. Moving forward though, when purchasing gift cards from our new system, they will be automatically generated and you there won't be any limitations when booking so you could do multiple children at once. If your older code does not work, please touch base and we can do a manual booking if we need to. Please note that there are currently two different areas you can redeem your older voucher code, one will appear when you first go to check out and the other one will be on the next page after you click "check out". There was recently a glitch with the first one on the cart page, so if that does work, use the one on the next page until they get it sorted. Older style voucher will need to be redeemed under "promotion code". Gift cards purchased on our new site will be redeemed under "gift card" when checking out. Older style voucher:
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Can I bring a stroller inside?Some of our spaces do not have enough room for strollers, and so we ask that you not bring strollers into our space.
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Can we bring in outside food or drink?We have designated eating times during our camps and birthday parties, but during open play we ask that food not be brought into our space. Spill proof bottles/mugs are okay if you want to bring in a drink. If you have a disposable cup from a local coffee shop, we just ask that it stay in the front entrance area (you can leave in your cubby if you like and sneak in some sips as you move from room to room). This helps us to avoid spills on our rugs and equipment. Water bottles are 100% okay, just please keep them out of reach of little hands so we can avoid spills.
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Do you have drinks or food on site?No we do not, please ensure you have a snack prior to coming if you feel that hunger may start creeping up before the end of your visit.
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What is your footwear policy?We are socked foot environment, please ensure you bring socks if you are wearing sandals. Clean indoor shoes are acceptable for those with mobility concerns.
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What are your hours of operation?The schedule fluctuates during different times of the year. In the fall, we have many offerings during the week day, as well as on the weekend. In the summertime, we do not run open play during the week day, only on the weekend, as we are running summer camps. Open play times are two hour windows and pre-registration on our website is required. Please keep an eye on our website, social media and join our newsletter to stay in the loop.
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My child has additional needs, are they welcome here?We are an inclusive program, and want to ensure everyone is able to enjoy their experience. Guests will be excluded from our program only if they are overly aggressive, destructive, are using foul language repeatedly, or otherwise making it hard for our guests to enjoy the space. This applies to adult behaviour as well.
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Do you have a lost and found?Yes, we have a lost and found. Please feel free to come and look if you left anything behind. Just make sure we are available prior to coming as our hours fluctuate and we are sometimes offsite.
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