Driving and Parking
The Ager Play Center is centrally located in Lincoln. It is right next to the Lincoln Children's Zoo at 1300 S 27th St. The parking lot for the Ager Center is shared with the zoo and there is ample parking.
Cost
The cost for Ager is $3.50 for adults, children 12 months to 17 years is $3.50, and children under the age of one are FREE. There is a small discount for zoo members. They take MasterCard, Visa and cash. At first, I was confused by the fact that adults were charged but I think this is mostly due to the low cost of admission. Similar places in town charge a much higher admission price for kids and don't charge adults. This way it all evens out.
Main Exhibits
The Ager Center is divided up into two distinct areas. For children who are over 3 and under 48 inches in height there is an awesome play structure with climbing areas, slides, ball pits, monkey bars and more. This area is what the Ager Center is all about.
For children younger than 3, there is a gated area at the back of the room filled with developmental toys. Scattered throughout the room are bikes, trikes, wagons, a LEGO table, different "homes" and more toys.
Food and Drink
There are three tables in the concession area for consumption of food and drink purchased at the Ager Center. The food that is available is vending machine snacks, a soda machine and a water machine. If you bring outside food, like the daycare that brought snacks when we visited, you rent a room for $6.25/15 minutes to eat your food.
Overall
The reason we had never visited the Ager Center was that my kids are two years apart and I knew that I couldn't take my 2.5 year old and tell her that she couldn't play in the fun area while her 5 year old sister did. I was so happy when she turned 3 so that we could try this place out. That would be my only downside to the Ager Center. If you have kids that fall in a certain age range it is a difficult place to visit without your one or two year old having a complete meltdown about not getting to go. Then when they are big enough to go, their older sibling will be too big. My older daughter is 46 inches tall so we have a couple of months where we can attend the Ager Center.
Parent supervision is required at Ager. The staff is on site for the maintenance of the building and its toys. They were very organized, constantly putting the bikes back so no one would trip and fall or putting toys back in their designated area. The building itself is very bright thanks to skylights, is clean and didn't feel crowded despite there being quite a few kids. Don't forget to bring socks; kids will need them to play.
My kids loved it. They played for 2.5 hours. They went from the play structure to the bikes to "cooking" in the kitchen and back again. It was active play withjumping, running, climbing-and this is great with the hot weather. I wanted to take them someplace where they could get that energy out. We will definitely go again.
Want more Macaroni Kid Lincoln Reviews and Things to do around Lincoln? Below are some.
Places in Lincoln
Sheldon Museum of Art
Ager Play Center
Pools and Water Parks
Larsen Tractor Test & Power Museum
Community Parks
Nine Mile Prairie
Activities Near Lincoln
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
Strategic Air & Space Museum
Mahoney State Family Aquatic Center
Omaha Children's Museum
Branched Oak Lake
Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center
