Enter the Land of Excitement, Education, Entertainment and Exploration. Welcome to KidsVille Playground in Cornersville, Tennessee. Bond with your children while playing together. The playground is in an 8,500-square-foot warehouse.
“I wanted to create a safe and exciting environment and a place where we encourage parents and grandparents to be involved in the activities with their children,” said Christine Sachs, owner of KidsVille Playground. “It’s a soft playground with three stories, and everything is padded and netted. The kids can climb and crawl and run through the playground safely. There are no sharp edges, no big drops. It’s really made to be safe and accessible for all children.”
KidsVille is an interactive, indoor playground for children ages 6 months to 12 years old.
“We have multiple slides,” Sachs said. “We have a tubing slide. We have a free fall, which is a place where the kids can jump in from the third floor and go down all the way to the first floor – they are going between elastics, so it’s like a big spider web. We have a mini ninja warrior zone, and we have a ball area, where you can play basketball and soccer. We also have a tricycle highway underneath the playground, where you can go in a loop and ride a tricycle. We have swing beams, we have obstacles and tunnels, and a mini zipline. And we have an area for toddlers, so the little babies can crawl safely.”
KidsVille opened its doors in October 2020.
“I do everything from A to Z,” Sachs said. “I own the place with my husband, Greg Sachs. He supported the idea, but KidsVille is my baby. I run day-to-day operations. I created the design. The building was vacant prior to KidsVille, so we remodeled the old warehouse and created the playground. We built the blueprints, and we hired people to build it up.”
KidsVille is “more than a business,” said Sachs.
“It’s really a labor of love because my intention was to have something for the children in the community,” she said. “Having a child myself, I realized there was not much to do around and absolutely nothing for children to do indoors, so that’s how the idea was born. I wanted to create something for the children in Cornersville and everyone in Tennessee.”
Her son, Micah, is 2 years old and very active, said Sachs.
“I was looking for activities to do with him,” she said. “Being a mother really changed my perspective. When my child was a newborn, I was trying to figure out what I can do so that I can bring my child to work and enjoy him. There was not much to do for children, and I realized there was a need for children’s activities. This is why KidsVille was born. We lived part time in Florida and part time in Tennessee, but with the COVID pandemic, we decided to spend most of our time in Tennessee. Spending more time in Tennessee was very beneficial in order to spend more quality time with the family and with the community.”
Sachs wanted to build a space where family members can play together and create memories.
“Most importantly, the fun is that parents are allowed to go with children inside,” she said. “It’s creating an activity for the whole family in a safe environment. Parents and children can physically get involved with some great activities, have fun and build a great relationship. I wanted to promote good health and decrease obesity by having something to do with the whole family.”
Once you purchase a play pass, your time at the playground is unlimited for the day.
“You can stay as long as you want,” Sachs said. “We have a restaurant within the building. So kids can stay all day long, and they can sit down, eat and relax and go back to play.”
Sachs loves seeing the interaction between generations. Another component of KidsVille is the educational aspect through fun activities.
“We also have a classroom, and we try to stimulate the kids with arts and crafts,” she said. “We have painting classes, so kids can do a painting class and then go and play again.”
KidsVille also offers birthday party packages.
“We host birthday parties for the children. We take care of absolutely everything. We entertain the kids, offer kids meals, and we have favors for the guests. We provide the cake and decorate the room. And children go and play in the playground with friends and family.”
KidsVille staff members work diligently to keep the playground clean.
“The place is absolutely spotless at all times,” Sachs said. “We disinfect and sanitize the whole playground, every inch of it, every single day. I’m so proud of that. We have a hospital grade filter in the AC system, so when the air circulation goes through, it kills the germs. We make sure the playground is sanitized.”
KidsVille Mayor Sakaroo ensures the playground is spotless. But most importantly, Sakaroo makes sure everyone is having fun.
“KidsVille is a city for children,” Sachs said. “We have a mayor called Sakaroo. He is a frog. Sakaroo built the Land of Es – excitement, education, entertainment and exploration. This is what we breathe and live for. We create all activities with these four words in mind.”