I think the studio is a wonderful idea! We will definitely be visiting frequently, yet $90 a month is still a bit steep for us. Will there be an offer of an annual membership?

90 bucks a month? That's just about how much I spend in gas driving my wee ones to their pre-chewed "play dates", "movement" classes (where, by the way, the line for the balance beams goes out the door) and "expressive art" - the teacher added a daisy to my daughter's painting for "poetic flair"!

Will ArtBeast be drawing on my kids pictures and can they get a black belt in less than six months?

Seriously, a place where kids really PLAY? What a concept!

I am a Kindergarten teacher and am so excited for your opening! As an educator I think it is a fabulous idea (love, love, love that you are focusing on the PROCESS verses the END PRODUCT), and well worth every cent – seems like a deal to me!

Please post some pictures of the interior.
Sounds great, would love to see the inside.
Can't wait to bring our kids down.
Will you by chance be open later on second Saturday?
Thank you.

It sounds like a great place! I can't wait to visit and see all you have in store. The drop in price is not much more than the cost of a movie, and when I think about what I was paying per month for four 45 minute dance sessions for my son, this sounds completely reasonable. I will be telling all of my friends about this place. I'm sure you will be swamped!

I should talk! You wrote 125 pounds of day?
Maybe, just maybe, wild guess, you ment 125 pounds of clay?
Believe me, I'm not a critic.
Best of luck.

I am so excited about ArtBeast!! We really need something like this is Sac...with no Children's Museum in a city this size you are filling a niche which has been sadly neglected. And the cost?...Well worth it! Especially knowing where the proceeds are going. I have been paying So much more than this for all those irritating 45 minute "specialized" classes and can't wait until you open! You may just save us from driving to "the city" for the art and expression among peers my kids love so much.
~Amanda

This morning I had the opportunity to attend a preview of the Art Beast Children’s studio with my four year old son.

One word description: FANTASTIC!

He didn’t want to leave.

First, I wish they’d had this place open when he was 18 months old and grew bored with Gymboree. There is a special “nest” padded play area for not quite walking to toddling kids in addition to all the other art areas to explore.

The back patio offers sand, water and rock play plus a “pots and pans” instrument all in a shaded venue – perfect for the 100+ degree heat of Sacramento.

The classes we attended were great and on target and kept his attention. The drama room was a hit, but he was confused as to why the stage wasn’t near the instruments, which are housed in another room upstairs.

He and a couple other boys delighted in tearing through a room tossing ribbons, cushions and carpet squares to burn off energy. All in all he had a great time and wants to return.

My only complaint is that it is located in Mid-town, where parking is a nightmare. I had to literally pull him away before our two hours was up, so we wouldn’t get a parking ticket. He doesn’t get the concept of “mommy will owe lots of money if we don’t move the car NOW!”

I highly recommend Art Beast and look forward to when they are open for business.

My children visited ArtBeast on the Preview day, Wow!! There were so many kids having so much fun, there is no end to the amount of creativity and imaginative things for them to do..

From Yoga to storybook art, to water play, puppets and theatrical play they did it all and had a blast doing it..

Unfortunately I am a working mom and can't commit much time but we will definately be there on my days off.
This is great for the stay at home mom or grandma who wants to positively entertain the kiddos..

Just a few clarifications, I haven't seen any 2 hour parking near the site.. Directly in front there is no limit on parking which is a surprise.

And they do have 125 pounds of CLAY (but the font makes it look like day) and let me tell you the teacher who molds it and works with the kids is amazing..

CHECK IT OUT!!! This place

I also got a sneak preview of ArtBeast this morning with my two boys - ages 2 and 4. What a wonderful, fantastic, ingenious, FUN, inspiring place for youn children! It's exactly what Sacramento -- especially midtown, downtown, and East Sac -- has been missing.

So much better than paying for individualized classes that your child will get bored with. They get to play at their own pace in an environment that is rich and stimulating. Three floors of places to play and create. And a lovely courtyard out back where we spent most of our time doing water-play, sand-play, and music.

I will recommend this to all the parents I meet. Thank you for brining this to Sacramento. And I feel good knowing that my money is going towards a non-profit and not paying for someone elses Mercedes.

My two-year-old and I spent the morning at ArtBeast and had a fantastic time. You have really done a beautiful job. I suspect she's going to want to go there every day from now on. Thank you so much!

Gabriel and I attended the sneak preview of Art Beast yesterday. We'll never be the same!

Imagine, if you can, a child's dream play house! Three stories of bright beautiful fun for kids. I can't remember everything, but here are a few things: a room with activity tables: real pottery clay and a wheel, tools, and teacher! bright papers and glue and many bright colorful things to stick on a "moon" sand table, a big white board, magnetic corner, tile puzzle and much more that we couldn't take it. There is a room with a play structure you might find outside, but was made with special splinter-proof wood and fits "just so" in the room. Beneath the structure is a play kitchen and dolls. On the other side of the room are amazing musical instruments, from ankle bells to big drums.

Then "Jennifer" walked through the room, ringing a little bell, announcing the yoga class upstairs was just beginning. Gabe and i went upstairs and here was a whole new breathtaking experience. There are a couple of rooms for infants and their precious "tummy" time. And then there's the yoga/dance room! Beautiful floor, a mirror wall, and two walls of windows. It was amazing to watch the teacher lead the children through a "walk along the American River" using yoga poses.

Then we went outside and were wowed by beautiful sand and water play places with a vast number of unique tools, all presented in a natural setting. There's much more outside, but this e-mail is growing too long to describe them.

We thought we'd seen it all, and then we went downstairs to the dramatic play room. omigosh! A stage, a puppet theater and plenty of puppets, and lots of costumes. Pillars disguised amazingly like palm trees. This is where we spent the rest of our time, Gabriel playing with other kids dressed as a knight, Tigger, elephant, and Emporer of Thailand. They were enthralled, as were the parents looking on.

And, yes, it's air conditioned. Art Beast is cool, clean, bright, and beautiful. You could stay there all day and not run out of new things to do.

Art Beast opens July 2nd. I can't wait to join. www.artbeast.com

My son loved it there! Unquestionably! I have to agree though that the price is a bit steep for the family membership. If I had more kids, the pricing would make more sense. But for 2 parents and one child - it's too much. Such a disappointment too, because if it were more reasonable, I would join in an instant! There is no question that the place is fantastic!

Just to clarify, if you had one child, you would probably want to get the child and adult pass rather than the family pass. With that pass, the child could come as often as they wanted for a month with any adult- parent, grandparent, nanny... The pass also gives two "Free Grown Up" passes so that the child can come with two adults on the same visit twice each month. With many, many members coming 3 or 4 times a week for many hours each visit, we do think it's a reasonable price. As a comparison, a two day a week, 3 hour Parent Participation Co-Op typically runs $125 to $150 a month (twice our price) and offers only 6 hours of play and socialization. You can visit Art Beast daily from 9 am to 6 pm!