One of South Africa's first dedicated children's museums offering an educational experience that is centred entirely around creative play, Play Africa's founding principle is to help "children and families come together to play, create, build and connect". Making the space doubly remarkable is its location in the Old Fort at Constitution Hill. A place that just over three decades ago was a prison has now been transformed into a hub of play, learning and discovery with young families in mind.

A broadly inclusive space (entrance is free) that is designed to be warm, welcoming and fully interactive, Play Africa offers hands-on and creative experiences for young kids that also have an educational element covering a broad range of topics from arts and ecology to engineering, geography, literacy and technology. It's also an educational space for parents too, who can find new ideas about how to create a fun learning environment for their children at home beyond the formal classroom spaces of schools and crèches. 

Fun 'play stations' include the 'rigamajig', a large-scale building kit, lego and duplo tables, train sets, a child-sized market stall and the 'imagination playground' where kids can build their own forts, cars, homes and other fantasy play worlds from giant foam bricks.

Kids up to ten years old are welcomed with open arms and there are even activities suitable for babies under one year old whether crawling, just sitting up or starting to walk. Play Africa also hosts special 'Sensory Play' days designed especially for children with autism and other sensory integration challenges where they can play together with their family and caregivers in a reduced sound environment (which includes quiet areas and sensory aids).

An NGO, Play Africa relies on donations and volunteers and is continuing to add new exhibits and play areas. If you would like to know more about how to donate to Play Africa or become a volunteer see the Play Africa website for more details.