With added space, castle, slide, foam pit and more, Moorhead playroom KidCo. expands its kingdom

MOORHEAD — KidCo. Children’s Museum has expanded its kingdom.

The indoor, family-friendly playground at 814 Center Ave. in Moorhead recently knocked down a wall into a neighboring space to build a castle and a toddler playground. The extension added 1,500 square feet, bringing the total space to 4,100 square feet of fun and allows for 40 kids to play at a time.

KidCo. opened in March and while the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, one criticism hit close to home.

“My son was super mad that there was no slide,” says Aaron Duma, who owns and operates the space with his wife, Emily, and partners Tom Kemmer and Leah Kaspari.

They answered with a two-story castle with a winding slide that empties out into a pit filled with foam blocks.

“The slide has been the biggest hit. That and the foam pit. It’s bonkers,” Aaron says. “We’ve created a wiggle circle where kids climb and slide and climb and slide. It’s good.”

Wiggles are the name of the game at KidCo., where the slogan is, “Get your Wiggles out!”

“It never gets old. The reaction when they walk in and see the castle is amazing,” Aaron says, adding that a custom throne will soon be added.

To accessorize for castle play, KidCo. added costumes for kids to dress up as a knight, a jester or a dragon.

Aaron says about 80% of KidCo’.s paying clients are parents between the ages of 25 and 35 and they have been very engaged in feedback.

One of the features parents advocated for was more time and space for toddlers. While the operation is designed for kids ages 1 to 8, separate areas for kids 3 and younger allow for them to play at their own pace.

Answering this, KidCo. added a toddler gym a short distance from the castle for little ones. This is in addition to the toddler-friendly Kiddie City feature in the original space.

There are toddler-only sessions, for children 3 and younger, with space available at 8:30 a.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. Saturdays. Aaron says more sessions will be added this winter.

There is also a sensory sensitive session from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays.

Other features include, Tiny Town, with a police station, fire department, barber shop and bakery. There’s also a construction zone and “woosher” that uses an air compressor to push light balls through clear plastic tubes and shoot out onto kids.

“We’re delighted,” says Mary Wenaas, who was visiting the space on Aug. 23 with her kids.

The Moorhead mom says her family was, “absolutely tickled,” when they walked in and saw the castle.

Having spent time in the Twin Cities and particularly the Minnesota Children’s Museum, Wenaas is thrilled to have a fun, indoor family-friendly space in Fargo-Moorhead.

“We knew there was a need for more things like this for kids,” she says.

“We’re trying to create the space we want,” says Aaron.

He and Emily and their children, ages 7 and 5, have traveled around the country visiting children’s museums and other kids spaces.

The new addition also includes two private birthday party rooms, each big enough to hold 20 people. Party rooms have windows so those inside can look out onto the play spaces.

KidCo. will supply the pizza, plates, forks and napkins for parties.

“All you have to bring is the kids and the cake,” Aaron says.

One of the new rooms was where the previous tenant, Hot Dog Pet Salon, had the walls tiled. KidCo. left the tiles up, allowing the space to be used for foam parties.

The new space allows for a nursing room with a refrigerator and another bathroom.

As expected, business slowed down in summer as families spent more time outside. With the weather soon to get colder, Aaron anticipates more visitors. Currently, he, Emily and three others work the shifts, but he expects to hire six more staffers in the coming months.

He says the organization will also get new software to allow for easier booking and more flexible times.

The space is open Wednesdays through Sundays.

The 90-minute sessions start at $14 per child and are free for the adults.