MASTERS OF THEIR MINI MALL, ER, WORLD
MOVE OVER, GODZILLA. THE ‘LITTLE GALLERIA’ OFFERS TYKES A PSEUDO SCALE MODEL OF HOUSTON’S FAMED SHOPPING-MECCA AREA TO ROMP OVER, ENCOURAGING HEALTHFUL DEVELOPMENT
“Mommy … somebody hit me in the head.”
Small wonder. The scene at the “Little Galleria” play area on an average weekend afternoon resembles a human pinball machine, if not a pint-sized rugby match. Shrieks pierce the air as little bodies dart to and fro, often at alarmingly high speeds.
Collisions are inevitable and, most of the time, shrugged off. Tears may come but dry up just as quickly. Kids are resilient.
In full swing, the play area in the Galleria is sheer pandemonium. A toddler here or there will even pause to take in the scene, and be overwhelmed, though such moments never last very long. It’s sublime.
The frenetic holiday season has descended on Houston’s iconic shopping center, which boasts 30 million visitors per year. Open since June 2010 and located on the second level near Forever 21, the Little Galleria tends to get overshadowed by the mall’s surplus of amenities, not least its famous ice rink. Being the Galleria, though, this is hardly an ordinary playground.
For starters, the play area is the Galleria itself in miniature. The mall and title sponsor MD Anderson Cancer Center engaged Colorado-based Playtime LLC to reimagine the entire building into a warren of slides, tunnels and platforms that looks exactly like the real thing might from the perspective of a low-flying plane. The material, a custom engineered urethane foam, is specially treated to kill bacteria and reduce the spread of fungi, and soft enough to cushion wayward noggins. The detailing spares little, down to the red landing light on the Williams Tower.
The carpet, covering the playground’s estimated 2,000 square feet, is a literal road map of Uptown Houston, including street names, crosswalks and black squiggles standing in for trees. For those who grow tired of playing tag or king of the mountain, or just grow tired, mirrors, abacuses and other devices designed to improve hand-eye coordination are embedded in the walls.
Our toddler, Oliver, has been a guest of the Little Galleria since before he could crawl. Once he did crawl, his avoiding carpet burns was a minor miracle. One Sunday morning not long ago, he realized he could go face-first down the Nordstrom slide without ill effects. The look of satisfaction and delight that washed over his face would melt any parent’s heart.
Meanwhile, a grandmotherly type helped guide her little one crawling along the roof of Neiman Marcus. A few older kids treated the mini-mall like a parkour course, scrambling up walls and leaping between rooftops while others swarmed the slide at the base of the Williams Tower. A few more played leapfrog on a trio of cars in a “parking lot.” Adults sitting at the perimeter socialized or tapped away on their smartphones; others were more attentive.
Such full-tilt play is the opposite of sitting glued to a screen. It’s critical to children’s mental and physical development, yet the average amount of school recess time has been steadily declining for years. A recent study by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s School of Education noted the positive correlation between plenty of outdoor playtime and healthier kids. This is Texas, though; one of the Little Galleria’s main purposes is to provide a sun-free, climatecontrolled romping environment.
“The act of play is a crucial component in the growth and development of the brain, body and intellect,” the UMKC study said. “Studies of how young people learn have proven that children, especially, acquire knowledge experientially, through play, experimentation, exploration and discovery.”
Sure, the Little Galleria is a rambunctious spot when crowded, and sometimes when it’s not, but even then there’s a certain order in the chaos. Kids take turns. If one inadvertently knocks another over, either the kid or his or her supervising adult usually helps him or her right back up. Discarded toys and shoes are quickly restored to their rightful owners. Differences get resolved without involving the roving Allied Universal foot patrols. Most of the pushing and shoving I’ve ever seen has been in good fun; if not, an apology, parent-prompted though it may be, is never too far away.
Here, strangers are less so. Spend a little time at the Little Galleria, and it’s easy to pick up a few lessons us grownups would do well to abide.