My name is Jenny, and I am the owner and founder of Poppins Playhouse.

When I was 17 years old — a senior in high school — I took a humanities elective where our yearlong assignment was simple but profound: design your dream. My dream was to create a hands-on children’s museum filled with interactive, educational experiences that would spark imagination and connection.

Over the past 33 years, I’ve been building pieces of that dream.

With degrees in philosophy and speech pathology, I’ve worked as a licensed teacher, a special education advocate, a liaison, a mentor, and most importantly, a parent. When my own children were growing up, I struggled to find a place where they could be out in the world — somewhere fun, sensory-friendly, and supportive of their developmental milestones. I wanted a space flexible enough for one child to engage socially while another could comfortably explore independently. I also longed for a place where I could connect with other parents walking similar paths.

Along the way, I visited countless child-centered spaces — from children’s museums around the world to local pop-up exhibits and festivals — constantly refining and reshaping that 17-year-old vision. Today, Poppins Playhouse brings that dream to life in a way that is practical, inclusive, developmentally thoughtful, and deeply rooted in the magic of childhood curiosity.

As my mentor Mr. Rogers beautifully said,
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

My hope is that Poppins Playhouse is not only a place where children can Imagine, Create, and Explore, but also a space where parents and caregivers feel welcomed to play right alongside them — giggling over lemonade and scones at Alex’s Lemonade House, roasting marshmallows in the Eagle’s Nest, tinkering in the Big Idea Lab, and creating core memories during special events.

Because as George Bernard Shaw reminds us,
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

See you Soon,

Jenny