Temple of Fun will open in Darwen next week

Temple of Fun will be opening its doors on March 6 providing affordable soft play for children up to the age of 12.

Inside the main play zone (Image: NQ)

Marcella Bird, director of the centre, at Unit 1 in Wood Street, said it’s been a year in the making but along with her business partners, which include Gary Perkins of Darwen Bars and Leisure, she’s excited to welcome people to the centre, which is the only one of its kind in the town.

What Temple of Fun will look like (Image: Public)

She said: “We have a sensory room which we will be hiring out for group activities.

“We’ve also contacted local schools in case they want to use it for their SEN provision, and similarly if anyone else is interested in making a booking they can get in touch.

One of the murals downstairs (Image: NQ)

“There’s a party room and function room upstairs, a dining room downstairs, we have a kitchen serving food and drinks, a toddler area and baby area, and then the main area for children aged four to 12.”

Temple of Fun (Image: Public)

The main zone in the centre is the Temple Zone, which is themed like an ancient Central American temple and has been designed to keep the older ones engaged throughout.

It contains a twin lane wavy slide, a tube slide, balance beams, hanging snakes, log climbs and net crawls.

Marcella added: “We had a competition to name the centre’s mascot and got children to send in their designs which we shortlisted down to four, with Darwen the Dragon winning.

Some of the entries for the Temple of Fun mascot (Image: NQ)

“Local artist Curly has painted the final four mascots on the walls upstairs as well as creating murals for downstairs.

“There’s nothing like this in Darwen, nothing for the local children and certainly no sensory provision in Darwen.

“The nearest places are in Blackburn or Bolton.”

Some of the entries for the Temple of Fun mascot (Image: NQ)

Marcella said there’s a real buzz about Temple of Fun opening and people in Darwen are excited about coming.

And at just £5.95 for children for a two-hour play, a day out at the centre is affordable for all families. There’s even a discount being offered if people can prove they’ve travelled to the centre on public transport.

Some of the entries for the Temple of Fun mascot (Image: NQ)

Temple of Fun has created around 25 jobs for people in the local area and will be open from Monday to Sunday 10am until 6pm.

For more information visit the Temple of Fun's website.