imaginon: the joe & joan martin center

I go here once or twice a year with my daughter and grandchildren. The plays that they put on are imaginative, colorful, engaging and age appropriate. I love exposing the children to theater at a young age so that they learn about this medium of culture. They also learn to sit and behave so the when it is time to move on to the Nutcracker at the Bluementhal they'll be ready!

It is essentially a children's library...but with all of the puzzles, activity and craft tables, building block station, and story time - the place is a great way for kids to spend hours entertaining themselves in an educational way. We are in Charlotte for 2 weeks and def plan on coming back during our stay. I have a 3 yr old and 19 month old - both were equally entertained!

We took our little grandsons here and they loved it. There was a book reading/play and they both loved the production and they even received free books.

Fun for all ages and books to check out to!!!Teen section separate from younger readers. Great for the whole family. A must for Architectural tourists.So much to see, do, touch and interact with.

After visiting the Levine Museum of the New South we walked over to Imaginon. It is a free children's library. But not just a library. There is the usual story telling and books, but also puppet shows, and a large play area for the kids. Last Sunday of the month includes Therapy Dogs. This is the best childrens Library I've come across. Kids could easily spend half a day here. 7th Ave. Market for refreshments is across the street.

We went to ImagineOn with 9 year old and 6 year old. There are not many activities for children but enough for them to spend two hours. Most of the time, they played on iPad offered at the facility.

My 4 years old daughter liked this place. The story time was amazing. We also attended a show in the theater. it was good and funny.

Went here on a outing for the holidays and decided to see "Scrooge" and I'm so glad I did! Everything was fantastic from "will call", seating, through the entire play..,the actors- both children and adults were extremely talented and the entire production was top notch! A good, inexpensive treat to take in a play here! Will go again!

FREE! They usually have visiting exhibits that are interactive for children. There are games, books, puppets, dress up, computers, lots for the imagination! I love to ride the Lynx train and take my grandchildren.

A great place for kids to see quality productions, check out and read books, and explore their computers and exhibits.

I used to take my daughter here for drama/acting classes and she loved it. I highly recommend it. Much better than places I've found in other cities like Boston, Baltimore, and DC.

I took my class here. There is lots to do and different programs that are offered. I got all of my kids signed up for library cards. There are also gaming systems and computer access.

This is essentially a library, but a terrific one, geared primarily toward young children. We have been here several times, and came especially often when our son was a toddler. The library has a nice baby/toddler area with interactive toys. The area is well lit by large windows and it is such a pleasing atmosphere. There’s comfy chairs for mom and dad too. Of course, the library has many children’s books, and we’ve always found the staff to be friendly and helpful. If you borrow books or media here, you can return them at any Charlotte library branch. That’s a great policy. The library has a Saturday morning story hour that my little one has enjoyed. The only drawback is that it is held immediately adjacent to a wall of child-friendly computers. Even at a very young age, my little guy was fascinated by the computers, and once he discovered the computers, he had no interest in the story hour or music program. I wish the library would hold story-time in a different section of the library so we wouldn’t have to battle the lure of electronics. The library has some interesting and educational exhibits and is also home to the local children’s theater. We found that unless we had tickets to a show that we usually spend just about an hour here. That’s really quite long enough.Imaginon is easy to reach via Light Rail or by car. Admission is free. Parking is free as well, in the underground garage, for 90 minutes. We’ve usually had no trouble getting a spot. Imaginon is a real gem and we’re lucky to have such a place here in Charlotte.

My husband and I took our almost 19 month old daughter here to kill some time after I got out of a meeting and before having dinner. She loved it. There were several things for her to play with from push toys, to wall magnets, to blocks. They also have tablets with books and learning apps on them but we didn't use those much. They also have an upstairs teen area with video games. Her favorite things there were the books. She loves having Mommy or Daddy read to her. We spent about 1 1/2 hours there. I found everything was very clean and still can not believe that there is no charge for entering.We accidentally parked in the 7th Street Station Garage but fortunately we ate dinner at Brixx Pizza which also validates parking. I should have researched where the parking garage was a little better!

ImaginOn is an awesome library. All the positive reviews are spot on. When our son was younger we'd spend hours in this place!! A must do when you visit Charlotte.