KidSpace | Àite na Cloinne

A dedicated room that allows children to learn through play about the social history of Oban - come visit child size shop, cafe and cave or take a trip out to the islands on their very own ferry.

Open Thursday-Sunday, 10am-3pm.

£3 first child with accompanying adult, £2 additional child

£6 family ticket (3 children, accompanied by 1 adult)

Ticket covers 2 hours admission.

No booking required, please pay at the Rowan Room Cafe or reception.

Children are required to be accompanied and supervised by person 18+ years at all times whilst using this space.

Please note that no food and drink are allowed in the space at this time.

To enable this space, created by our volunteers, to be maintained for all our little visitors to play, learn and have fun we respectfully ask adults supervising to assist children to return items to the different areas prior to the end of their session. THANK YOU

Àite na Cloinne, KidSpace, is an interactive area within the Rockfield Centre themed around Oban’s heritage where children and families can go to play and discover. The space was planned for by the Rockfield volunteers, the Heritage Hunters, and brought to reality by local tradespeople and volunteers.

The play space offers various levels of playing and learning. It is free flowing where children together with adults can move about with self-guided activities to explore ideas further with the children. It is a flexible space for active play with quieter areas to sit and hear stories.  Come and discover stories of Oban’s heritage through activities which reference the history of Oban and explore what it might have been like to live here during different periods of  time.

A survey completed in early 2019 showed that there was an interest in having a place that focused on very local history of Oban, from pre-history to the present day. While most of the active suggestions in the survey focused on adult participation, a child-focused interactive learning space around heritage themes has long been I the plans based on an earlier consultation exercise. The space was created to provide a playroom for children up to around age 9 with their families or carers. The areas within the room include:

Storytelling Stage – hold a wee ceilidh by telling a story, reciting a poem or singing a song.   

MacArthurs Cave – sit around the fire in our cave and tell stories or talk about your day just like people during the Mesolithic time period must have done in the caves around the shore of Oban.

Fishing Boats – toss a net or catch some fish as you imagine sailing your boat across the bay

Lighthouse – Our lighthouse may not have a lighthouse keeper but we do have a seagull keeping watch on all the fun. 

Corner Shop – check your list and stop in to buy supplies

Café – have a seat and order a pot of tea and cake or an ice cream