Jane's Midlife Journey

Minky Moos Sensory Sessions are play sessions incorporating lights, music and actions. They are run by Penny and her team of helpers with regular sessions in Southbourne plus ad hoc sessions in various venues in the Bournemouth area.

How to get to Minky Moos Sensory Sessions

The Minky Moos Website hasn’t been updated in a while and most of the sessions listed don’t appear to run any more. We attended a session at The Stourvale Centre in Southbourne, which takes place on Friday mornings. The Centre is on the outskirts of Southbourne, 3 of miles west of central Bournemouth along the A35.

By Bus

Buses No 1a and 22 stop at St James School a 5 minute walk away. Buses 1b,1c and m2 stop at Pokesdown Station, which Google Maps describes as a 7 minute walk away, although it’s quite a steep road.

Access

The centre is easily accessed via steps or a ramp.

Parking

Free parking is available on surrounding roads. However, finding a space is not easy. You need to be prepared to walk some way from your car.

Times

There are two sessions on Friday mornings:

• 10 am to 10.45 am (babies and crawlers)
• 11.15 am to 12 pm (walkers and pre-schoolers)

Price

The sessions cost £7 for one child or £12 for two siblings.

Suitable for age

The Toddler Groups are suitable for pre-school children from ages 1 to 4, with the earlier session being aimed at babies.

Details

The sessions have a weekly theme. For example, our first session was just before Christmas, so had a festive theme and included a visit from Santa.

Following a welcome song, the session is split into segments included singing, action songs, musical instruments, bubbles (the session we attended also had fake snow) spinning lights, large balls, small sparkly balls and darkened room for magical light play.

To be honest, Orla found it all rather overwhelming and in particular didn’t like it when the lights were turned off. However, with each session following a similar format, presumably she would get used to this over time. In addition, the music was very loud, which neither of us enjoyed. I had a headache by the time we left.

We also found the timing to be an issue with the session for older children running into Orla’s lunch and subsequent nap time. She was very tired and hungry by the time we made it back to the car.

Note: The session we attended cost £13.50 and included a gift from Father Christmas. This was a party bag containing, among other things, a candy cane. As candy canes are a choking hazard and not recommended for children under 5, I removed it from the bag and Orla got rather upset with grandma confiscating her gift from Santa.

Minky Moos also offers other entertainment, including parties with characters such as K-Pop Demon Hunters and Elsa from Frozen. And also runs free inter-generation sensory sessions at care homes.

Food & Drink

There were some cups of juice on the counter and the children were offered a biscuit.

Toilets/Changing Facilities

The Stourvale Centre has good toilet and changing facilities.

• Updated: December 2025

For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth with young children, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth with Babies and Toddlers here.