When Robin Goldberg’s son was diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder, she began taking him to a physical therapist. But she wanted to do more and ultimately the pair also began visiting a high-tech gym designed for young children.

Goldberg added there was no doubt that the controlled play helped her son.

“My physical therapist said she really started noticing a difference,” Goldberg said.

Flash forward about a year and neither Goldberg nor her son, Jonny, need to travel to the Great Play location in Redmond. Goldberg said her son simply spends some time with mom at her new place of business, a Great Play outlet Goldberg just opened in late January in Kenmore Village.

“I love it, I think it’s great,” said Olympia Little, who was at Goldberg’s Great Play with daughter, Elena, 2. Little added that the play space and exercise programs are great for parents who need to get their children up and about, especially on the dark, overcast days so common during a Seattle winter.

Mom Wendy Hubbard said her daughter, Britton, 22 months, never jumped in the past. She does so a lot now.

“I think that’s a big difference,” Hubbard said.

Inside the Great Play space, about a dozen or more toddlers and their moms watch large projections on Great Play’s walls. A wheel spins, a color is announced and the children are encouraged to find objects of the same color from among the toys scattered across the floor of the play area.

“The kids are really learning a lot, but they think they are just having fun,” Goldberg announces during a break from directing the activities.

“I just like being out there,” she added, charging back in to help kids play loudly with balloons and bubbles. Still, Goldberg later insists that it is probably the projections that set Great Play apart.

For example, kids can play hide and seek with the Great Play mascot, Buddy, as he jumps from wall to wall. They can toss a ball at Buddy’s front door, getting him to come out and play.

In the afternoons, Goldberg leads sports programs for somewhat older, elementary school kids. They play soccer or basketball surrounded by projections of cheering crowds. They can take target practice at lobsters dancing around the walls.

“It’s just fun and it’s been so well received,” Goldberg said.

With an advanced degree in archeology, Goldberg might not seem like a natural to run a gym for small children. She’s studied and done work through the University of Washington, perhaps most notably taking part in an expedition to Easter Island. Not at all surprisingly, it’s her children that led her to Great Play.

“It’s hard to do field work with two small children,” said Goldberg who said she spent some time looking for ways to be close to her children and still make a living.

Eventually, the Kenmore resident noticed there was no Great Play location in the Northshore area and studied opening her own franchise. Goldberg said she was just about ready to open at a location in Lake Forest Park. But various delays led her to look elsewhere, which was when she came across what is now her spot in Kenmore Village.

“I like that I live in the area and I like that I was able to offer the franchise in the area, someplace to get in out of the rain,” Goldberg added.