Children’s Museums are a marvelous thing. They are different from regular museums in that they have more activities and interactive pieces to bring science and history to life, especially for little ones.
I remember when I was little, there was a place in Dallas called The Science Place. There were engineering rooms, science rooms, rooms about how the world works and how our brains and bodies function. I remember this wall that had a list of colors by name. But there was something special about this list – the colors were listed in a different color. So the word might have read “blue,” but the color of the type was red! The challenge was to read the list as quickly as possible with as few errors as possible. It was always difficult to either read the word or state the color the word was in. Difficult, but so much fun!
Children’s museums have been around since 1899 when the Brooklyn Children’s Museum first opened its doors. The theory of the museum is to center learning around discovery for kids of all ages. Learning through play is encouraged in these museums. Nowadays, you can find a children’s museum in most cities all over the country. In fact, according to the Association of Children’s Museums, there are over 200 in the United States alone! Not to mention countless others worldwide!
So let’s take a look at some of the most amazing children’s museums in the US. They are awesome because of their interactive exhibits, activities for discovery learning, exhibits both indoors and outdoors, and their visual attractiveness.
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is typically listed as the largest in the world. Not only is it the largest in the country, but they have an amazing, life-sized dinosaur, posed as if it is walking through the side of the building! If your kiddo loves dinosaurs, this is the place to visit! They have an entire exhibit dedicated to the discovery and learning of dinosaurs – Dinosphere. Here, kids don’t only get to see and touch dinosaur bones, but also dig and discover them. What a better to way to learn about paleontology than through the actions paleontologists take?
Beyond the dinosaurs is an International Space Station little ones can visit and explore, a rock wall to climb, and an amazing 7-acre sports-themed experience. On top of all of that, if your little one is a fan of Paw Patrol, the new Paw Patrol exhibit is now open!
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum boasts the ability to call themselves the original Children’s Museum. With that much history, you are bound to have perfected some amazing exhibits. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum does not disappoint. They offer sensory play in their sensory room and color labs, imaginative play in the mini-Brooklyn city, and exploration of nature in the Neighborhood Nature permanent exhibit.
In addition to their permanent exhibits, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum also brings in a variety of visiting exhibits to cultivate children’s learning. Past exhibits include interactive exhibits such as wilderness camps and TapeScapes as well as cultural exhibits that bring worldwide cultures right to visitors’ fingertips.
No matter what, make sure you check out neon rainbow tunnel. It is sure to be a memorable photo op for your kiddos before you leave.
Boston Children’s Museum
The Boston Children’s Museum is located on the water, making the three-story climbing structure just inside hold some of the greatest views of the waterfront. Kids will be able to climb, crawl, and weave through intricate pathways, discovering new views as they ascend.
As you make your way through the museum, make you sure you get to the third floor where you will find a Japanese House, donated from Kyoto. This unique exhibit allows kids to explore Japanese culture, life, and ceremonies. Are your kids into construction trucks, building (and maybe destroying), and digging? On the third floor you will also find the construction zone where kids can even dry a real Bobcat!
Before you leave, don’t forget to check out the second floor where you can find Arthur and friends as well as a special playspace for babies!
Children’s Museum of Denver
The Children’s Museum of Denver has been renovated recently, expanding in 2015 to double their exhibit space. With this, they have organized their exhibits into four main categories – explore, imagine, investigate, and create. Each of these four categories has several exhibits dedicated towards this specific learning topic.
In explore, kids encounter the outdoor – climbing through canyons, shrinking to the size of a woodland creature, and, coming soon, a 500 ft adventure forest in their outdoor space, Joy Park! As you might guess with “imagine,” kids role play as firefighters, veterinarians, and more, exploring their world and the people in it. With investigate, science is the main attraction. Using bubbles, energy, water, and kinetics, kids discover the principles of physics and chemistry while having fun. They won’t even realize they are learning! Finally, in create, kids can make masterpieces from art, food, and more.
The Strong, National Museum of Play
(located in Rochester, NY)
The Strong Museum is also known as the National Museum of Play – and for good reason! This museum is centered around the idea of childhood play. From giant versions of tetris and Pac-Man to old fashioned board games, you and your children can explore the wonderful world of toys.
For your little ones, the draw will definitely be the real-life Sesame Street and Berenstain Bears exhibits. Don’t forget to check out the Toy Hall of Fame and the Butterfly garden for a little bit of relaxation time from the play time. And above all, good sportsmanship during the games is key!
Children’s Creativity Museum
(located in San Francisco, CA)
The Children’s Creativity Museum’s mission is to nurture creativity and collaboration in all children and families. They achieve this through several hands on labs and studios that foster building, creating, and inventing. Although science is predominant in the exhibits at the Children’s Creativity Museum, little ones can also discover music, coding, and art.
One of their core beliefs that I really appreciate is that creativity is a building process. It does not happen alone or all at once. Innovation is a process that takes trial and error, multiple viewpoints, and collaboration. Each exhibits encourages these processes so that our children become “a community of diverse learners, thinkers, and doers.”
The Thinkery
(located in Austin, TX)
The Thinkery is a relatively new children’s museum located in North Austin. It is hard to miss as the big red box invites curiosity from the highway. The two floor museum is packed with exhibits and children can freely move between all of the rooms. While my husband had particular fun in the Innovators’ Workshop, rerouting pipes, discovering how wind can lift a ball, and creating giant tinker toys, Little Mister spent hours in the Light Lab, rearranging colored pegs to create pictures, freezing shadows, and using magnets to build light structures.
Upstairs, Little Miss crawled, explored, and discovered a new world of cushy garden-themed obstacles while Little Mister farmed and collected eggs from the pretend chicken coop to sell at the “market”.
Outside is the coup-de-grace though, with a HUGE play space. What almost looks like a treehouse includes tubes for kids to climb through, netting to test their balance, and water play spaces to stay cool. There is a little something for everyone in their “backyard.”
Children’s Museum of Houston
If you’re looking for chances for imaginative play, look no further than Houston’s Children’s Museum. This museum features a city that is kid-sized, complete with a skyline, government, and occupations! In Kidtropolis, little ones can learn while finding out how a city works, from business owners to city leaders.
If you are visiting during the summer, be sure to check out the FlowWorks section in the outdoor exhibits. Kids can get their hands wet exploring how aqueducts function, what a flood plain is, and just how hydropower works. Kids will have fun cooling off from the heat while learning a great deal about the power of water.
This list is just the beginning. I feel I can confidently say that there is a children’s museum located near you (since there are over 200 in the United States alone). What children’s museum is located near you? What are some of your favorite features? Share with me so that I know what museums to add to my list to visit with Little Mister and Little Miss. I can’t wait to see what learning is in store for them!