Children's Museum

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This museum is awesome! My boys, ages 4 and 6, and I visit the Children's Museum whenever we are in town. There is always something new for them to discover. Plan on spending several hours there.

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User Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

A Real Disappointment: We have visited this museum on several occasions, and purchased a membership, upon moving to the city last year. This museum remains a true disappointment on many levels. First, there is actually very little to do here - the interactive exhibits are minimal compared with other Children's Museums. As a result, it is actually quite boring and not particularly oriented towards small children and/or children with special needs who would have to be able to reach high/climb in and/or up, etc.
The main exhibits/offerings - including Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (complete with a stationary boxcar), an art room (which is quite good), a water park (good idea, limited things to do however), a workshop (better for older children), an attic (see above) and a nursery - have very minimal areas to interact and many of these are built-in structures. There seems to be more of a museum feel here with exhibits rather than a place to learn through play. There are no grocery stores for children to shop in, no moving trains for them to ride on, and most exhibit rooms are actually quite small compared with other Childrens museums.
I've also found museum staff to be generally uninspiring, except in the art room. Bathrooms are clean and well-placed; parking can be difficult at peaks hours/events. Finally, like other Children's museums, this one permits large school groups to attend. Given the size and layout of this museum it makes it almost impossible for smaller children to do just about anything once school groups set in. The staff should have a designated school day - or limit groups to no more than one per day.
For children under at least age 5 I'd recommend the Center for Creative Play if they're looking for a more interactive environment. It is small and not comparable to a Children's museum but does offer interactive play.
We will not be renewing our membership and we miss the Top 10 Children's museum in our old city. The directors of this institution would be well-served in replicating some of the features from these nationally recognized museums into their facility.

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