Giant bubbles, real dinosaurs, the Wild Wild West… Explore the top five children's museums in the country and see what makes them so unique.
As more and more parents look for a way to mix fun and learning, museums are becoming as popular as amusement parks. In fact, youth museums brought in 40 million visitors in 2004, breaking all previous attendance records.
Want to know why? Take a look at what these places have to offer.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
3000 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208 - 4716 · 317-334-3322
Open 10:00am to 5:00pm everyday (closed on Mondays during winter)
$12 · Free Family Nights the 1st Thursday of every month from 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Come Here For:
The largest collection of artifacts of any children's museum in the world.
All Aboard! A hands-on adventure on a 1890's river town, complete with its own railway depot and 35-foot long steam locomotive.
The coral reef and underwater mini-submersible.
The only 30-foot tall water clock in the US, completely made of hand-blown glass.
The 350-seat Lilly Theater, the only performing arts venue in the state specifically for kids, with presentations ranging from Native American dances to classics such as The Velveteen Rabbit.
An authentic Indy car children can climb into.
A 1900's main street where children can visit century-old stores, including a print shop, schoolroom, historical toy and clothes, a candy counter, and even a mid-1800's log cabin.
The museum's main attraction is the newly opened Dinosphere, a faithful recreation of life in the Cretaceous Period, complete with a hands-on dig and a fully-operational paleontology lab. Visitors are transported 65 millions years back in time through clever use of sounds and lighting, real palm trees, and a night sky worthy of a planetarium.
The exhibition encourages active participation through the use of computer stations, educational games, and sensory displays. Among the highlights of the exhibition are dinosaur eggs, a baby dinosaur, and Bucky, the first teenage Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) ever put on exhibition and the sixth most complete T-Rex skeleton ever found.
Dinosphere also houses a 66-million-year-old dinosaur skull of an unidentified species. The dragon-like animal has a flat-head and long horns and is believed to be unique to North America. "The discovery of this fossil was a Cretaceous surprise - we never suspected such a creature existed," says Paleontologist Dr. Robert Bakker, who heads the study of the remains.
Open Monday-Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sunday, noon to 5:00pm
Closed on Mondays from October through May
$5 · Free for members
Come Here For:
The opportunity to crawl through a kitchen sink and other equally quirky places in Miss Perception’s Mystery House, where children try to solve a mystery by following a set of clues.
The Fill'er Up Station, a hands-on gas station where children can pump gas and check tires' air-pressure before setting on a virtual road trip.
A three-story "urban" treehouse where children can walk on a rope bridge, climb mesh walls, and slide, crawl, and jump through a labyrinth of wood and steel.
An indoor soccer field, where children can organize their own team or go one-on-one with a grown-up.
The several labs and workshops that allow visitors to producetheir own movie throughdigital animation, play DJ, paint and draw, and build all kinds of high-tech stuff.
The ever-changing traveling exhibits that make the place a new experience every time you visit. Recent displays included Alice's Wonderland (which let children experience physics, motion, and scale) and Mother Goose Math Rhyme and Arithmetic.
Port Discovery is a treasure of hands-on activities. Favorites among visitors include a 50's style diner, where kids can cook their own food, charge it at the cash register, and then serve it to their parents in the authentic period booths. Once a month, a chef leads story time and cooking demonstration for children visiting the diner. History buffs love thePharaoh’s tomb, a riddle game where children try to decipher hieroglyphics to make their way out of a pyramid.
San Jose Children's Discovery Museum
180 Woz Way, San Jose, CA 95110 · 408-298-5437
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm – Sunday, noon to 5:00pm
$7 · Free for members
Come Here For:
The Wonder Cabinet, an exhibit that stimulates the senses through sand sifting, a life-size kaleidoscope, a floor aquarium, a shadow room, cultural dioramas, and a forest filled with books.
A seasonal outdoor garden where children can get dirty planting, pruning, and harvesting.
A child-size pizza kitchen, complete with booths, cash register, and delivery truck.
Bubbalogna, an interactive exploration of the slippery world of bubbles, where children can not only make giant bubbles, but also try their hand at the "bubble sandwich machine."
The chance to make "deposits" and "withdrawals" at a kids-only bank.
A functioning 1950's post office, plus a real ambulance and fire truck children can climb into.
One of the museum's sensations is WaterWays, a complex set of tunnels, fountains, channels, and jets where children can see the power of water at work through the use of colorful plastic balls. The hands-on exhibit encourages explorations and causes awws and ahhs every time the Ballcano explodes and the Bell Fountain chimes.
Strong Museum
One Manhattan Square, Rochester, NY 14607 · 585-263-2700
Open Monday—Thursday, 10:00am to 5:00pm– Friday, 10:00am to 8:00pm
Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm - Sunday, noon to 5:00 pm
Adults: $7.00 · Children under 17: $5.00
Come Here For:
Theworld’s largest collection of dolls.
A hands-on lab based on the 19th-century industrial revolution, where children can see a real 1908 Model-K Ford engine and then build their own model car.
Louie's Sweet Shoppe, an old-fashioned soda fountain where you can order traditional hot fudge sundae and milkshakes.
The opportunity to produce everything from commercials to a cooking show at WKID-TV station.
A kid-size supermarket, where kids can push their grocery carts through the aisles, scan their purchases and even operate the cash register.
The chance to experience days-gone-by by hand-scrubbing clothes, using a grinding wheel, and churning butter.
A huge display of objects inspired by the Statue of Liberty, including teddy bears, radios, and lamps.
The Strong Museum, also known as the National Museum of Play, is famous for its permanent Sesame Street exhibit, where children can sit on the 123 Sesame Street stoop, drive Elmo on a taxi, and meet the Muppets on a TV screen, all while learning about letters and numbers.
Boston Children's Museum
300 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 · 617-426-8855
Open Daily, 10am to 5pm – Friday, 10am to 9pm
Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00 pm – Sunday, 12:00 noon—5:00 p.m.
Adults: $9.00 · Children under 15: $7.00 · Friday Nights, 5:00pm – 9:00pm: $1:00
Come Here For:
A construction zone complete with hard hats, alife-size Bobcat, a jackhammer, a virtual high construction beam, and the chance to safely build and tear down walls, ramps, and bridges.
The chance to climb a two-story labyrinth of tunnels, wobbly bridges, and towers kids love to get lost into again and again.
A 28-foot-long water tank, where children can play with toy-size boats or put on a life jacket and jump into a real-life size vessel. The tank, which mimics Boston's Fort Point Channel, comes complete with four bridges and a multitude of urban water environments.
The Recycle Shop, where you can buy all kinds of safe industrial leftovers, from rubber sheets to game pieces, by the bag and for a few dollars.
A no-shoes-allowed tour of an authentic Japanese house.
The adventure of trying to weave your own baskets and rugs.
The museum draws big crowds with two of its permanent exhibits, based on famous cartoon characters. Arthur's World allows children into The Town Library and The Read Family Kitchen. In Clifford The Big Red Dog, children can journey to Birdwell Island and visit all the places they see on TV, from Samuel’s Restaurant to Cleo’s Backyard. They can also play Clifford’s giant Xylobone, look for buried treasures on a bone-shaped beach, visit the doghouse, and slide down the tail of a nine-foot tall Clifford.