Escape to the museum. When we were growing up going to the museum meant rules: no running, no shouting and, most importantly, no touching. But that's not the case at children's museums where interaction and, yes, touching is encouraged. You're probably familiar with a few local to you, but what about when you're planning a trip? The Association of Children's Museums makes it easy to locate a great museum your children will love wherever you're going.
Museums aimed to stimulate the curiosity and imagination of children have been around since 1899 (the Brooklyn Children's Museum was the first) and they're currently the largest growth trend in the museum world. That's good news for your and your family.
Visit the Associations' website to find amazing children's museums in the U.S. and around the world.
Do you have a favorite children's museum you want to give a shout-out to?
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
HEY, we've been to that children's museum in the photo (its in Naperville, IL, grandma lives there). It was a lifesaver when we were visiting over the winter holidays and it was too cold to run around outside.
view poopmama's profile
The Indianapolis Children's Museum is great. It has a huge one-of-a-kind Chihuly installation.
view squid's profile
The City Museum in St. Louis is fantastic. Everything is recycled and re-imagined into something else. You can climb on anything. There are slides all over the place, secret passages, odd sculptures, an architectural museum - I could go on for days.
For more info: http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp
For our pictures of the place, go here
view SpaceMonkeyX's profile
My children love the Pittsburgh Children's Museum so much we go back time and time again. Art is integral to the design, and there are things to make, see and do throughout. There are changing exhibitions and we never get tired of it! Especially the water room on the top floor and the mud puddles outside.
The building has won numerous architecture/design awards, and part of the structure resembles a Noguchi Lamp:
http://www.pittsburghkids.org/Templates/CMP_Level3_List.aspx?CID=170&SECID=5&MENUID=233
and the splash page of the museum is fun too!! (Let's do the chicken dance!) http://www.pittsburghkids.org
view polkadot's profile
I love the Houston Children's Museum. Their toddler area is fantastic. http://www.cmhouston.org
view tgray99's profile