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City Museum
Rating Details »
Categories: Museums, Tours, Playgrounds, Local Flavor [Edit]
Neighborhood: Downtown701 N 15th Street
Saint Louis, MO 63103
(314) 231-2489
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
111 reviews for City Museum
The best place on the planet.
Every time I go back to St. Louis, I drag my friends here.
It's magnificent!
When I was a teenager and too big to play in the balls at chucky cheese or go join the kids on the playground, I used to dream about opening my own adult playground.
then
TADA!
City Museum is my favoritest place in the whole USA!
This museum could probably be better described as an amusement park. There's a Ferris wheel on the roof (which i didn't get to ride due to some rain! Boo!), a 10-story circular slide, a big thing of *balls* to play around in, a rope swing, and mazes and *mazes* of deep-down caves, sky-high cages and installation art-type things to crawl through!
I was told that this museum used to be an old shoe factory. I love factories! They also have an outdoor area where you can cool off ('cause you WILL get sweaty!), eat hot dogs and drink beer.
I never thought I'd say this, but...
knee pads would come in handy here....
..as you will be crawling through millions of small spaces :)
I had the good fortune of spending a few hours here with some lovely people on July Fourth, 2009, and we lost each other on several occasions, as one of us would inevitably disappear down a rabbit hole! This place reminds me of the movies Edward Scissorhands and The City of Lost Children...such a trippy place!
Playing is so therapeutic...I've never been to a museum quite like this and wish San Francisco had something similar.
Just think of all the awesome first dates that have taken place here!
I will come back to St. Louis just to come to this awesome museum! (But is it really a museum?)
I spent a good 3-4 hours in there conquering the various slides (the 7 story one made me super dizzy!) but it just seems like you can spend countless days climbing, discovering, and just having fun! I gotta admit this place is utterly crazy and weird but that's the charm of it. I don't think I've ever been anywhere like this before.
I won't say anything that hasn't been said already on these reviews but trust me that nothing that us reviewers will say or the website shows will give it justice. Just make sure if you're ever in St. Louis to just spend your whole day here!
I LOVE THIS PLACE.
Pretty much a Discovery Zone for adults, it features all of the slides/climbing you would expect. PLUS they have a dodge ball pit. PLUS a fire pit where you can make s'mores.
Seriously, if you are in St. Louis and DONT check this place out, you are both crazy and doing yourself a huge disservice.
"We need to drop acid and take control of Tim Burton. Then we need to get him to build us an amusement park out of found shit in St. Louis. Maybe throw in a thrift store, the world's largest pair of uncomfortable underwear, life-size rock'em sock'em robots, some beers and a seven story tall hamster tunnel that adults will get stuck in."
Yelper "Mikelite" nailed it.
All I can say is that I have been to at least 84 countries, an untold number of museums and attractions, and have never been to a place like it.
Just go.
I've been a long time fan of the City Museum. I repeatedly hear St. Louis has a lack of culture or that our city is typical of the Midwest. One trip to the City Museum will change this opinion!
With underground tunnels, an indoor cave, climbing trees, a fun house, turtles, fish and much, much more, the usual trip to the Arch pales in comparison to the City Museum. The exhibits and climbing area, slides, artwork, etc are all created out of recycled items found in St. Louis.
However, I do want to caution parents when taking their children. The City Museum was built for adventuresome people and children love the place. Over the years there have been a few safety concerns - I remember news stories about two different children who fell from considerable heights. I didn't pay attention until recently when my child and I attended a gathering in the evening at the City Museum. Several local bands were playing, circus acts performed, girls with glow in the dark hoola hoops "hoola'ed" in the dark - a great and eclectic night!
Somehow, my ten year old and I got off track and took a metal staircase to reach the next level. However, the staircase did not go to the level we were seeking. Instead it wound up for several flights, in the dark, with no security stopping us or the other kids, teens and adults roaming the building. I knew we had wandered into an undeveloped area of the building but there had been no signs, no caution tape, no security guard. The railing was not very high on the staircase and I realized than with one misstep, an excited child could tumble down the stairs or over the rail to land several stories below.
I love what the City Museum brings to St. Louis - a multi-faceted indoor amusement park (with outdoor activities as well - there is even a bar with live music for adults!), however this is NOT a place to "dump" your kids for the day or to meander through while kiddos run ahead. There are several areas that require parental supervision.
I would have rated the museum with more stars but I do think more safety measures and precautions should be taken. Ultimately it is a parent's responsibility however the place is promoted for children to attend and explore. Except for the safety hazards (that parents can avoid), the City Museum holds a myriad of colorful and educational rooms in which to wander through, climb, jump, slide and much more!
We went twice in one week, I cant believe it took us so long to find this place!
We went last Friday and it was nice-
We were there a bit later and were basically alone to explore the aquarium by ourselves, it was great, except the sting rays were sleeping-
If I could have gotten in that tank with the Doctor fish, I would have, those little things are so great, and make your skin so soft!
We saw turtles with weird little mouths, and had the pleasure of being outside when some kid threw up into the pit with all the balls where all the adults would frolic, we skipped that this time-
We did go upstairs, and explored the bus, and went down that slide, but it was too cold for the Ferris Wheel, at least for us-
This place must be so amazing in the summertime, and I cant wait to go back over and over again, this is truly my most favorite place in the city- to act like a big kid again.
Oh, and we did utilize the bar, and all I can say is that my jack and coke had way more jack than coke, and that made me very happy!
Words cannot describe how amazing this place is. Hands down this place would have to be the best place I have ever visited. It's like a adult play ground. I don't even know why they call it a museum - It's kind of like a kids ball pit and amusement park rolled into one. They have three floors of "play ground" and then an outside and roof section (which has a Ferris wheel). The play grounds consists of rope swings, ball pits, metal climbing cages, mazes in dinosaur caves and a ton of slides (the best was the 7 store twisty slide). They also have a cool gift shop and a couple of bars and restaurants. If you are in the area - you defiantly have to check this place out - it would be horrible if you missed it!!!
Most amazing museum (possibly even place in general) I've ever been to. If you're in St. Louis, there is NO reason not to go to this.
what can i say--! Rumors of this strangely awesome land reached me in Lawrence, KS and i came to verify the whisperings of multiple-story slides, suspended airplanes, and giant ball pits of DOOOOOM!
I can attest to the trueness of all these things except the doom. Unless maybe you are so unlucky as to lose your wallet while crawling thru a wire cage and watch helplessly as an 8yr old boy below picks it up, leafs thru its contents and walks out of sight while you howl in agony.
Because of the colder weather, the staff had made a campfire outside near the door of the front entrance. They offered skewers and marshmallows to those who came near the fire and we got to see a 10 year old redhead burn 3 consecutive marshmallows.
Anyway... don't read the reviews. Just go here.
I'm keeping this review short and simple. Hands down one of the best museums I've ever been too. EVER. Period. Thank you, goodbye.
What an amazing and fun place! If you have children, you must go. It made me want to be a child again, even though some of the darker mazes and dizzying crawling tubes would have terrified me.
For the adults, there's old pinball games, displays made of and about trash, and a glass doorknob collection.
How have I not reviewed this place??? I've been a member since 98! Man.. Imma slacker
So, since everybody else has said it all.. I will add this very important tip...
try not to wear jeans with flap pockets and buttons... DO wear jeans just normal ones
BUT then make sure you secure your license and money in another pocket in the MonstroCity since they will fall out :(
I almost caught my ass on fire on the big slide when the buttons caused sparks LOL I didn't get hurt and thought this was very funny
Eat outside the Cabin Inn.. the guy makes a mean Jerk chicken muhaha! Cash only here
ALSO, hurry up and make it to the rooftop before they close it for the season in November. It's an extra $5 and has an AMAZING ferris wheel on the roof in addition to the bus you see hanging off the edge..
So. Fucking. Cool.
Why don't more places like this exist for adults??? Crawling, climbing, running around, BALL PIT and VERY TALL SLIDES - a venerable playground for adults!
There are also enough nooks and crannies (all dark) that it'd probably be fun to get laid somewhere inside. Not that I would ever do something like that.
Beer helps.
My absolute favorite place in St. Louis. No, in the Midwest! At least!
I love playgrouds STILL at 22 (no I'm not a fucking pervert) and this place takes the CAKE. SO COOL!
I love the slides, the caves, the plane outside, the school bus on the roof, everything. Such an awesome, awesome creation. I'd go here everyday if I a) lived in St. Louis and b) they had a season pass-type deal. Maybe they do now, I don't know. Definitely spending some serious time here during Christmas break. Even if I have to go alone. It may even be more fun that way.
I'm not sure what to say that hasn't already been said. The City Museum is amazing and my favorite St. Louis attraction.
Whether you're a kid or adult, be prepared to climb, crawl, slide, shimmy and squiggle to explore every inch of this fantastic museum.
If you're in town, do yourself a favor and check it out.
I was so excited to see all the 5 star reviews on this place!! I swear, I talk about this place and people think I'm crazy. I get so excited trying to describe it all!
Read that it all started as a type of "clean up the trash" project. This comes across as a little obvious when you're climbing around the old plane situated about 5 stories high, connected only by swirly tubes and metal staircases... See, it's just too hard to describe!!!
Some of my favorite attractions:
-the tunnel under the floor coming up near the whale's mouth was my first experience and will always be my favorite
-the entire outdoor area, but especially the slide that goes into the floor and you have no idea where it's going to end up
-the 6 story swirly slide, including the multitude of staircases you have to climb to get up there that make you feel like you're lost when you finally do
-the fresh-baked cookies in the cafeteriea
-the thrift store
...and I swear I got giddy when I read of the new rooftop attractions. It's been about a year since I've been there and I can't believe all the new stuff I read about.
For those of you who have no idea, let me try and break it down for you--remember the feeling you got when your parents for the first time told that you could play on the mcdonald's play place? Now strip away the commercial-ness, the pretentions and any sign anywhere or any statement from anyone stating what you can or cannot do in the play place, add years of growing up where the light is slowly shattered by reality and adult experiences...shake, eat some fresh chocolate-chip cookies from the cafeteria area...
...seriously, this is too hard. This place is amazing. An absolute must for anybody. I'm considering a trip to St. Louis with my family, nieces and nephews included, where the sole purpose is visiting this place. I can't wait.
For some practical stuff. I remember it being relatively cheap. Something like $10/person. You can certainly have parties in a grand ballroom, but I don't know how to go about booking that. There's an area to drop off the really young kiddies to do crafts and such. Wear old clothes. Us older folks should bring knee pads if we're not fond of sore and bruised knees. Wait until the weather cools to fully enjoy the outdoor stuff (went in the dead of winter and would have been happy leaving the coat in the car). Plan to have a very amazing and surreal experience!
How the hell do you describe City Museum? If you haven't been there and you're looking for what type of experience you might have do not continue reading this. None of the following will make sense. I've tried to explain what it is when Chicago friends come to town. I usually just end up sputtering a series of umms and ahhs. And then I say something along the lines of, "Well, it's not really a museum in the traditional sense..." Undeterred, they usually stare at me for more info and that's when I just leave it at, "There's a big slide."
And there is! It's gigantic, but I'm getting ahead of myself. What you need to know about City Museum is that it's like a gigantic unguarded playground of weirdness. You pay the ten bucks to get in and then you pretty much have the run of the place. What you have a run of is a bit harder to describe. It's like being dropped into a real-life cartoon. And you know how what happens in cartoons would hurt in real life? Yeah, there's that danger there. And maybe that's what makes it so fun. Kids are allowed to run free and many of the nooks and crannies only a 8 year old could fit into, but it's certainly not for kids. I will say you do have to be fairly athletic and retain some childlike imagination to have fun. You definitely can (and probably will) get hurt. But isn't exploring a cartoon world worth it?
Excuse the cartoon references because I would guess that's a little misleading. There are parts of this place that are very industrial. Specifically the gigantic spiral slide. This building is at least 10 stories tall and in the middle of it is a gigantic open space with dozens of these steel twisty slides and stairs. At first glance none of it makes sense but it can't be any more impressive as your eyes follow them skyward. This building originally was a shoe factory in the early 20 century but I'm not completely sure these were used for manufacturing. They certainly look original... Either way they are perfect for sliding. If you can climb all the way to the top ( I run and it's a little bit tough) you can take one of those spiral slides all the way back down to the bottom. It's quite a ride but keep your hands and feet close to you. I bruised my knee up nicely the first time. Then I went again.
The outside is even crazier. There's a whole industrial playground to explore that includes a castle of some sort, old airplanes, and wait for it... a Chucky Cheese style ball pit... for adults! Add a giant blow-up moonwalk and I could finally realize my dream of being a 9 year old for the rest of my life. I choose 9 because that was how old I was when I could ride my bike as far as I wanted. That way my adult 9 year old self would still be able to go to the grocery store and such.
There is so much more to this place but continuing would just confuse you more. Plus, it'll be much more fun as a surprise. Keep in mind some of what I described may change. I've been there a few times now and it seems they are always closing parts and reopening new interactive "exhibits." One of the most fun times I've had there was on a Friday "Flashlight Night." You walk in, get your ticket, and they hand you a flashlight. Go at it. This is obviously meant for teens/adults. First of all, it's open till 1:00 AM and second there is a full bar open inside. Yes, you can get drunk, skip the buffoonery, and get straight to the injuring yourself at the City Museum. As you would suspect the bar itself is different. It's a transplanted cabin of Daniel Boone's son. They even have live music. Last time I was there it was of the Bluegrass variety which is, in my book, awesome. If you haven't seen my book it's generally just a list of things with equal signs that lead to the word awesome. Here's an excerpt:
The German word for rabbit is "Hassenpfeffer" = Awesome!
I've sold 2 copies. One to my Mom and the second I bought as a birthday gift to my dog, Oscar. Anyway, this post has gone decidedly off topic. Let me leave you with this... If you want to see some craziness, go to City Museum. I can't imagine you'll be disappointed unless you hate seeing things that make you think, "I can't believe they are getting away with this." If I were to declare something a St Louis treasure, so far, this is it.
(As first reviewed on http://Archobserver.com)
I love this place! Fun place to go at night on the weekends with no kids. Recently they started turning out the lights at 11 pm (http://www.stlgirlfrie...) and letting adults explore the museum in the dark with flashlights. I definitely need to get back there to try this!!!
Every single time I come here I see something new, be it a new fish I've never seen before at the aquarium, or a new sculpture that would give me nightmares at the end of a drunken evening.
The most recent visit, however, took me up the rooftop which, I have to say, made this place TWICE AS COOL AS IT WAS BEFORE. Man, you can see just about everything (sans Arch) from the top there. That, complete with two MORE huge slides and a ferris wheel, this place is now a must. If only they had a bar open up there as well.
Did I forget to mention the freaking 10 story slide?!
Man, I don't know how anyone can get sick of this place...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/4/2008
Don't come here if you're allergic to FUN.
the fact that it's open late at night on weekends just… Read more »
Mentally, I am 12. Physically, I am (let's just say for the sake of argument) "much older." And never in my life have I ever, so badly, longed to be 4 feet tall again.
When my friends first described the City Museum to me I was like, "A museum? that's cool. Oh, it's a kid's park too? huh. They have beer? what the hell, I'll check it out." I admit, I was a bit of a skeptic (how good can mid-west museums be right?). Well, it would only be too soon that I'd end up eating my own words. Upon walking in, the sound of hundreds of kids laughing, smells of pink popcorn and pizza from the concession stand, and the sights of modern art mixed with abstract sculptures. Ridiculous Awesomeness, were the only two words I could find that described this scene.
My friends and I were running around the enormous space for hours and my delight for this place continued to grow. Unfortunately, I put myself in some precarious situations :o\ For example, crawling through a pitch black tunnel which has a bunch of dips - thiiiiis close to bashing my teeth in. Running up a wood wall in 4inch boots - almost twisted my ankle. Climbing through a multi-leveled steel tower - verge of getting cut out with a blow torch and jaws of life. Sliding down a 10 story metal slide as fast as possible in short sleeves - major burrrrrn. I told you, I'm still 12.
But I digress. There is SO much to see and do there. It's fantastic. It is the ideal place for parents and kids, and adults who think they are kids (moi) to come and enjoy interesting works of art that can be touched, explored, manipulated, examined, or used whichever way your imagination takes you~
So combine a giant children's park with MOMA, mix in some Exploratorium (in SF), throw in a dollop of Vans skate park, Color me Mine, and the Circus, then add a heap of spelunking coolness, a smidgen of American Gladiators, and top it off with a mini-aquarium then you've got yourself something like the City Museum.
A couple notes:
- you better like children, because there are millions of them.
- wear tennis shoes.
- don't wear fancy/nice clothes, they might get messed up.
- bring cash for water or beer (speaking of which, we never did end up getting any).
- but most of all, a fun and open attitude (just don't get too ambitious or you'll be totally moded).
One of my top 10 places in the world (and I've been to MANY places in the world)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! If you want to go to what is essentially an whacked out artist who decided to go bonkers and create a grown-up playground for himself and his friends, this is it!!!! You might forget how old you are when you are there, that's how much it opens up your imagination. I miss it very much, now that I'm in L.A. Boo hoo...
The best attraction in St Louis. The arch may be the most famous but the City Museum is by far the best experience in St. Louis. My brother recently drove 500 miles out of his way on a road trip just to visit the City Museum. It is one giant artistic adult jungle gym. It is a spectacular artistic creation.
If you are ever within a couple hundred miles of the museum and there is any kid left in you you have to experience the city museum. If there was a 5 star plus it would go to this amazing place.
My favorite part is they are more concerned about the experience than the potential litigation that might ensue from someone having fun. This approach to anything is very rare in the United States any more.
This will probably be the shortest review I ever write, because words can not do this place justice.
If you're visiting St. Louis, make The City Museum #1 on your priority list.
If you live in St. Louis, make The City Museum #1 on your priority list.
If you're looking for a cool place to take kids/young adults, make The City Museum #1 on your priority list.
If you're looking for a unique 1st date (or 2nd, or 3rd...), make The City Museum #1 on your priority list.
If you haven't been here yet, what the hell is wrong with you?
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be in "The Goonies" then you should go here.
Seriously, this was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I am still floored by my experience there. I have a feeling a few months from now, I'll remember it, and then think: did I dream that or did it really happen?
If you are visiting St. Louis or you live here and you haven't been, you simply must go.
If you have a kid between the ages of say, 8 and 94. Bring them here!
Gosh, it was like walking around in an Escher painting. It was just incredible. It was too wet to go outside, but we were still able to enjoy ourselves inside. It made me wish I was young again. We joked that if we had kids, we would drop them off at the beginning of the summer and then pick them up in the fall. This place was just so imaginative and so inspired, that it was just incredible.
FYI, if you have any kind of phobia - people, dirt, heights, enclosed spaces - then this place will either cure you of your fears, or give you nightmares. Ha ha.
But seriously, this museum is so incredible, you can really make it your own experience.
I can't wait to go back.
Every city in every state needs this museum! I honestly think this is the most fun I've ever had! My husband and I have spent lots of money at other so called "odd" museums and have yet to find anything as special as the City Museum. It's truly a gem, not just for St. Louis, but for the entire US. I loved crawling through the "caves" and the slide was great. So many wonderful spots in here! Oh City Museum, why can't you be in Orlando too?
I went here over the weekend and hot damn is this place fun! Obviously this place gets a ton of love, so I'm not going to write a huge review about how amazing it is (which it is), but just jot down a couple of helpful hints that I wished i would have known and will use next time i go.
1) wear jeans. It was a beautiful day and i wanted to wear shorts. While the weather wasn't a problem, my knees got SERIOUSLY banged and scraped up. I actually saw people wearing kneepads as they played around. I might not go that far, but i wish i would have at least had that layer of denim between my knees and the concrete
2) Nothing in your pockets, unless it is absolutely necessary. I destroyed a pack of smokes, and was constantly convinced I would lose my camera or wallet. I think this place should consider renting lockers or cubbies. I'm sure they'd come up with a really fun and quirky way to go about it
3) Don't wear a hat. I had a ball cap on, and any time i was crawling through a tiny tunnel it became very difficult to see due to the bill on my hat.
That's all i've really got. I have nothing negative to say about this place at all, and will be back ASAP. I just think i'd have had more fun if i dressed a little more appropriately.
The ferris wheel on top of the roof scared me! It was creaking all the way. I'm not a fan of heights! They have a school bus slightly hanging off the roof. I agree with Allan about not being able to see the Arch from the roof. They've got a praying mantis slide on the roof as well. Way tooo cool! The doctor fish is still at the aquarium. Ladies, if you want a manicure, pay the extra 6 bucks & put your hands in the doctor fish tank. The fish kind of tickle.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/28/2008
Awesome place for kids & adults. There is a smallish aquarium inside the City Museum. Great… Read more »
my bf and i took a little road trip from chi to stl over the 4th of july wkend... LOVED the city museum!
im from a small town in central illinois- where we grew up getting dirty and climbing on things most moms wouldnt let their kids climb on- so this place was completely like being a kid again! metal slides, tubes, old airplanes, caves you can get lost in- so much fun! this is such a unique muesum- besides all the play stuff- theres also a ton of collections of 'junk' thats awesome.
couple things- the rooftop isnt worth it. still go even if its raining. wear clothes you can get dirty (i mean DIRTY). dont bring a camera if you wanna climb and play. wear tennis shoes!
As described, this place is a grown up play wonderland. We had a lot of fun running around like children finding things to climb on. I'll definitely be back whenever I'm in St. Louis. It is a very, very cool place, both visually and in terms of the activities. It's actually kind of indescribable, so I won't try - I'll just say that you should take the advice of your fellow yelpers and check it out. I'd caution you not to let the number of children running around the place (or the sweaty essence in the air) discourage you from letting go and just having a good time. DEFINITELY wear no jewelry, no make-up, hair in a pony tail, shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes. You'll thank me later! Also, I would second the opinion that the roof isn't really worth it. There's so much to do inside, and the roof doesn't really compare.
A playground for adults!?! Wha-? This place is fantasticle! It's a multi level fun house with ability to walk, crawl, and climb through any part of this "museum". And not only is it inside, but outside as well. I hope you don't have a fear of heights because the playground outside has what looks to be a 6 story bridge overlooking the parking lot.
And if that's not high enough, go one story more and take a ride down a 7 story slide! The walk up makes it all worth wild! And if high is not your thing and you're small enough, you can crawl underneath the floor by entering through a fountain!
OMG I spent 4 hours and 10,000 calories exploring this place. And I only felt I scratched the surface.
If using the mind and not the body is more of a tickler for you, they offer daily snowflake making classes and clay modeling where you can take home you're own creations!
Come hyper, leave happy!
Enjoy!
If you give less than 5 stars then you're going to hell.
This is absolutely one of the best museums in the country. This place takes Dante's Divine Comedy and couples it to the attitude of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory except with tunnels instead of candy.
The lower floors are like hell, except fun. The tunnels both hidden and readily visible are exceptional. The faux caves are superb. The turtle and fish ponds are fascinating. The whale mouth is Pinocchio-esque.
The middle floors leaves you in limbo because you are neither rising nor descending. But it leads you to a nice bar and a circus. It also is the door way to paradise.
The upper floors are paradise. The upper floors are actually enclosed in an atrium where old opera balcony seats serve as rest stations for spiral staircases, which continues for seven floors as you rise higher against organ pipes that extend from an organ enveloped in light among the shadows in a very Phantom of the Opera atmosphere. When you get to the top of paradise you ride down a spiral slide where you shoot down back to where you started. Amazing.
Waaaaiiiit a minute... I haven't reviewed the City Museum yet? What's this world coming to??
The St. Louis City Museum is honestly one of the coolest places I've ever visited. If you enjoy art, architecture, mazes, mosaics, playgrounds, recycling, sting rays, slides and/or giant underpants, you will enjoy the City Museum.
The place is one giant, interactive assemblage, made from found objects and recycled materials, bursting at the seams with creativity, textures & wonderfully sparkly mosaics. Little kids and big kids alike can spend hours climbing through tunnels (or getting stuck in them, depending on an individual's girth), riding a seven story slide (or one of the others), playing in a giant ball pit or petting the aforementioned sting ray in the aquarium (along with a few other creatures).
Museums of all kinds are generally wonderful places, but many times they often have a similar restrained personality--speak in hushed tones, don't distract the other patrons from whatever storyboard they're reading or masterpiece they're admiring. The City Museum is soooo not that museum. They play Beck here, and The Smiths and The Arcade Fire. The place is loud with laughter and squeals of delight and discovery. As I rode down the seven-story slide, I gave a "Wooooooooo!" as long as the slide & my breath would allow. That's acceptable here, although I was surprised by the number of onlookers who wanted to see the person making such a noise. Maybe they weren't expecting a 28-year-old. Maybe they won't expect it when I'm 65 and doing the same damn thing. It sure is fun, either way.
Visit this place if you're coming to St. Louis. Visit this place if you live here. Come many times, because it's not easy to see & appreciate it all at once. The City Museum is certainly not the cheapest in town (after all, pretty much all the museums here are FREE!), but for hours of entertainment, physical exertion and exploration, you can't beat it.
A word of caution - prepare yourself for some bumps and bruises, don't dress up and leave your purse at home. You're gonna want as much unrestrained movement as you can muster at this magical place.
Oh, and check out the log cabin for a drink and some live music sometime. They get great bluegrass groups there sometimes!
City Museum, wow. This place is REALLY cool and REALLY strange at the same time. I've never been to any place quite like it. It feels like some crazy deranged artist had this idea to create an environment where an individual can have fun in a place that is PURE chaos.
The place is filled giant slides, climable over sized slinkies, elevator shafts, facades of old bars and crazy big safes. One area looks like its directly out of the Matrix where I swear I saw babies being manufactured to feed the system.
Speaking of kids, I don't have any but I'd be very careful about letting your kids too loose in this place. Its certainly a fun times for kids, but it can be dangerous. In the short time I was there I saw at least 2 kids with bloodied faces. It could of just been happenstance, but this place is not designed to be the safest of environments.
spent several hours here...
grown kids & grandkids in tow, we spend lots of time browsing & doing interactive stuff - tunnels, exhibits, slides, sting-rays, fish, checking out excavated broken pottery exhibits, hand-on exhibits, eating lunch...
lots of recycled stuff here - wooden spools from the old button factory turned into stairway railing spindles, old tracks, pieces of who-knows-what, all put to use here.
loads of fun for kids of all ages!
Great Fun!! Great place for adults and kids! Great for taking out of town adventurous guests! Wear Tennis shoes and be ready to climb around like a kid again! :) Try not to bring a purse or anything that you will wish that you could put in a locker if you want to climb up/through/down or slide with.
We, 2 adults, went here on a Saturday evening and it was still a bit crowded but it was still a great time!
Slides, crawling.. many places to climb... young and old :).. outside.. inside... upstairs.. downstairs..the first floor.. the roof (!!) .. the side.. nooks and crannies. Lots of level changes where ever you go!
It is like climbing through a Dr. Seuss book with many artistic touches through out the building that make you smile and just look around in amazement.
There is an aquarium inside that costs extra but is fun to go through. I swear it looks like it is held together by duct tape and things from garage sales but it is so neat! You can belly crawl through a plexiglass tube and see sharks and turtles. My only concern was the upkeep of some of the animals. There is a sloth in there that was obviously having problems and was licking it's wounds. :(
On a gross but neat note.. there was a tank you stuck your hands in and little fishes nipped all the dead cells (?) off your hands! I wasn't brave enough to do it, more so for the many people that stuck their hands in.. rather then the little nipping fishes themselves, but I saw many smiling faces try it. A few more hand's on places in that area.
So leaving the Aquarium...
We were climbing around outside and I hear blues playing from below...
A fantastic band was outside. There was a quaint hotdog stand and a bar was located just inside the door of the museum.
It was just a grand night! We are planning to go back many times!
There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said. This place is amazing though. It's got some random, interesting exhibits. And an aquarium, that a couple of years ago had a traveling exhibit of two-headed turtles! And it has the world's largest set of monkey bars, and a giant ball pit, and a bunch of tunnels to crawl through! Plus they sell beer and are open till 2AM on the weekends...what more could you want in a place?? Ooh, and it's in the old international shoe factory, which makes the law geek in me really happy.
Hands down, the best f*ckin' museum in the universe! We didn't even scratch the surface of this place. We only had four hours so did a lot of slides, the aquarium, a not too bad lunch of reubens and chips and lime slushies, the circus and the outdoor jungle gym. Never got to the the glass blowing, vintage clothing shop, gelato shop, the galleries, but my daughter did get to go in the big wooden hamster wheel.
It depresses me that I have to go back to Chicago...this is better than anything we have...this is a place I could visit every month, as opposed to our museums, where once a year is more than enough.
If you do anything in St. Louis, go here. You won't regret it.
I think the Yelp reivews of this place must have hyped it up a little too much for me. It pains me to give a mere three stars, and I can think of a few excuses we might not have had as good a time--
1. We went on Friday night around 9pm and it was still teeming with little kids taking up most of the climbing areas, slides, and ball pit.
2. It was really cold, so we didn't really crawl too much on any of the cold metal outside.
3. I had been looking forward to s'mores, but there was a huge group of staff at the fire pit with s'mores and it didn't look like it was open to the museum patrons.
4. There were one or two holiday parties going on in the museum and a lot of the area was blocked off.
5. The human hamster wheel was broken.
6. We didn't seem to fit in most of the crawlspaces...I guess we were a little claustrophobic
So aside from that, it was a neat museum, there just wasn't a ton for us to see and do with all those things closed and visiting at kind of an off time for any of the performances or demonstrations. Also, we never did find any glassblowing. So all that combined with all the stellar reviews left us disappointed. I'll definitely give it another shot next time I'm in town.
have you ever been sitting around, shooting the shit with your imaginary friends and said, "Hey, Ben Franklin, you know what we need to do? We need to drop acid and take control of Tim Burton. Then we need to get him to build us an amusement park out of found shit in St. Louis. Maybe throw in a thrift store, the world's largest pair of uncomfortable underwear, life-size rock'em sock'em robots, some beers and a seven story tall hamster tunnel that adults will get stuck in."
And then Ben Franklin turns to you and says "Dude, you are so fucking high right now."
