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The Children's Museum
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
305 Harrison St
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 441-1768
305 Harrison St
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 441-1768
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
23 reviews for The Children's Museum
I've taken nieces and nephews to museums or centers around the country. This is by far the best!
It;'s not very big, but it sure does have some great areas of play. I especially like the sesame street area and the arts and crafts room. Their arts and crafts room has several painting locations, clay, and general arts and crafts.
There's a pretend super market, taco restaurant, theatre, post office, and fire truck that kids can role play.
It's really quite awesome. Even compared to museums or centers in florida, San Diego, Los Angeles, Texas.
Ok.... its a given that at almost any place like this.... your kid is going to have fun.... when it boils down to it... I used to have fun with cardboard boxes and tinkertoys.
But this place was a bit old and felt run down.... some of the rooms even had that hint of pee that might not have washed out of the carpet all the way.
Ok.... maybe I'm spoiled by the fact that within 45 minutes driving time from home, I have the Children's Discover Museum(San Jose), Oakland Zoo, SF Zoo, Academy of Sciences(San Francisco), the Tech Museum(San Jose) etc.... and all of these places felt newer and in better shape than this museum.
so... please donate to this place more... it needs to be redone and updated, or at least, fix the items that aren't working right.
I have to really remind myself that this isn't a place for me.
Sure if you're a local it would probably be a pain in the ass getting up there, but we visited and walked from our hotel a few short blocks.
The kids 4 and 1 LOVED it. I thought there could have been MORE. More as in more effort to keep evolving the place. It seems like it's been the way it's been for a long time. And the Discovery Bay area for toddlers is very skimpy on things to do, but again, this isn't for me.
The hit with the older child was the art and craft area. It's the best part of the whole place in my mind. Everything else seems kind of worn down, and I thought of germs until I read a sign there that explained what they do to keep the place clean and as germ free as possible.
It was a quick 3 or so hours. It would be worth going back and I would recommend it, although I think kids might grow old of most the things there after several visits.
I have nothing to compare this place too... but my daughter and I still LOVE IT!!!!!! She has so much fun here... we just had to buy the year membership. It actually pays for itself after 3 visits.
Anyway... this place has a library, (free) art and craft center, and much more. Sophia hung out here almost 2 hours before I had to drag her out for a nap. Her favorite was the mini metro market. She loved to push the carts.
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Wow.
I had no idea!
What you see from the main room of the Center House is only a small portion of this expansive play space!
And for the record... I was babysitting... I wasn't hanging out in a Childrens museum in my spare time... not that I wouldn't! this place would crack me up if they served drinks!
I was really fascinated by the miniature replicas of the homes and businesses of other countries! I really didn't expect to walk away impressed... but I did!
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Now that my daughter's 1 and walking I was interested in checking this place out that I've known was there - just didn't have a reason to visit. And while she had a pretty good time, I'm glad I didn't have to pay for her because I don't think it was worth the cost. Too many broken, ripped, worn objects and quite a few lame older displays (the Africa house? I think I saw dust in there). Still the 0-3 area was pretty cool but you really need to keep a close eye on your little one if they're under 2 - few steps to fall down on, couple of hard surfaces to bonk on (one of our 1 year old friends had a pretty hard bump getting out of the whale). Even though they say they clean the exhibits, I still wouldn't want my child trying on the dress up clothes and hats they have at various places.
But they do have some cool areas, I loved the theater and the mexican restaraunt. Hopefully they'll put in some new areas in some of the old spaces.
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Really disappointing, after visiting Childrens museums in Boston and Chicago we had high hopes for this one in our home town. Fortunately we managed to get a discount for tickets for a trip with our 17 mo. old but so many of the exhibits either seemed broken, missing pieces, or dusty. Plus the venue at the Seattle Center with the smell of donuts (from the upper level) wafting in the air just struck me as wrong when you're visiting a museum.
If you have to take your little ones to somewhere in Seattle, I would recommend checking out the aquarium instead.
Who's ready for safe fun? Are you? I bet you are!
The Children's Museum is one of those great things about living in a city. You always wonder where the city kids play, this is one of the hot spots. It would bore older kids but for the small ones, this is a little slice of heaven.
If you are local, the year pass is a good idea. It means any rainy day you can go play.
There is a whole bunch of areas for children to play. The biggest one is the "nature" walk up the mountain. They actually have a huge fake mountain in the middle of the place. It's really quite amazing. And the walk up is fun even for toddlers. There is a story time room with books and an open floor. A fake grocery store. A fake restaurant. A theater with costumes and stage. An arts and craft center. A room full of gears and levers. An international area. And even a small toddler area.
It's just a really fun place to play. If you are afraid of germs or other parents, don't go. You'll have a panic attack. Just expect your kids to get wet, colored on and dirty. You know, being kids.
The parking sucks in the area. But it is right next to the food court!
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Very fun for our 17 month old for two hours. They charge for one year olds but only 7.50 per person. Whole place smells like cookies since it is by foodcourt. The hiking and tree trail through the middle was a lot of fun for a very young tot. He enjoyed picking up the rocks and looking under them to find interesting little forest critters, plastic of course. There's a grocery store, water play stations, and much more. If your considering it, do it. We really enjoyed our time.
Got a very nice note from a staff member there. They do care about what the public has to say. Very cool in my book.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/28/2009
When i was a little boy many years ago, my favorite place in Seattle was the Seattle Center. Now… Read more »
People have children for many reasons: pure hormonal coercion, the pathetic need to fill some void in their soul, a knee jerk reaction to societal norms, ego, hope that there will be someone around to change their diapers when the time comes and the overwhelming desire to relive their own childhood, all come directly to mind.
I fall into the overwhelming desire to relive one's own childhood category (and I would love it if I got to pay him back for the diapers someday). The last 25 years has seen some incredible improvements to children's entertainment. I spend a lot of time working through the resentment I have towards the Disney and Mattel corporations for not hauling all the good shit out for my generation. It totally explains the X thing; had I gotten to love a Furby, I'm convinced I wouldn't be the apathetic, cynical, disaffected slacker I am today.
So I made a person and now I get to go places like the Children's Museum and: pretend to shop for empty boxes of cereal, drive a bus in Nairobi, put on a play with real costumes on a real stage with real velvet curtains, run my own Mexican restaurant, play instruments from all over the world, read books in a fairy tent, and lately - learn about money in the Moneyville exhibit. I was finally able to buy a home.
I am not too proud to admit that I once lost the mini-hero here. It really wasn't just me - his father, grandmother, grandfather and older sister lost him too. Ok fine. It was me. Anyway - the place went into lockdown and we were able to track him down right away. I guess it happens a lot. I'm a good mother...i am....
Memberships start at $40 - good, good deal.
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It always tends to amaze me coming here. I mean talk about turning over "control" to kids and the ending result becoming somewhat like a scene out of Lord of the Flies...
While the insanity abounds for some, those who remain somewhat under control, seem to enjoy this little treasure. Found in the basement of the Food Court at the Science Center, it's really not to be missed, especially if you are a child at heart.
Some of the interactive exhibits are showing some wear and tear, in general things are clean and functional.
The reality of this place is it's a wonderful place for kiddos to experience and enjoy. While "older" kids and those somewhat on the introvert side of personalities might find this place boring. Partaking of some of the cultural events held here are worthwhile. Discovery abounds around each and every corner of this place!
Again older kiddos might find this a tad bit boring but they can always head upstairs for a romp at the "Fun Forest."
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Sure there are other children's museums in the Seattle area. Many with newer, bigger exhibits. Both my boys ( 2.6 snd 8) love this place. They love to climb the mountain, play with the japanese pay phone, and toss the balls around in cog city. My only complaint is that the rotating exhibits frequently are nothing more than thinly, very thinly disguised commercials for whatever character they are using. Even if the character is from a PBS show, it's still a TV character "selling" educational themes. But hey, everyone has bills to pay.
So even if you have other museum memberships ( I do) and even if you hate parking at the Seattle Center ( I do) and even if you have to drag yourself there ( I do) Go. It's the original children's museum around here and worth at least a visit or two every year. Plus they have awesome CLEAN birthday party rooms.
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Ugh........germs, germs, germs! This place needs to have hand sanitizer installed high enough so that the little one's can't reach it but mommy can! If they had a parking lot maybe I'd go more....really I like the idea of going here, but with two little one's I always leave way too exhausted. I like the KidsQuest place in Factoria way better......because I'm lazy and I need to have the easiest fun possible.
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Dang where the heck have I been? I just discovered the Children's Museum today. Yeah , Ive seen it from the 2nd floor,but you can't see much,so I figured there was nothing down there...whoa Nelly! Well today, was Whirlygig and I took my son to sign up for a membership. We spent most of the time jumping ( well he did) I can barely walk. Afterwhich, we went downstairs to the museum. For a 2 yr old it was awesome and for someone who's 2 at heart(but potty trained) it's super neat. Lots of hands on things to do. I got the joint membership and you get to bring up to 4 people with you. So you can bring yo mama,yo daddy,yo sistah,yo cousin Bootsie or whoever. We had a lot of fun. I agree parking is difficult,but if you circle around a bit, you can park on the street. Food there is expensive, so pack your own.
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I went here today with a 1 year old and my 6.5 month old. The one year old had lots of fun but there didn't seem like very much to do for my 0 year old. The books were too long with too many words and she lost interest. I can easily see my daughter loving this place in a few months but for now I can entertain and educate her just as well at home for free. But aside from that this place is great, i found myself felling like a kid playing with all the stuff and all the kids seemed excited and didn't see any that were bored.
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I have to agree with Amy about this place. I took my seven year old son and he was just not impressed. About a half an hour into the visit he asked me if we could leave. It looks like little kids really love this place, as they seemed to be every where screaming and yelling. But I'd say anyone older then six should just stay away.
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This Children's Museum is perfect for the little kids. If your child is older, bring him/her to the Pacific Science Center. It has a great art room that my daughter loves. I love the fact that they change the main exhibit throughout the year. My daughter loves to go!
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Amy's right, the Pacific Science Center overshadows this place. That said, this is a great interactive museum for the really young crowd, kindergarten and under. There's lots of hands on fun toddler stuff to do and climb on, plenty of buttons to push and so on. It's bright and tactile and kids can run around.
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My older son liked this place when we first went there, but he's never mentioned it since. (Compare that to the fact that he constantly talks about the Pacific Science Center and the Museum of Flight.) I was disappointed because I had expected that a 21st century children's museum in a city the size of Seattle would offer a lot more than it does.
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It seems a lot of the exhibit pieces (everything from small TVs that are supposed to show videos to drumsticks used to play instruments) are broken or missing, even in the limited-time "special" exhibits (Mr. Potato Head, in the case of my visit today). I wanted to be more impressed, but I just wasn't, unfortunately. $15 for me and my daughter was a bit much for what we got.
Surprisingly interesting for my 1 year old. Didn't think it had so much in such a little space. Good exploratory fun for young children + lots of opportunities for (physical) activity. It's like a giant jungle gym for kids. Worth the price. The first Thursday of the month is free if you want to try it out. We'll be returning for sure. This is place is good for children under 6 (and their parents/grandparents). 7 and over may get bored.
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Nothing tops the birth to 3 years section at this museum! Aquariums, tunnels, water games, slides, toys, etc. We can spend an easy 2 hours here and be entertained just in this small section of the museum. The older sections, cog city, the craft space, etc. appear to be very interactive as well. Time will tell for us as Collin gets older.
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