Museums are wondrous buildings filled with scientific discoveries, interactive exhibits, and worlds unknown (to your child, that is). If you’ve been searching for something exciting to do during an outing with your family, look no further. In this article, I’ll be covering the best museums for kids to explore! Keep in mind that these museums are located all across the country, so if you don’t find one in your area, you can save one of these museums for your next vacation destination!
Let’s get started!
Best Museums for Kids
After much research and dedication to finding the most kid-friendly museums across the country, I’ve narrowed it down to 15 awesome options.
1. KidZania – Located in Frisco, Texas
Found in the great state of Texas in a city outside of Dallas is KidZania.
KidZania is a museum dedicated to guiding children through various career options. Sure, it may sound boring at first, but don’t let my one-sentence description fool you — this place is full of fun, interaction, and learning opportunities designed specifically with children in mind!
Throw your child into a world of wonder, placing them in the first-person role of a doctor, pilot, chef, actor (or actress), police officer, veterinarian, and many more spectacular professions!
Check out KidZania’s website, here, to find and purchase your tickets and plan around their opening times.
2. Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium – Located in New Orleans, Louisiana
If your kid(s) is a fan of every creepy crawly they come across, then they’re sure to love the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium; located in New Orleans.
Experience the fascinating color and movements of hundreds of butterflies in flight in the Butterfly Garden, or explore the vast world of bugs in the Insectarium. From beetles and roaches to centipedes and praying mantises; they have it all!
Check out their website for more information regarding tickets, times, and exhibits.
3. Children’s Museum Indianapolis – Located in Indianapolis, Indiana
Sitting on a notable 29 acres with learning facilities spreading across 472,900 square feet, the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the largest children’s museum in the world.
Not only will your children get the experience of seeing real dinosaur bones, but they’ll have the chance to touch them and dig up their very own! This museum is large enough to make an all-day event out of, so prepare for hours of adventure!
Click here to learn more about what their museum has to offer, including attractions, ticket information, and times!
4. Please Touch Museum – Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Unlike your traditional “please do not touch” museum, the Please Touch Museum takes a unique – and totally opposite – approach to the museum experience. At the Please Touch Museum, your child is encouraged to have a hands-on mindset as they explore that vast expanse of interactive exhibits.
5. Madison Children’s Museum – Located in Madison, Wisconsin
The Madison Children’s Museum is an all-inclusive experience for both parent and child to enjoy and explore the vast expanse of interactive displays from the early days of Madison, Wisconsin to modern-day. Play inside a log cabin and learn to churn butter or take a walk in the Urb Garden and learn about the different seasons and the plants that grow in them.
Overall, this is a great learning, hands-on museum that even has displays that are free to the public!
6. The DoSeum – Located in San Antonio, Texas
The DoSeum in San Antonio, Texas is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing families a hands-on learning experience full of fun and knowledge. This museum focuses on STEM, the arts, and literacy. Complete with programs, classes, field trips and camps for all ages and learning abilities, this DoSeum is a must-see!
7. Treehouse Museum – Located in Ogden, Utah
Travel the world’s most interesting countries, take a walk through time, and sit in the presidential oval office at this museum for kids. With two stories of interactive exhibits that range vastly in the topic, your family will surely have a day full of memories and surprising experiences!
8. Khol Children’s Museum – Located in Glenview, Illinois
With 17 exhibits to explore, the Khol Children’s Museum offers a variety of real-life experiences to help your child learn and grow as they play. From pretending to be a doctor or nurse to running a grocery store and experimenting with the wonders of water and renewable energies, there’s endless fun to be had!
9. Glazer Children’s Museum – Located in Tampa, Florida
With nearly 20 permanent exhibits, this is one of the few museums for kids that contains days worth of learning and engaging experiences! Tend to the farm as you milk a cow, garden, and work with the chickens in the chicken coop; become a vet and help heal sick animals, or help customers find the groceries they need at the Publix children’s store!
The imaginative possibilities are endless in this interactive museum!
10. Dinosaur Ridge – Located in Morrison, Colorado
Is your child obsessed with dinosaurs? Then this museum for kids is for you! Step in more than 300 real dinosaur footprints on the Dinosaur Ridge Trail, touch the Bones Bed filled with dinosaur bones and take a step back through time as you peruse the ripples from thousands-of-years-old tidal waves on the shore.
You can also take a trip to the Discovery Center that exhibits plants and animal remains from when dinosaurs walked the earth in the Colorado region!
11. International Spy Museum – Located in Washington, DC
In this museum for kids, you transform from an open citizen to an undercover agent. Test your spy abilities and get your new agent name as you trek on your very own undercover mission. Learn what it means to be a spy and how spies have impacted the world throughout history and how they continue to keep the world governments informed today.
12. SEA LIFE Aquarium – Located in Tempe, Arizona
An Aquarium is a living museum that is always worth exploring! The SEA LIFE Aquarium in Tempe, Arizona is filled with exhibits, including interactive exhibits and birthday party perks! From freshwater and harbor area creatures to the interactive tidepool and Bay of Rays, the exploration of this aquarium is a day-long feat.
13. Port Discovery – Located in Baltimore, Maryland
Another nonprofit organization, Port Discovery is one of the best museums for kids in the Baltimore area. With three floors filled with engaging things to do that’s fun for the whole family, Port Discovery won’t disappoint! Trek stories upward inside a metal tube called the Sky Chamber, sail the high seas on a life-size cargo ship, and sculpt the creations of your wildest imagination at the creative arts shop! Trust us, this is an experience you won’t want to miss out on.
14. Minnesota Children’s Museum – Located in St. Paul, Minnesota
Closing in on our last best museum for kids is the Minnesota Children’s Museum. This grand, nonprofit museum boasts 8 permanent and 2 seasonal, interactive displays that are sure to get your child’s creative juices flowing! Take a trip around the world and learn how things work in the Our World display; take a stroll through a lovely outdoor exhibit with The Backyard, and dodge lasers in the Lazer Maze… what’s not to love about a place like this!
15. Brooklyn Children’s Museum – Located in Brooklyn, New York
Our final museum pick for the best museums for kids picks, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum is a sight to behold. With nearly 7 permanent exhibits, programs, and visiting exhibits (that often include unusual animals) this is a wonderful option for the New York area. Learn about science, nature, and sensory in these awesome interactive exhibits.
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it — 15 of our favorite museums for kids! With all of these suggestions, you’re bound to find a children’s museum close to you that the whole family can enjoy together! Who says learning can’t be fun?