Children's Museums

From LoveToKnow Kids

When you are searching for educational fun for kids, children's museums are a good choice. The best museums offer a balance of fun and learning, activity and observation. What's more, most museums for kids are inexpensive.

These museums are generally geared towards children from infancy to age 12, but even older kids and parents will find plenty to do.

Children's Museum General Info

According to the Association of Children's Museums, museums for kids have existed since 1899, when the Brooklyn Children's Museum first opened its doors. Since then, the idea has flourished, with museums for kids opening around the world. There are approximately 300 kids' museums currently operating in the U.S. alone.

Hands-On Learning

Museums for kids, as a rule, offer many opportunities for children of all ages to explore their sense of touch. From water to dirt, rocks to feathers, kids can experience a wide variety of textures. Other hands-on exhibits include:

Building with blocks
Creating machines with simple tools
Making bubbles of various shapes and sizes
Nature exploration
Water play

Real-Life Learning

Children's museums offer an abundance of real-life settings for children. These settings replicate everyday activities, but are scaled-down to be accessible to even the youngest visitors. Although offerings vary by location, some common interactive exhibits include:

Historical villages
Grocery stores
Construction sites
Trains, cars, airplanes, and other forms of transportation

Academic Offerings

While everything at the children's museum is intended to be fun, there is a lot of learning going on. Children are often most receptive to education when it is disguised as a hands-on game. Most museums for kids offer games and activities in the following academic subjects:

Math
Reading
Computers
History
Science
Foreign language
History

Fine Arts

Children's museums are excellent places for children to hone their artistic skills. Most offer arts and craft centers, fully stocked with finger paint, face paint, paper, and many other art supplies. In additon, most museums offer art classes for kids. Most also offer ways for kids to nurture their inner star, with dress-up games, puppet shows, news rooms, music studios, and dance booths. Again, actual offerings vary by location, but all children's museums offer some form of fine arts development.

Cities with Children's Museums

If you are lucky enough to have a kids' museum in your hometown, be sure to visit it frequently. If not, you might want to plan your family vacations around museum locations. In the hustle bustle of travel, kids often need some low-key, educational fun. A museum visit provides that.

Some of the most popular kids' museums in America include: