Ratings of Children/Science Museums we have Visited

February 2020 NOTICE: These reviews are extremely old, from when our children were small children. The youngest one has now graduated college and is employed so we do not frequent science museums anymore! We may again once we are grandparents.

• CA, San Francisco - The Exploratorium
  FREE!! It is a little difficult to finally figure out how to get there (even though it is easy to spot from the road), but once you get there it is well worth it. The Exploratorium is one of the original and most innovative hands on museums around with a very strong science basis, but very interesting with exhibits you will not find in other museums. We particularly enjoyed the smoke rings, the picture lights, the dissection of the cow eyeball and the various small labs and experiments you can perform. Delving deep into the science is possible but not necessary to have a lot of fun there, and they have a nice long layout where you do not get lost and can easily keep track of the children
  5 out of 5
  
  
• IL, Chicago - Chicago Children's Museum
  FREE!! Located on the Navy Pier, parking is not free, but you also get a lot of other things to look at besides the museum. It has an inviting entrance with a cool climbing structure, and a nice ambulance exhibit my son particularly enjoyed. It also has a section where you could build insects and bridges which we enjoyed. It has been a few years, but we will probably be visiting there soon.
  4 out of 5
  
  
• IN, Indianapolis - Children's Museum of Indianapolis
  NOT FREE!! We were disappointed our membership did not get us in here, but we were in town for a funeral so we thought we would visit it. It is a very nice place with several different levels including a nice dinosaur exhibit and a bunch of cool doll houses. One really unique feature is a theater where professionals perform a full play for the children (included in the admission). That alone made it worth the price
  4 out of 5
  
  
• MA, Boston - Boston Children's Museum
  FREE!! Located by the river channel, it is a nice children's museum, in a nice location but a bit of a difficult drive for us Midwesterners! They had a nice, large water play section, more elaborate than most others. They had Arthur and Clifford themed exhibits which appealed to the kids at first, but really did not have much content to make them truly stand out. They also had a neat Japanese area that was pretty unique, but otherwise we do not remember anything in particular that stands out
  3 out of 5
  
  
• MO, St. Louis - St. Louis City Museum
  NOT FREE!! Parking is extra and so is the lame aquarium and the MonstroCity outdoor area. If you have energetic, older kids MonstroCity is worth it, but not for little ones. The slides, caves and crawling areas are worth it but the upper levels are not as interesting. The one exception is the indoor circus which is quite entertaining.
  4 out of 5
  
  
• MO, St. Louis - Magic House
  NOT FREE!!Parking is free and plentiful at the adjoining school. The Village area is the big seller these days, with the older exhibits getting a bit dated. However, they are planning to expand again so they are bound to liven things up again. It is definitely best for younger kids
  3 out of 5
  
  
• MO, St. Louis - St. Louis Science Center
  FREE!! Parking is expensive for a non-member, but the free admission for everybody offsets this. The Discovery room is nice for the under 8 crowd, and the optical illusion area is always entertaining. Much of the rest of it is more "science" oriented than most children's museums but still entertaining. The updated planetarium is a huge disappointment, I would much rather have the seats back! And most of the "special exhibits" they have brought into the Exploradome have been disappointing. Nevertheless, it is our Science Center and we will continue to support it.
  4 out of 5
  
  
• MO, Springfield - Discovery Center
  FREE!! Being based in Springfield, this museum is not as innovative nor as large as the ones in the big cities. How it makes up for it is that it is empty!. When there are only a handful of people in the place you can stay at the exhibits you like as long as you want. They even opened the gift shop just for us to get something we wanted at the end of the day. Try that at a big city museum! They have a neat outdoor bike exhibit, a reasonable water area, a dinosaur area and some neat "gizmos". Nothing you won't find elsewhere, but in a place where you can take your time and you get some elbow room.
  3 out of 5
  
  
• OR, Portland - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
  FREE!! Another science center as opposed to specifically a children's museum and it is therefore more like the St. Louis Science Center than Indianapolis Children's Museum. They did have a nice paper airplane exhibit and various interesting lab experiment areas to work on projects led by a scientist. They also have an extensive illusions area.
  3 out of 5
  
  
• TN, Memphis - Children's Museum of Memphis
  FREE!! Lots of free parking and easy directions. All in one large level with a very unique airplane fuselage exhibit. The skyscraper climbing structure is unique and they included other genuine exhibits like a real motorcycle, fire engine, and minivan. They have a village area like the Magic House with a bank (with real ATM), store, garage, etc. Very nice.
  4 out of 5
  
  
• TX, Houston - Children's Museum of Houston
  FREE!! They also had a real car inside, but not much else inside that stood out. What was unique was the elaborate outdoor water area which was very open and allowed for lots of children to do lots of different things in the water
  3 out of 5
  
  
• WV, Beckley - Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia
  NOT FREE!! This is really more of an add-on building to the Coal Mine Exhibit which is very interesting and unique. The primary feature are many puzzles to work on and it really does not compare to the other museums. But since it is included with the coal mine exhibit it was still worth visiting after the coal mine tour.
  2 out of 5