We came here on a Sunday with my kids (5 and 3). It being March, the outside was open so we were glad to explore outside for a bit but it closed at 4 pm. I felt this time that the place was kept tidier. I saw employees moving from area to area and trying to keep things in place, which seems like a pretty tough task with the amount of stuff in each area. My kids had a lot of fun in the upstairs area. There's lots to do & for $12 each, it can easily keep young kids entertained. read more

Discovery Center Museum - Water play area - Children's Museums Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

I cannot recommend this place highly enough!! Absolutely killer on every level!! This is fun for adults to come to too! Obviously you need to be an inquisitive person and still enjoy learning new things.... But if you have some kids to bring it's literally like Disneyland but where they learn how everything works in the universe...... You really need to come here multiple times to take everything in..... If you care about your kids, and want them to be smart, this place is mandatory! read more

I know this place is for children, but even as an adult it was entertaining. They had so many stations for all the children to play. There is no way a child will get bored here. It has two floors and an outside area. We came in February, but I was informed it's open when the weather warms up. read more

Discovery is very interactive, with so many areas for kids to play, think and work as a team with others. The place is also extremely clean, and attendants walking around consistently. Took my nephew and he loved it! Take some snacks or meal to have outside after or for quick break. Highly recommend, and worth spending a couple hours. read more

Well done, Discovery Center Museum! For $12 per person, this place is well worth it! We went here in 2018 and returned this year, 1/2/2025. They have made improvements since then by adding for sections in the museum (the Discovery Center made up of several play areas: a pizza restaurant, a post office, cargo transportation center, etc.). The museum is made up for two floors to explore with different areas: Makers Space, Calm Space, Bubble Play, Planetarium, Tree House, an area for kids 6 yr old and below, and many more! We stayed here for 4 hours and we could have easily stayed until closing time. During the warm months, they have an outdoor play area overlooking the river. I saw staff cleaning and monitoring all areas throughout the museum. I appreciated that. The only needs for improvement: wish their store had more items and was more organized, and wished they offered a snack shop that serves sandwiches and light snacks (fruit cup, vegetable cup, etc.). Otherwise, this place is definitely a great destination for kids. Highly recommended! Go go go! read more

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A fantastic museum for kids, at a reasonable price! Lots of fantastic, interactive exhibits that teach basic science principles (simple machines, air flow, bubbles, etc), a large outdoor space featuring a science-themed playground, a huge tractor that kids can sit in, areas for pretend play (like a grocery store), and a dedicated toddlers area. My little ones spent about 2.5 hours there but we could've easily spent the whole day - they didn't want to leave. Only downside is that there doesn't seem to be much else in the area for little kids - like kid-friendly restaurants or ice cream shops. read more

This is the best children's museum I have ever been to. For just $10 a person my kids spent 5 hours exploring this place and didn't want to leave but they were closing. They dont sell any food, but have nice picnic tables outside for bringing lunch in. All exhibits are clean and organized. We drove all the way from Madison, Wisconsin to visit this place and would do so again! read more

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This place is the best. It's been around for decades, but you wouldn't know it by how well kept everything is. Especially if you have young kids, a membership here is the best money you could ever spend. It's the perfect getaway on both cold winter days and hot summer days. They have an indoor space and an outdoor space chalk full of activities and play stations. Plus, most everything here is not only super fun, but also educational so kids are constantly learning and growing here. I can't say enough good things about this place and how lucky we are to have it in Rockford. I loved coming here myself as a kid and now I love bringing my kids here. Looking forward to taking them here for years to come! read more

OMG, if there was higher rating than 5 stars, then this one definitely gets more stars. We visited here after Christmas and spent most of vacation here from reading reviews online. Overall, my wife and I were amazed at 2 levels of extensive exhibits for kids of all ages. The ground floor has a planetarium which was decent but can't complain at $1-2 admission. It also has a farm exhibit along with some science activities around making bubbles and pulling your own weight with pulleys. There is access to outdoor playground but it is closed for season. On the 2nd floor, there is way more things for both toddlers and slightly older with more science exhibit on the human body/electricity as well as grocery store and toddler water table and tree house. For Christmas holidays, the museum opened a separate section for ice skating with your socks on smooth tiles. Also, there were craft tables which were nice. Staff was more than helpful and also in the separate holiday area too. Our ASTC reciprocal membership made our admission free for 2-3 days we visited. Our toddler didn't get bored each day so wished we had something as extensive back in Twin Cities. read more

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Children museum in Rockford, with challenging learning opportunities for all. I enjoyed seeing the children enjoy the day. read more

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Welp where do I even begin???? The staff, the workers even the parents was rude, I even seen one dude vaping I even seen a hand full of moms breastfeeding out in the open while they had rooms for that. I wouldn't take my kid there again if they paid us too!!!!! The workers are fake nice they make me uncomfortable too this isn't a good place for kids or anyone read more

I have been bring nieces and nephews here for years. Think Chicago Children's museum on a much smaller scale. I currently bring my great niece/nephew. My 6yr old grn says "it's the best museum in the world" and wants to go every time she visits (about six already) . Lots of hands on exhibits. Kids run from one to another. Wear good shoes. No food for lunch here- may want to pack a picnic. read more

Discovery Center Museum - Lots of hands on fun!! - Children's Museums Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

My son is 4.5 and this was PERFECT! I highly recommend the trip to Rockford to do their museum campus on the river. We did Burpee and Discovery on the same day. Everything at the Discovery Children's Museum was interactive, everything. There is so much to do, we spent 3 hours here and could have easily spent more. My suggestion, bring multiple kids and let them run free. Have a 'date' day at the museum or a Girls Day Out while the kids run, learn and have fun. Also, you get $1 off if you do both museums in one day and there are military and AAA discounts you can use in conjunction. It cost us $10 total for 3 hours, worth it. read more

Discovery Center Museum - The water 'table' in the outdoor park. - Children's Museums Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

We have visited numerous children's museums throughout the country. The Discovery Center Museum is a budget friendly museum that provides a great experience for the entire family. From my toddler to my 80 year old mother, we enjoyed the various exhibits and activities. It was larger than expected and was pleasantly surprised by the various sections throughout the museum. There are plenty of hands on activities that keep the kids engaged. It was worth the 45 minute drive. I would definitely recommend the museum. FYI. There are no food options, just vending so come with a full tummy. read more

The most impressive Children's Museum I have ever been to. There are two levels of hands on, super fun and educational activities. Kids can explore for hours and hours there. We already want to go back again. read more

We decided to take the kids here this past Saturday when the weather in the morning seemed iffy. It was our first visit, and my son groaned that we were going to a museum because "you learn" at museums. LOL! He, and my daughter, ended up having a blast! They made some origami creations, put themselves in a giant bubble, had their pitches timed, and more! We spent a couple hours here and really enjoyed it. It seemed that every exhibit was in working order (aside from the water area outside in the science park, but perhaps that was due to the time of year?). The only negative was the bathroom. My daughter & I went in and BOTH stalls had urine all over the toilet seats. I'm guessing this was probably from little boys that had come in with their mothers --- BUT --- please, parents -- clean up after YOUR kids, don't make someone else do it. read more

This location is listed as closed, but I really think they should change it to say "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" so that means it's not closed forever, but they're working on it. This was the first museum that I took my daughter too as it was recommended by a colleague of mine and his family. WOW, what a great suggestion! When I we first walked in, I was thinking "is this an empty conference center? or maybe an empty warehouse looking place" BUT walk in further and you'll see the amazing museum! Not sure what the price was ($10-25) MAYBE. We walked in and this was my first kids hands-on museum. My 4 year old LOVED IT. She was able to learn about the human body, all of it's bones, how each part of our body moved/functioned, gravity/force, insects, plants...you name it, we saw it and touched it. It wasn't too complicated where she was bored instantly, but require parents to explain some things and show how things are done since a kid is not going to figure out everything on there own. There were 2 levels of this place and we were constantly going up and down making sure we had all the fun we could have at all the little locations. We spent about 2-3 hours there and she wasn't even bored. We only left because tit was closing soon so we had to hit the gift shop (of course). We want to go back there soon but seeing that it's still under construction, we can't go there until it's done. GO GO GO!!! Take kids! Go alone, you'll enjoy it too (maybe don't go completely alone, bring a friend :) ) read more

Discovery Center Museum - Discovery Gift Shop - Children's Museums Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

This place is a gem! My daughter is 1 1/2 and she absolutely loves going here. I feel like there are a variety of exhibits for different ages. Since she is young we skip half of the exhibits and she can still stay for 2 hours without getting bored. We took a 4 year old friend and she was sad to leave after 3-4 hours because there were still things to see. Unlike some other kids museums the water tables here are great for smaller kids and they even have smaller rain jackets to keep the kids dry. It is especially nice that they have so many benches and chairs close to each area which makes it nice for moms with babies or grandparents to come along. read more

Great combination of children's museum, science museum, and lovely outdoor play space. All of the exhibits were functional and interesting, the staff couldn't have been nicer (p.s., we took the quizzes and I'm a Slytherin and he's a Ravenclaw) the space was very clean, and it wasn't overcrowded. One of the best children's museums we've been to! read more

Great place to take kids to! I have visited often when my kids were little and now there are all in their 20s. We still talk about the fun we had there. read more

I found the Discovery Museum at Chicago Parent online one day while looking for something fun for my daughter and I do together for the weekend. They were advertising the museum's Japan exhibit. Kawaii is my daughter's favorite thing. I live in Chicago so the hike to Rockford was 96 miles away. I decided to do the drive, admission to the museum was only $8. How bad could it be for $8? Wow! I was not disappointed with my efforts to see this place! The museum is huge! 2 floors loaded with rooms of things for the children to explore. It's like a mini Museum of Science and Industry - but with more stuff to do. Not over crowded. Plenty to keep my 7yo engaged. We got there at 10 am and stayed till 3:30 pm. We wouldn't have left then but we had gotten hungry! My 4 nieces and nephew came to visit a few weeks later. For the value and the price I thought this would be great for them also to do and see. Ages 12, 10, 8 and 6. They enjoyed it also! We stayed all day. Totally worth the drive. Stopped at Woodfield mall on the way back for lunch. They do have picnic tables where you can bring and eat snacks or lunch if you'd like. I highly recommend and would come back again. read more

This review is for the BABY SPOT only: My friend and I who both have babies (5 and 6 months) were so excited when we heard this place has a "newly expanded" area for babies 0-18 months. So, we traveled ALLL the way from Wisconsin to come here. Unfortunately, it was just some corner of the tots area with some broken, mismatched, dirty toys, a couple of mirrors, and some books. Not only that, the bigger kids kept coming into the area. I'm like, "y'all have this whole museum and you can't give us our little, unimpressive corner?!" I guess that speaks more to the parents than the children. Idk, this was so disappointing. If people are actually paying 8 bucks for their babies to play here, maybe I should just start charging people to come play with my baby's toys. They are nicer, cleaner, and more exciting. So my opinion is: if you have a baby, don't waste your time, energy, and money for them to come here. Wait until they are bigger and can run around and do things at the exhibits. The baby spot is a total fail! read more

I have visited children's museums in Chicago, Charlottesville, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Boston and this one is as good or better than any of those. It's located in a museum/arts complex so worth a look for the neighboring structures too. The Discovery Center itself is a great place for kids to not only have a lot of fun but learn too. I've notice that some children's "museums" are long on fun but short on learning. That's not meant as a criticism, kids need time to focus on fun play because that is part of learning too. But this museum does a very nice job of melding educational displays with fun and interesting activities. My son was 20 months when we visited so we were taken by the very large 6 and under area, featured a kitchen, a pizza parlor, trains, a water splash zone, and a number of other attractions. He had plenty of fun in the big kids area too, a lot there to draw in his attention. Unfortunately we were visiting in late December so the very large adjacent playground was shut down. But we still managed to spend 2-3 hours of energetic play time in this space. We will definitely return and would for sure be members if we lived in the Rockford area! read more

I wanted to visit this museum because once while we were passing through the area I found a brochure at a rest stop that said this children's museum was one of the best in the country. I was dubious, but I decided that I needed to check it out with my little boy. Immediately after paying, we walked in to a large area for kids. The indoor part of the museum (on the first floor) seems skewed towards the school-age child (our son is just turning three). My son thought the human-sized bubble making machine was great, but it got better. The back of the musuem (outdoors) is a massive wooden structure with passage ways and paths to go up, down and over bridges. At the very far back of the structure there are swings. My son was in heaven. At least for a little guy like my son, the huge play area at the back was the best part of the experience for our family. However, we never did make it to the toddler area on the second floor. We got 50% off our entry fee because we are members of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. It seems that the Discovery Center not only maintains reciprocal agreements like that with other museums (check ahead of time), but I noticed in their membership materials that if you join as a member (I think it's $70 per year), you can get in free or have a big discount to 200+ museums across the country. That perk is huge if you travel a lot with your family. Anyway, we had a great time and we are sure to be back! read more

What's not to like about a museum devoted to helping children realize that science is fun?! Somewhere between the climbable stairway, human sized tornado and the greatest wooden playground, I fell in love. Granted I went here as a child. It was the biggest treat in the world, regardless of how many times I had been. It was fresh every time. I even took science-y classes here. Take your children here. Go here on a cute date. I just went with some friends on a lazy weekend and we (the mid-twenty somethings that we are) had a blast. My camera is full of the tom-foolery. I recommend coming here in the summer time, since the playground is even better when the water is running. ( I assume it runs, thought I've never seen it.) However, in the depth of winter, this place is a great way to get your kids out from under the electronics. read more

Holy smokes was this places awesome for my 2 1/2 year old kid. My one year old even liked it! We went there with friends and their kid and it was a good day out. We spent about two and half hours there. Two floors, not crowded at all during the week, tons of activities and interactive options. Fixing a car, water station, sports, electricity and magnets, pizza making station, a house with activities inside, a farm, and a whole lot of other cool kinesthetic activities as well. I even found myself going the "speed pitch" and the flight simulator! Free parking, huge parking lot, $7 to get in...and if your kid is under 2 they are free -- usually it is just under one. This place blew away the Naperville, Frankfort, and Oak Lawn Children's Museum. The only other one we liked was the one in Iowa City, IA. read more

I have been there for a field trip.! It is AMAZING so great for kids of course! There is an endless amount of things to do there. And I think there is a pretty big park there. There is 2 story's as in floors and the second one is pretty interesting hope you have fun the next time you go there. read more

Been here three times and the kids (2 and 4.5 y.o.) love it. It is all hands on and interactive. We came back out from Chicago this week to visit the museum. The "grocery store" that my daughter loved was gone, but it was replaced with a pizza shop with ovens for her to operate which she now says is her favorite. The outdoor space is fantastic. The sandbox is setup for the kids to dig fossils. The Ag-Zibit is good but needs a little updating. The wi-fi at the center is not so great. Bathrooms are great for kids. Would love it if there was some easier food options at the location to make the stay longer and better. read more

I can't even count all the things we saw and tried out here. My boys are 5 and 7 and they have been enjoying this place since they are 2 yrs old. They will still be alble to do a whole day's worth of exploring at age 10. This beats Kohl's any day, don't get me wrong, Kohls has nice exhibits but it is crowded to a point were nobody enjoys that museum, even though it's only 5 min from my home. I rather drive 1.5 hours to Rockfort and have a much larger variety of things to do for my kids and us and way fewer people. I wish though that there was a restaurant for lunch. read more

Love this place and I don't even have kids. My fiance and I come here with my nephew when we babysit him. Everything is so clean and tidy. They also switch out play equipment from time to time to mix things up. The outdoor playground is a bonus- the one in the Chicago suburbs doesn't compare to this place. Can't wait for my baby to be born and grow so we can come here more often. read more

Great discounts for military. My kids absolutely loved this museum. We spent two whole days there and I don't think they managed to get to everything. The outdoor play place is huge and amazing. The kids could run around and dig up fossils. read more

Hands down, it's a great place for kids! There are plenty of things for the kids to see and be hands-on with. The building is two levels and on the upper level you have a special section just for toddlers called Tot's Spot where they can play with things on their level. There is a play house, play area where kids put together (play) pizzas and wear an outfit (donated by Papa John's). There is a water area where you can let your tots play with the water toys. They have rubber gowns available for three sizes. There is a construction crane, ship, and a pretend UPS facility and more! All fun and educational for kids! Even parents will learn some new things! For $8/person it's really worth it! read more

This place was the best part of our trip to Rockford. It's incredibly affordable ($16 admission for two adults and a 1 year old). We were skeptical that our 16 month old would have enough things to entertain him, and we were pleasantly surprised. We last two hours there, which is like 10 hours in adult-time. We had to leave for nap time, not lack of things to do. The cashier was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. She noted places that were specifically designed for toddler,s but made sure we knew he was welcome to touch anything. We enjoyed ourselves as much as our son. Learning made fun! read more

Took a day trip out to Rockford and stumbled across the Discovery Center Museum after exploring the Burpee Museum next door. I'm so glad we walked over because we had a great time. The place was clean and not super crowded. There were a ton of things for my 5 year old (and let's face it, Dad had a great time as well) to do. Everything seemed to be in working order which is really unheard of for a Childrens' museum. I especially loved the temporary Kawaii exhibit. They have a huge outdoor playground with water play area, a cave, and sand pit. The wasps were a bit of a nuisance but it didn't keep us from playing out there for a while. Admission was reasonable and you could easily spend a half a day exploring everything this museum has to offer. read more

If you find yourself in Rockford with children then this is a definite must see. With over 200 things to do inside the Discovery Museum, commit an entire day to this museum because the children will want to do it all. If the weather is nice, then they will also want to head through the rear doors to the outdoor science park where they can explore locks and dams, whisper across the park, climb through a spider's web and Newton's Cradle, dig for dinosaur bones or just run around. Small picnic area is available outdoors offering a place to replenish energy in order to return to the exploration. A total gem. read more

Top notch place. Family friendly with great staff. Kids learn a lot and have fun. Easy parking and plenty of it.

This is a true gem on par with anything you'll find in Chicagoland, and possibly better. It's only downfall might be that it's almost too much for a kid in one day. I took my two several weeks ago, and I'm already thinking about planning another trip. It's a perfect place for kids in the winter so you can get out of the house for a while, but the outdoor area has me planning a return trip come summertime! read more

This is probably our favorite place to visit on a rainy summer day when the kids are all out of school. There is so much to do here you can easily spend the whole day here and not get bored. I have four girls ages 6, 8 13, and 19, obviously the little ones are always with me but the older two can wander off without me having to worry. It's also attached to the museum and it's a very small fee to be able to jump over to the museum as well which they do pretty regularly read more

We took our 3 young kids there on Monday, April 22, 2013 (almost 6, almost 3 and a 5 month old) and all of us had a blast! I highly recommend this place. The outside portion was one of our favorites but if you go in the colder months there is still plenty to do inside. It was very clean and it was refreshing to see staff going around and keeping the exhibits in order. We went on a Monday and aside from a couple noisy school groups it wasn't overcrowded and the kids never had to wait to see an exhibit. read more

We live in West Dundee yet we trek out to this museum and have a membership here because our 3 year old son enjoys this museum so much. There are 2 floors of exhibits and it is great for kids from infant-12. They do a great job explaining what the kids should be learning and there is always something that my son wants to try out and do. My daughter liked to crawl around the infant area and it was nice to have that next to the toddler area so I could watch both kids at the same time. We also got to explore the vast outdoor space with the many areas to climb and play as well. It is a must do in Rockford with children! read more