Well... this place was OK. A lot of the games were broken, which was a bummer so seems a little run down because of this. The kids area isnt that big, but there was a arts section where my son had a ton of fun painting. We had more fun in the huge fountain outside than in the museum. Ill give it 3 starts because of the arts section and the location of the museum. Normally this would be 2 stars If you go, make sure you go to the EMP museum right next to it. That was fun and all the interactive games WORK. read more

It's a really half and half experience for me and family here. We've been here twice now - one time my daughter was just a wee little baby and just started crawling. There was about maybe 6 other families there - so the place is so vast and large it felt like we were the only ones there. Waiting a year and came back and the place was jam packed! Kids in every room, playing every thing! it was loud and rowdy and kind of chaotic. While one felt like a ghost town and the other felt like a mad house - I couldn't really tell which one I preferred! About the Museum itself though... It's large inside, plenty of space to play and explore... one half of the museum has a hands on area that is like a small shopping center that consists of a super market with carts and scanable items. Another was a small cafeteria setting where kids can pretend to work in a kitchen while the others order food and sit and eat. There was a construction zone that allowed kids to build things with blocks and magnetic toys, an eye doctor office, a theater room with costumes and lighting that kids can put on a performance. Easily the more enjoyable half of the museum - however - they are either under staffed or don't really care as the place is always a mess (when coming in the afternoon). Nothing is in order/in place. The both times I went, looks like a hurricane had came thru and everything was a mess. Which leaves me to believe that cleanliness isn't something that happens frequent enough considering kids are a sponge of germs to expose and be exposed to. In the center portion of the museum there is a little tot area that is closed off and has a few interactive items like a small house, rocking boat, small slide and whale, a few things on the wall of wooden toys, and a padded area for the littlest ones to crawl around in. There's also a story room area with plenty of books to read. Then there's the "mountain" area that is a walk through exploration area... takes about 1.5 minutes to walk through and there are stuffed animals throughout for kids to spot, a couple climb through faux logs - however - caution as it's made of concrete and not forgiving if you fall or crawl on hands and knees. At the top is a little camping area with a tent and a small concrete slide. The other side of the mountain are a couple of play areas that have vacuum systems and ping pong balls for kids to play and see the cause and effect of air. A large room for scheduled activities and another padded area for the crawlers. The other HALF of the museum is the museum portion. A small city if you will, with rooms of different cultures around the world. It's rather boring for kids as the only interactive thing there is a Japanese pay phone and two bongos in the African house. The rest of it is very bare and kids will walk through and right on out. That side is dire need of an update or activities that kids can interact with to learn more about culture inside of a few paintings on the wall. Overall - the place is better for kids with great imagination as they will enjoy half of the museum for that. Kids over 1 years old has to pay a $10 admission while parents will be about $11.50 so it's not the cheapest place to go. i'm more disappointed as there isn't THAT much to do inside and more disappointed that it's always a mess compared to other museums that I've been to that always has someone walking around organizing and cleaning up. It's a nice place to visit if you need to kill a few hours but I don't see the value of a membership as there's really no need to go more than once a year. read more

I am sorry but the Childrens Museum has not changed in over 10yrs. Same old toys and exhibits. My oldest daughter is 12yrs old and we had a membership and went all the time when she was little. My youngest is about to turn 2 and we decided to go and see what was new... haha nothing was new. It was the same place, same toys which most are so warm and old. I dont think I'll ever give it another try unfortunately. read more

I currently live in Puyallup so I typically go to the children's Mesuem in Olympia. However, I wanted to venture out to a new one since I'm relatively new to WA and wanted to explore Seattle. I had high hopes for this location because it appears that everything fancy/exciting to do is in the Seattle area so I was expecting it to be huge, well kept, and modern. However, it's way smaller than the one in Olympia. The grocery area had hardly any food, the areas are small, things are run down and dirty, I saw no staff cleaning as the kids played, there was no cool water area, and everything that seemed fun to play with were locked in glass cupboards. Also, the place smelled insanely bad. It was like walking into a gym towards the culture rooms and in the grocery store. I needed to change my daughter, but as soon as I saw the changing station I changed my mind and took her all the way back to my car just to do it because it was so filthy. (Obviously smeared poop). We had the best time upstairs in the food area and outside walking around. Tldr; This place isn't worth your money/time and the Olympia one is 10x better in all areas. (Cleanliness, staff, safety, smell, size, activities). The one in Tacoma is really small, but even that one is better than the Seattle location. read more

To sum it all up, I'll just explain one exhibit. The train exhibit had one train only. One train. One old, worn, barely keeping its color on, train. It was a constant battle of kids to fight for that train. For as much as they charge, you'd think they might splurge on say, more than one. What are they doing with the admission money? I have a three year old and he was bored. The place is empty for good reason. Everything is old and worn and there isn't much to do besides look at all the old worn stuff. Would never go again. Waste of money. read more

This is the smallest and priciest children museum we have been to. Every "exhibit" is a few square feet with a bunch of toys. No real value to coming here over going to a playground, and with how expensive the admission is it's a huge disappointment read more

We had a great time visiting Seattle with our then four-year-old. Though some of the areas of the Museum seem to be older, I think this is typically something only observed by parents and I didn't see any children in harm or deterred from playing. The Museum is available as part of an attraction-hopper pass making this a fun destination for a few hours in the afternoon (especially if the weather starts to get dreary). Exhibits were hands-on and seemed to be geared mostly toward children under 10 years old. Our daughter enjoyed climbing through the forest and ecosystem structures. The craft room with paints, recycled materials and odds and ends provided a lot of self-guided fun as well. Visit this room first so you can play and explore while your artwork dries. read more

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. read more

I was very excited to go to the Children's Museum as I'd heard great things about it. I visited the web site last night to check for hours and learn about admission fees. I arrived at 10:15 this morning and should have known something was up when there were many children milling about around the place (many of the children were screaming and crying.) As it turns out the museum was closed for the weekend which is apparently an annual occurrence. I thought to myself, "how could I have missed this on the website? It must have been posted, right?" Well it was, but you had to click through to the "schedule" page to find that out. Huh. Seems lime that would be something that should be posted clearly on the home page so that scores of children didn't go away crying and terribly disappointed. Just a thought. read more

So, I hadn't been to the Children's Museum before, and they had a LEGO special event, so that was pretty much all I needed to bring my seven year old and go play with LEGOs! The event was really a disappointment, it was three ladies each at a table with one or two LEGO sets well-organized in plastic bags. The ladies watched you while you played with the set, and then made sure that you put it back in the bag properly when you were done. Great for organization, but terrible for fun spontaneous playing. However, the museum itself is great. I love the play theater, and the play supermarket, and all of the other places they have made these full-sized replicas of awesome things that kid's don't normally get to see - a Japanese house, an African barbershop, and so on. My visit was near St. Patrick's day, so there was an unexpected bonus - there was a holiday-themed scavenger hunt that tested kids' reading and ciphering abilities. It was a lot of fun to run back and forth, looking for runes to spell out our secret code. read more

It's kinda a depressing little place. Empty shelves n the fake like grocery store. Stuff scattered everywhere. Old and out dated. Looks dirty. With al the staff they have on saw non of them rounding and picking up or wiping anything down. This place should continuously be wiped down with a safe disinfectant. Also, I don't know why parent have to pay an admission fee. And why ours cost more. We are playing with the stuff. Should have gone to the park instead. read more

We had the opportunity to go back for a friend's birthday party and my girl is now 4. So to compare from last time the 'ball room' as she refered to it was in even more defunct - with balls shooting out from above pipes on to your head and floor. We were there also during the Christmas season so the 'mountain' (which she loves to climb up) was closed unless it was time for a Santa visit (free with admission). The party room for the 20 or so 2-5 y.o. fit everyone fine until one of the tables collapsed (the adjustable legs gave out on one side and was not able to be fixed). My girl is definatly a 'doer' and doesn't have the patience to want me to read all the informational plaques on the wall telling about the African, Japanese and Phillippines rooms. I think the theater went away and now has a Lego sponsered room? Glad it was free for us. Also the other problamatic thing is that since it's under the Food Court at the Seattle Center, it has an partially open ceiling and if there's any loud concert/performance/activity going it only adds to the loud din in the museum. read more

Such a cute place for kids to use their imaginations and explore. They have an area for everything. My son had a great time. The place was clean, the staff were nice. It was very busy but of course it was the weekend. Downtown parking is pretty hard too but overall great experience read more

It's a cute museum and my kids had a great time. Great train table and Lego section. It's big and offers many activities. Only three stars: 1. Museum is dirty, I could feel the dust from the carpets. 2. Bathroom smelled. 3. Some of the stuff deteriorate. 4. They don't work with other membership of children museums. This is too bad, this museum has a great potential, it just need to be cleaner. read more

Our little one loved running around this entire museum. He loved the Legos and the large rooms where he could tumble. We are definitely going back asap. read more

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. read more

This place needs some help. Like most of Seattle's children's facilities, it needs funding. It's pretty empty. There seems to be great potential. The play market is a great idea, but there is virtually no food on the shelves to play with. I feel like they should ask for donations of play food or keep watch at Goodwill to buy some more. Small efforts of organized community support would make this place spectacular. read more

Look we go here weekly sometimes even twice a week so my children do really enjoy it...it's just that, it seems run down sometimes. If it weren't for my kids having an absolute blast, I'd give it a solid 3 stars. But my kids are always happy there so up to four we go! The lay out is somewhat bizarre frankly. The discovery center is full of some sciencey stuff and some building blocks, but right now (Christmas time) there are some exhibits that I swear are NOT children friendly. My kids are going to tear down those Christmas trees and beat the ever loving crap out of the gong. The rest of the museum shows signs of not a lot of money being invested for up keep frankly. It makes you wonder where all the money that you have to spend to go there with your family ends up? read more

It's a CHILDREN'S Museum...it clearly says that in the museum name, right? Get that through your skull before coming here- this isn't your typical galleria of fine arts. (I'm calling you out, LuLu S.) Once I got past that, it was clear how much this placed rocked. We went on pajama day, and our monster got in for free. This place is a great stage for those with imagination- most of us have at least a little. There is a variety of different rooms including a mini market (complete with real flowers for a donation the children can wrap up and take home) a restaurant, theater, construction site, several art rooms, science centers, and my absolute favorite were the displays for different countries. Awesome! I highly recommend- just remember, you're here for your damn kid. Not you. read more

Took my 15 month old along with several adults. It did not have enough stuff for a child of this age, yet we had to pay for his admission. Most of the exhibits were geared to older kids and many of them were scary for a toddler. I would not bring a child under 4 here. read more

I wanted to love this place. None the less, we have been there about ten times over the last six years. However, its seems a bit forgotten and dated. Its gets traffic because of its location, but it appears neglected. The grocery store has hardly any groceries. Everything is horribly limited and old. The theater has a handful of old costumes and there is a few rooms that seem like they could add quite a bit more to it. They are not cheap so I am wondering where all their money is going to. Its obvious its not back into the place. My kids were done this last time after half an hour:-( After going to Olympia children's museum; this one is sadly not even on the same page; which is disappointing since its right in the middle of such an important metropolitan city. I would be happy to give them a five star review if they even cared to put some time and attention into the museum themselves. Kids of Seattle deserve better! read more

I'm a nanny for tweens this summer. I saw an event in Seattle Child that sounded like fun. Having never been to this museum, nor doing prior research I didn't realize it was for really little kids. When the girls told me they hadn't been to this place in years because it was "for babies" I thought they were exaggerating. They were not. It's half run down--the international exhibits were all SUPER out of date/broken/old. VHS tapes in the Japanese house? Really? The half that's new is all American stuff that is basically just advertising for companies: lumber, fancy groceries, hip toddler food... Anyway, the "Root Beer Day" that we came for was the *biggest* disappointment! It sounded like there would be a whole bunch of flavors that we'd get to try. We approached the table of crabby women and were told we could try two out of four of the flavors. They had small Dixie cups that had barely a sip of root beer in each! We were sooo bummed. I told the girls we'd have a real tasting day where they could actually try a wider variety [the Root Beer Store in Lynwood has, I believe, 3 billion flavors]. If your kid is above 3 and you actually want to show them how other cultures live, just skip the $9 admission and put on Sesame Street. read more

The absolute worst children's museum we have ever been too and we have been to 1/2 dozen and more. The activities and centers were weak and basic. They have a small little water area that is smaller than our backyard play set. And the worst is they charge full price as other children's museums- the three of us was over $30. And all they had was used and dirty plastic toys. Really?!?! read more

Even though I read the reviews before going, I thought to myself, "how bad can it be?" As I was wandering around the museum with my two year old daughter, I was repeatedly shocked at the condition of the exhibits. Overall, I would guess that 60% of the place is broken or in disrepair. One of the play areas, Cog City, should be closed down completely and either renovated or replaced, as there are broken pieces of plastic and piping in every exhibit. This place was a major disappointment and in desperate need of some TLC. It almost seems like museum management has given up on it. read more

Disappointing. A friend told me he used to come here with his kids all the time. We finally made it and I have to say it's pretty ratty. The international area (Ghana, Philippines, Japan) has almost nothing kids can get their hands on. Everything is in drawers under plexiglas. The Ghana section has ONE costume for kids to try on, a marimba with no mallets. Philippines was virtually empty. My daughter had more fun climbing into the kitchen cabinets than actually playing with anything - because - there WAS nothing. Other sections were somewhat better but it seemed every section had things that were broken or missing or poorly organized, and little or no staff to be found wandering the floor. The only saving grace is that my daughter (3) can find fun in anything. I hear the Everett Children's Museum is great - worth the drive from Seattle. We definitely won't be returning to the Seattle one. read more

It's been almost three years since we visited but I still remember having a great time with my girls while my husband visited Chihuly.

One of the best Children's Museums we've ever visited. Kids ages 1-8 will certainly find something to do. The food court is upstairs and the museum allows food and drinks except hot coffee. read more

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Members of my family used to work there - you would not believe the stories of ineptitude. If even half is true then watch out. In addition to the poor leadership, the museum itself is long in the tooth - most of the exhibits are old and showing that age. It is pricey for what you get, but I do admit that kids in the 2-6 year range might like it. My advice: skip it. read more

This place is a dump. This was our 3rd visit over the past 5 1/2 years. After about 3 years I figured it should be safe to come back -- they raised their prices quite a bit, so they had to have repaired stuff by now right? Wrong. I was hopeful when we first ventured to Cog City, a room that my 9 year old Engineer would typically love. Last time we were here, literally every single thing in this exhibit was broken. This time, the vacuum lines were at least working and it looks like it has been repainted since we were last here...but a stroll through the rest of the exhibit was a let down as everything else was broken. There was a pile of crap on the floor near the back of the exhibit that looked like someone had cleaned out their dad's garage and brought all his leftover pipe and junk for kids to play with -- I guess that's not too bad, I mean we've done the same thing with my son at home (although for free), I guess I just didn't expect to see garage crap at a museum that I'm paying for. Just outside the cog city exhibit there is an area labeled for 0-3 year olds, but there wasn't much in there that looked either fun or appropriate for a 1 or 2 year old -- big foam blocks, velcro blocks and some big piece of wood that looked like it may have broken off of another exhibit. I kept my 2.5 year old out of there. I then spotted a new looking exhibit (Boom City?)...but it was closed. So then we stepped into the African village, and then we stepped back out. This is supposed to be educational, yet none of the stores had any props left, there were empty shelves everywhere, no props in the hair salon, no goods on the store shelves, no props anywhere. I'm all for imaginative play, but you gotta give me something to work with! So then we decided to climb the mountain. All of the props and stuffed animals that used to be there are now gone. No camping gear, just a dirty slide at the top and signs everywhere saying not to climb on anything. Ok, on to Discovery Bay...a place supposedly geared toward my 2.5 year old. The fish that used to light up when stepped on no longer light up. The seaweed that hangs down for kids to run through is ripping, some pieces are gone. The water table had no water, only a few dirty toys. There wasn't anything else to do in there. My daughter got bored and escaped, we followed. We peeked into the Sound Transit Station, there were a couple train tables which looked to be in good condition, but we have a train table at home. We then went into the "Lego" Room, you would think its a room that my son would love...but there were no Lego's in the Lego room. Remember those foam blocks that were in the 0-3 play area, well that is what now fills the "Lego" Room. This used to have all sorts of Legos (regular and Duplo) and ride-on cars, and I think a pretty cool play structure. Now there are lame foam blocks, more garage crap and some really heavy wooden blocks. Next. I could see that there was more -- the bus, the market, the theater...but rather than subject my kids to more disappointment and boredom, we left and went to the Pacific Science Center. They both had a blast there, they actually had Lego's and cool projects, and it is cool that they give free memberships to foster families, not just the kids. The Children's Museum gives a discounted admission to foster kids if they have a Provider One card (former foster kid insurance), but the adults have to pay full price -- we paid $18 with military ID and I still feel we overpaid for half an hour of boredom and let down. Seriously, I want my money back. I was also really uncomfortable with the bathroom situation. Near the entrance, there are two "family bathrooms". I walked into one, and actually walked in on my friend's foster son finishing up at the urinal; he was there for camp yet unsupervised. This is a family bathroom, yet it's set up like a boys bathroom -- three open urinals and two stalls. I took my daughter into a stall, but then men kept walking into the bathroom and using the urinals...it was awkward and I didn't want to walk out of our stall while they were exposed. There is a sign on the door that directed men to the men's room, but it was in small print and I only saw it because I was trying to figure out what went wrong with our bathroom visit. This arrangement just seems sketchy to me. Not that we plan to return, but I would never let either of my children use the restroom alone here. The other thing that really bugged me was the amount of parents sitting staring at their phones -- I'd assume these are the folks writing good reviews for the museum because I don't see how someone would give a good review if they looked up from their phones. Its sad really, not the museum's fault, but still sad. read more

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.

Awesome for my two kids hrs of entertainment for all ages kids playing with kids diverse crowd and exhibits. Very clean they even have a diaper genie in men's bathroom and changing table, as well as a place to park strollers, and you can bring your own food love this place read more

I love this place! I think it is relatively inexpensive and has areas for various ages of children to enjoy. There is a lot more for children who are old enough for pretend-play. For instance, they can pretend to work at a cafe or grocery store or pretend to put on a play. The museum wasn't as large as I thought it might be, but for small children it is the perfect size. The people working here are friendly and helpful. read more

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. read more

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! read more

I attended a birthday party 2hours ago I came in with the parents of the birthday girl. We weren't shown the room we all paid to reserve! They just pointed down the hall. There didn't seem to be any outlets in the room for music or charging our phones(plus no wifi or signal for pandora) and all the cabinets were locked. So when we went out and asked about it they glared and acted like we were idiots! We asked if they had any tape so we could hang a sign on the door for the party (because the room didn't have one) they acted like that was a HUGE request, they gave us the tape but then multiple times during the party they reminded us not to take it with us, they asked a ridiculous amount of times. Once the party rooms time was almost done they gave us the expected 15min notice but then told us not to rush or worry because no one else had the room afterwards. So like we were told we didn't rush! But then not even 15minutes later she comes in after standing outside the door for 10 minutes, she comes in and starts cleaning up from under all of our guests! This is a terrible place to have a party! Its on the expensive side (we paid over $150 for the first 30guests than $7 for extras) for only an hour and a half of room time. (including set up and take down). They will clean up, but early and while you occupy the room. Also the parents picked this place because they are members and regulars to the children's museum! So I'd hate to see how they treat someone who is new to it! read more

Most exhibits are old. Not very much hands on which is key for a children's museum. It's rather small. It's expensive. The most interesting part is a virtual Japan town with house etc. the problem is all of the groceries and everything are behind glass. Kids can't touch anything so run through it and get bored. I'd skip it. read more

We are members. I think it was totally worth the $50 bucks for the year. We have already been several times. My three year old just loves the museum and begs to go. Her birthday request: go to the museum, then go to the library, then have ice cream. If its worth spending her birthday, its pretty good. read more

Nice place to bring kids to play. I would say more for younger children, my 8 and 7 year old boys get bored pretty fast there. But its perfect for ages 2-5. Lots of room and space, not too crowded. But one down side to this place is the parking is quite a ways off and you have to walk pretty long, and if its raining it makes it more harder. read more

Preface my review by agreeing that it isn't as snazzy as some other children's museums, and I would never go without a Groupon because it's crazy expensive. BUT, but. My toddler freaking LOVES this place (and isn't that kind of the point?)! He runs, runs, runs, runs, and then runs some more. Perfect refuge on a rainy, cold, windy day. And the food court upstairs is pretty amazing these days. There's beer. Just saying. All of that running makes mommy thirsty. The tiny grocery store is my favorite part. Kiddo likes the random room full of giant miscellaneous stuff and the baby area with the splash fountain and the whale he can climb in. I would suspect that kids much older than 4 would get bored in a hurry. Hopefully they can update the place soon with all of that ticket revenue! ;) read more

We came here recently for a birthday party and had a blast. Their special program now is Sesame Street and the body so the kids recognized the characters and had tons of fun. I wish we could have stayed longer but it was a busy day and so we will have to come back soon to play! Everything is very hands (or feet) on and interactive. Make sure your kids wash their hands afterwards... I imagine lots of germs! read more