When our son was younger, we would make a point of visiting children’s museums wherever we went. Now that our daughter is old enough to appreciate these museums, they are making their way back into our travel plans.

In this article, we will discuss the best children’s museums we’ve seen so far. Choose one from this list when planning your travels, and you really can’t go wrong!

The Magic House

St. Louis, MO

St. Louis is home to a number of great attractions. There is a free zoo that is amazing, as well as a free science center, a history museum, and an art museum. The city is also home to the incredible City Museum, which should be on every traveler’s must-see list. Another favorite St. Louis spot of ours? The Magic House.

I have fond memories of visiting the Magic House when I was little, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the museum met my expectations all these years later. The place plays host to climbing structures, sand- and water-play areas, an outdoor play area, and the crown jewel: a kid-sized city where kids can try out different occupations for a while.

Houston Children’s Museum

Houston, TX

Houston is another city with lots of wonderful museums to choose from. The Health Museum is fantastic, as is the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Of course, you definitely don’t want to miss the Houston Space Center, nor do you want to skip the amazing Houston Children’s Museum.

The latter museum features one of the bigger kid cities I’ve seen, and the city is complete with currency, meaning kids can get “jobs” and earn “money” to go spend at the businesses in the tiny town. Other cool things in this museum include a huge outdoor play area, an awesome indoor climbing structure, and a super fun maker space where kids can create new inventions.

Children of Gettysburg

Gettysburg, PA

One of the more unique children’s museums we’ve seen, Children of Gettysburg is small, but it has a very specific purpose, and it does its job well. The purpose? To present the story of Gettysburg in a way that kids can understand and appreciate.

The museum follows a set of children from various backgrounds through the events of the Battle of Gettysburg. Everything is explained in a way that kids can connect with and digest, and there are plenty of hands-on activities to engage young visitors and help them dive into the world of the 19th-century children they are learning about.

My kids especially loved the last room where they could care for an “injured soldier” and make a speech as President Lincoln.

Bay Area Children’s Museum

San Francisco, CA

Bay Area Children’s Museum may be a lesser-known children’s museum, but we thought it was absolutely magical. In fact, we loved this museum so much that we returned for a second round of fun a couple of years after the first.

The museum is set up in several different buildings, which I appreciated, as it helped my busy little guy focus on the thing he was doing rather than being distracted by all of the other exhibits. There was a lovely outdoor space between the buildings with the coolest “natural” play area. We really loved the art room at this museum and probably could have stayed there all day long.

How to Save on Children’s Museum Visits

One of the things I don’t love about children’s museums is how expensive they can be. Fortunately, we have found some ways around that:

• Many children’s museums offer free or cheap days each week or once a month. Look for these days and try to plan your travels around them if you can.
• Additionally, some museums will offer coupons or Groupons. Search for these before paying full price; you never know what you might find.
• Lastly, a lot of children’s museums are part of reciprocal museum programs. ASTC is a science museum reciprocal program that offers members free admission to all member museums. ACM is a children’s museum reciprocal program that offers cardholders half-off admission to the museums in their program. Both include plenty of children’s museums all across the country.

As you can see, there are lots of amazing children’s museums scattered across the country, and really, these are just a handful of them. Hopefully, this article inspires you to check out a few of these super fun spots for yourself!

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About the author: Chelsea Gonzales

Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.

You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.