(myself included!)
but we had never been to the
Portland Children’s museum
before this last weekend!
We have been to the Zoo and OMSI
more times than I can count
Our kids also love the
World Forestry Center
but we had never ventured to the
Children’s museum
mainly because it is expensive,
the membership doesn’t reciprocate to other museums
like the Zoo and OMSI
(important since we travel often!)
We’ve always done memberships
at those two places
and gone to the children’s museums
we can go to with those memberships
like Gilbert House in Salem
Gilbert House is another place
we have been to more times than we can count
(uses the same membership as OMSI)
and I thought this museum would be very similar
to Gilbert House
and in many ways,
it was similar!
We started in the special exhibit
about Dinosaurs,
which is only there for a limited time
It was a great little exhibit
Then our kids found the theater room
which was a lot of fun
and my kids love to ham it up on a stage!
They have many props and costumes
and they can play with the lights and curtains.
Then it was into the twilight trail
and my kids were immediately fascinated
by the large light brite board!
The also LOVED the glowing lego bricks
We are a BIG lego family!
Then we headed to the water room,
which is very similar to the one at OMSI
The kids just LOVE playing with water!
They have smocks for the kids to wear
so they don’t get soaking wet!
Then is was on to the BIG area
that includes a veterinary clinic,
a grocery store and bistro
Construction area,
small climbing wall and slide,
and the baby garden.
You could easily spend most of your time in here
letting your kids play in all the different areas.
It is also one of the busiest places in the museum
The grocery store was my favorite with registers that really worked and beeped!
Spend lots of times with your kids in this area
Spend lots of times with your kids in this area
My 3 year old then got caught up in the train room
He could probably spend days in there!
So I took the older kids to the clay studio
while my husband waited in the train room with the 3 year old
The clay room is fun
and the kids have a chance to create, build, and get their hands dirty 🙂
They can recycle their creations when done
or pay $1 to take them home.
They also have options of doing more
“professional” clay where they can put it in the kiln for you
Prices start at $3 and you have to go back in a week for them
(which is why we did not do this!)
After experiencing all of the museum
We headed out
but not before stopping to play in the maze
outside the building!
My kids love mazes!
I would recommend this Museum
to people with kids 5 (maybe 6) or younger
We did have our 10 year old and almost 8 year old
with us
and they did have a good time
It is just most of the things are geared towards the younger kids
and many things seem too “little” for them
I think we will be sticking to OMSI
since we have kids of mixed ages
and OMSI has something for all ages
However,
this museum is great for families with small children
and I would highly recommend it for kids 5 and younger
(once they get to grade school, they think they are too old for most of these things :P)
Right now,
is offering the deal we used
to get into the museum
for $3.50 a person!
Just use code “queenbee”
to take $1.50 off your purchase
making each ticket only $3.50
Which is an EXCELLENT price
and the reason we finally checked this place out!
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| Clay studio |
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| Playing in the water |
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| Being the director in the theater area |
