Children's Museum of Wilmington
add photosThe Children’s Museum of Wilmington began in 1991 when a task force of local parents began pursuing the idea of a “hands on” learning through play center. The Junior League of Wilmington assisted in the further development of the idea. After several years of research and study by parents, community leaders and educators, the Wilmington Children’s Museum opened its doors on October 10, 1997 on Market Street.
Over the years, through tireless community and member support, the Museum has earned a full-time staff to accommodate its growing number of visitors. In 2003, the Museum welcomed its 100,000th visitor. What a great accomplishment for a 3,000 square foot facility! To meet the steadily growing number of visitors, in 2004 the Museum kicked off a capital campaign and purchased a new site for the Wilmington Children’s Museum, at the corner of 2nd and Orange Streets in downtown Wilmington, the former St. John’s Museum of Art facility. In February 2005, a groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of construction on an atrium to join three existing structures.
The new Children’s Museum of Wilmington opened its doors to the public on April 23, 2006. With nine all new, dynamic exhibits, an outdoor courtyard, a secret garden and a gift store, the museum now spans over 17,000 square feet.
The Children’s Museum of Wilmington now sees over 48,000 visitors a year. We will flourish with the continued support of members of the community and new visitors. Come visit one of the best children’s museums in the country.
WINTER HOURS (Labor Day - Memorial Day): Monday: Members Only Mondays, 9-5 pm, Tuesday - Friday: 9am to 5pm (Friday 9-10 is for Toddlers only). Saturday: 10 am to 5pm, Sunday: 1 to 5pm.
SUMMER HOURS (Memorial Day - Labor Day): Monday - Saturday: 10am to 5pm, Sunday: 1 to 5pm
12 Reviews for Children's Museum of Wilmington
5
00 families found this helpful
"Good rainy day activity"
If you live in the area, I highly reccomend buying a family pass. Not only will you get into this museum, but they are also part of the reciprocal museum group, so if you travel you may be able to get into other museums free too! This can be pricey ($8 each for adults and children) but it is well worth it if you are spending quite a few hours there. My 2, 7,and 9yr olds all loved it (it is reccomended for ages 1-10) and there were different favorites for each of them. They also offer birthday parties which are a lot of fun. If you have a child under 4 I reccomend going on a day where there is toddler time. All of the bigger kids can be overwhelming for the smaller ones, so this is a good way for them to have a good time too! Parking is on the street, so make sure you bring coins for the meters!
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1 family found this helpful
"Dont waste your money"
This is the worst childrens museum my family and i have ever visited. While there are activites and fun things to do for the little ones, it reminds me more of an over priced day care center that parents take their own kids to and watch themselves. I was less than impressed with what all it had to offer and was ready to run out the door minutes after walking in. It takes literally minutes to see what all it has to offer and there is hardly anything I would see as overly impressive to offer little ones. We learned an expensive lesson that day.. you dont always get what you pay for.
0 families found this helpful
"Love this musuem!"
Our family absolutley loves this mueseum. It is geared towards younger children, so my 12 year old opts to not join us most days. We travel from Jacksonville (1 hour away) at least 3 times a month to play here. They have so many wonderful hands on areas. Our favorite is the art room, where they offer different crafts every day. I recommend purchasing the family membership if you live in the area, it includeds unlimited visits and after a couple of times it pays for itself.
Have fun!!
0 families found this helpful
"Creative and Educational Play"
Children get to play dress up in the Children's Museum theatre, and put on a performance on their stage. Another fun activity is their grocery station where children can pick out their groceries and ring them up at the register. They can then take the groceries and shelve them in their food groups. There's also a small outdoor play area, and a pirate ship section. They do have a military discount, and offer a membership. If you live in the area, it might be worth looking into.
'11
0 families found this helpful
"Kid's Museum"
This is a great interactive museum for kids. It is something you can spend all day doing. They have a ship inside that has a cannon that shoots balls. My kids also loved the color station, where you can experiment with colored water. The parking does use a meter, so you do have to keep an eye on the time to keep feeding the meter. You get wristbands, so you can leave and come back as well.
0 families found this helpful
"Hands On Family FUN!"
My husband and I took our daughter here when she was 2, she had a BLAST! There are so many hands on things for kids and parents to do! Dress up area, Grocery Store, Pretend Resteraunt, Pirate Ship, Arts and Crafts Area, Singing Stage....ect! I would have to say that now that she is 3 she would get much more out of it, I would reccomend this for kids ages 2 to 12! Make sure you take your camera! Friendly staff & nice area of town!
1 family found this helpful
"Preschool Play"
This museum is small, simple and is set up like an old school preschool. As a kindergarten teacher, I really appreciate spaces for children that encourage dramatic and social play. We went here when our son was 2 years old with his 5 year old cousin. They enjoyed the market area with food, shopping carts and a cash register. They enjoyed the area for dramatic play with a small stage for impromptu storytelling. My son also enjoyed the dinosaur and firehouse area. It seems like the perfect space for preschool aged children.
0 families found this helpful
"Interesting 1st day & even on a 2nd Visit"
Wilmington is a smaller town & the attractions are to scale. However, this museum is entertaining and worth a visit if you have little ones. They offered scheduled classes and free play/self-explore type activities. The last day I was there, they had a fully costumed pirate handing out treasure maps outside of the museum as part of a city-wide treasure hunt for the kids. (The museum was a stop on the hunt.) The museum is clean and I am fairly sure they switch the exhibits as funds are available. I know the local Junior League helps with projects at the museum and it seems they have help from others in the community as well. It appears from their site that they now offer cooking classes for the kids too! I'm hundreds of miles away but if I lived closer, I'd definitely visit regularly with my son!
0 families found this helpful
"Great place for kids to explore"
This is a great place for kids to explore. My 2 oldest loved it.. however we couldn't enjoy it as much as we wanted because its not stroller friendly. I do not recomment taking a stroller if you can avoid it. The setups are awesome! Wish I could have enjoyed it more and explored more with my children.
1 family found this helpful
"Children's Museum of Wilmington"
We have been a member of this museum for the past three years. It is awesome. Something for every age of child. We go once a week in the summer and throughout the school year as well. Fun projects every day - new exhibits all the time. Fun to visit and then take a trolley ride down town to get lunch. Check your membership of your local children's museum to see if it's reciprocal so you can get in free.
1 family found this helpful
"loads of fun!"
This was the only FUN thing we did when we went on vacation! We started in the mad scientist lab where the kids donned goggles and white lab coats before learning about mixing colors by using droppers and colored water. We also played pretend kayaking and camping. We crawled inside a three sided mirror kalidescope. We went outside to climb a rope spider web. We played with wood, learned about tree rings, made kites, made little rockets that you launch with bendy straws. We made leaf prints with paint. We played with a train table, shot foam balls out of a cannon, swabbed the deck, sang karaoke, watched ourselves on tv, played dress-up, went "shopping" at a grocery store, and made meals out of crazy faux food that looked so real you wanted to take a bite.It was $8 a person - adults and kids were the same price. They have a little store that sells a few educational and non-educational toys. They even sell ice cream.Parking was a pain and we had to move the car once.
1 family found this helpful
"Great Rainy Day Activity!"
We spent a rainy day at the Children's Museum of Wilmington on our summer vacation last year. It was wonderful to take my daughter somewhere that I didn't have to worry about what she was touching or keeping her out of certain areas. The entire place was set up for children of any age. They even have a great mini-grocery where kids can 'shop' and 'check-out'. It's definitely a place we'll visit again!
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