Marbles Kids Museum
add photosA wall that wraps around the museum is filled with more than one million marbles that light up at night. And Marbles is a nickname for brains. At Marbles Kids Museum, kids are encouraged to use their marbles - learning new things through imagination, discovery and play.
18 Reviews for Marbles Kids Museum
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"Best Kids Museum, ever."
Our family has visited children's museums from Hawai'i to Boston. After our first visit to Marbles, the kids announced, "This is the BEST kids museum, ever!"
Who can argue with that? This massive, imagination-sparking, colorful blast of stimuli is a good three hours' worth of entertainment, all for the low-low price of $5 per person. If you arrive on Target Tuesdays, admission is further discounted to $2 per person. Have a Food Lion MVP card? You just earned yourself $1 off admission!
My children range in age from 5 to nearly-13 and they all have a blast at Marbles. There are tons of special and seasonal events, as well as Members Only events (if you're local and have more than 2 children, the membership is a fantastic value). My 7 year old son especially enjoys the Home Depot creation station, and my nearly-13 year old can usually be found creating her own line of fabric sample and yarn fashions upstairs. A family favorite is the mock hockey rink, where parents can take to the "ice" for an epic battle with the kiddos. (special note: while the ice is faux, the hockey sticks are not)
Preschoolers and toddling infants will enjoy the first floor age-appropriate areas, including a stage, ambulance, post office, wooden train set-up and soft garden. Have a rambunctious bunch? Send them to the theater stage with instructions to put on a very long, energetic interpretation of Princess versus Pirates, complete with at least three costume changes (I've seen this. It's magical.).
For the frugal bunch, you'll be happy to know that the gift shop is tucked to the side and you can completely ignore it on the way out. There is also no on-site eatery, but there are plenty of great places to stop and nosh in the immediate area.
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"Great hands on museum"
What a wonderful place to allow your child to explore! The Toddler Town area was amazing - not only did they have structures such as a fire truck, city bus, farmers market, ambulance, and post office, but they have costumes to sweeten the experience for your child. The pirate ship was our son's favorite! The 3 story ship allowed your scallywag to hoist up the anchor, drive the ship or lookout from the observation tower. We visited on a Saturday and it was jammed packed, so I would recommend a weekday visit so that your child is able to explore more freely. Admission for this museum is super reasonable for the amount of things in the museum. Definitely recommend a visit! The main restroom is located at the front of the museum and while there are restrooms in the museum they are family restrooms and you might have to wait in line to visit, so have your child use the restroom before entering.
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"Super cool place!"
I've never been here with my kids, but I've been with my brother's 4 and they love it! The kid in me loves it too! They can learn so much while playing at all sorts of cool stations. I think I could've stayed there for hours on my own! There's wood to carve things out of. There's fabric and needles and patterns to sew things. It's the cutest place!
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"Great- Any Day"
Marbles Museum was amazing! There was something for each our kids to enjoy in each room.-whether it was science, dress-up, or something active. I loved what my kids learned and that it was a safe, clean environment. They also change the events, so there is always something new. Although, I don't think we would get tired of what they already have!
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"The best children's museum in North Carolina"
My children have practically been raised in children's museums and Marbles is, by far, the best we've visited. It is an expansive museum -- two-stories of fun, complete with a pirate ship, submarine, water play exhibit, and hockey rink (not real ice!). Children can dress up and put on a performance on stage, or sit with you in a rocking chair and read a book. We have a membership, and definitely get our money's worth. If you're in Raleigh with small children (or even not-so-small children) take a visit!
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"Kids went"
I haven't been myself but a friend took both of my Girls 11 & 4. They had so much fun....couldn't stop talking about it. They ate at the cafe and bought items in the gift shop. It was very affordable. My girls really enjoyed it and want to go back asap!!! I can't wait to take them there myself!!!
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"One of the Best Spots "
In the Glenwood south area is one of the best spots for young kids—Playspace, a museum that teaches through creative activities and just plain fun. Its hands-on exhibits are designed especially for the development of small children. A special section for infants and toddlers provides an opportunity for Mom and Dad to play, too. For older children, you’ll find a water table and a climbing castle. They can learn about the adult world at the child-size town that includes a grocery store, cafe, music room, hospital, and more. A favorite at the museum is the puppet theater.
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"Love this place!"
Marbles is an excellent place to bring kids of all ages. There are several different levels of play including role-play, building, music and even a space to create your own website! Every parent I know raves about Marbles. In the heart of downtown Raleigh. We love it!
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"Great for kids of all ages"
We've only been to Marbles once but we had a great time playing and learning. We spent a great deal of time in the play area pretending to shop, cook and grow food. We played instruments, built with blocks and learned about other countries. We love marbles and all of the great special events they offer.
2 families found this helpful
"Marbles is great!"
Marbles is a great place to take preschoolers through elementary age children. There is a section set aside for babies/crawlers, but in general the museum is focused on the slightly older crowd. There's a section called "Toddler Town" that is basically a pretend town for toddlers/preschoolers. They can pretend to drive an ambulance, fire truck or mail delivery vehicle, they can pretend to plant veggies in a garden, shop at a market and cook in a kitchen. There's also a dress-up area and a well-designed train table. Toddler town is basically an enclosed area (just keep an eye if your little one heads toward the bus slide...they can "escape" through there). There are benches for the caregivers to sit back while the children play. Marbles has much more to offer for older children upstairs but I have not spent much time there. If you live in the area and have a young child, I think a membership would not be a bad investment. Marbles does get busy with school field trips, so if you are concerned about it being too crowded you can call ahead and find out what times groups are scheduled for a certain day.
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"Marbles"
My family has been here a couple times even though its a bit of a drive for us it is definitly worth it. There is so much to do for a variety of age groups its definitly an all day thing and you won't be bored. They have members ship passes but i ahven't really looked into them.
1 family found this helpful
"We LOVE Marbles! "
My kids are always asking to go to Marbles. Our membership has recently run out, so we can not afford to go much, but we made the most of it when we did have a membership. My oldest loves the ice rink, as he used to play hockey. The older 2 love playing the over sized games!
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"My 16 month-old loved it!"
Just went to Marbles today with my 16 month-old son and a friend and her 17 month-old son. The boys loved it. Plenty for kids their age to do. They especially enjoyed the play area with all kinds of vehicles to climb into and pretend to drive. Another favorite was the ball pit that had a peas and carrot theme. I think they could have stayed in there all day. They also had fun playing with the water in the splash area. Before we went I was a little afraid that the museum might be targeted to older kids, but that definitely wasn't a problem. It is a great place for all young kids.
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"Great Place for the children"
This place is great for kids up to 10 years old. We enjoyed it with our 11 month old. Even though it is a lot more interactive with children older it still had a lot to offer those crawling. There is a seperate area zoned off just for the crawlers so you can relax in the rocking chair and let them crawl and check out the fish tank. Both my husband and I enjoyed our outing with our son.
1 family found this helpful
"LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!"
I have only been there once, but all I can say is IT'S AWESOME!!!
I would plan next time to try to spend the whole day there just so we can see everything the museum has to offer! My son LOVED the Pirate Ship, which is about 3 stories high! There were so many things there for all ages (even me - I was able to be a kid in there)! Can't wait to go back and spend more time there! They also have the IMAX Theater and a little Grill to eat at when the kids get hungry!
1 family found this helpful
"Great place!"
My daughter had so much fun here! She had just turned 2 when she went, but think she might enjoy it even more now that she's a bit older. She had TONS of fun and was able to play with the other kids quite well. Tons of buttons to push, crafts to make, and things to climb in and out of. Great for parents as well, since many of the areas allow parents to "just watch" if they need a break. Interactive and fun for everyone in the family, though. A lot of educational and cultural exhibits makes it a good place to go to learn about different parts of the world!
1 family found this helpful
"Great for younger children"
The Marbles Kids Museum is so much fun! Tailored for preschoolers & elementary aged kids. Admission is $5 per person (under 1 is free) for general admission. There's also an IMAX that costs extra. The downstairs area is great for preschoolers. Our kids have such a blast in the water play area and the pirate ship. There's a place where kids can dress up in uniforms for different occupations (cop, fire fighter, doctor, etc.), a stage with puppets, giant chess, and lots more. Upstairs is more geared toward elementary school aged kids. Our kids are preschoolers so we didn't spend much time upstairs, but there is a music room with lots of ethnic instruments for the kids to play with and a computer center where kids can take their picture and create their own Marble's webpage.
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"Good on days off"
Marbles Museum is a great place to go on odd days off from school. Saturdays are extremly busy especially on the weekends they have special exhibits. I don't know what ages they say it is good for, but daughter didn't seem all that interested in all that it had to offer until she was about 2 1/2 .
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