San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum
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19 Reviews for San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum
27
220 families found this helpful
"Great for rainy days and littles"
This is one of the ONLY places to go when it is raining out in SLO. The kids enjoy it, however, my 8 year old gets bored easier than the 5 and 3 yr old do. I dislike how you have to take an elevator unless you ask for assistance from staff. The trains on the 3rd floor are my kids' favorite. the kitchen and firetruck on the 2nd floor are also fun. If it is not raining the water table outside is really neat!
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It's helpful0 families found this helpful
"Fun Place for Kids"
I like this museum, it is fun for the kids, but the layout is less to be desired. The building is a three-story building where there are different things for the kids to do at the different levels - kitchen, fire truck, trains, and more! However, I have to say the one in Santa Maria is more enjoyable, because the kids can see all that is there and choose easily where they want to play - much better layout! But the SLO museum just became members with the Association of Children's Museums, so a membership here can get you in to many other museums in the US - the SM is not a member:-(
'10, '11, '12
1 family found this helpful
"So much to do!"
The new and improved (although there are a few things I miss) children's museum has so much to do and see. My 2 1/2 year old's favorite feature was the dino dig, but he also loved riding the windowed elevator up to the little kid playroom on the third floor and playing with the trains. My 6 year old had a blast at the shake table where he could build a building and simulate an earthquake, as well as the pretend play centers like the supermarket and diner. Because we went in a group, admission was only $5 per child and adults were free otherwise we would have paid $8 per child and adults. If you go, plan on spending a good 2-3 hours there with your kids, there's a lot to do! :)
2 families found this helpful
"SLO Childrens Museum"
I have been pretty pleased with the newly remodeled Children's Museum in San Luis Obispo. The museum has three levels for the children to explore. My 3 year old loves an afternoon at the museum! I do find that some of the exhibits are a bit limited but the children seem to have a wonderful time. As a parent of two children, I find it a bit difficult to keep track of my daughter but this just means that I need to stay on my toes. The third level offers a smaller space for younger children to explore and babies are given a space to crawl. My biggest complaint is the cost. $8.00 per person feels like a lot particularly if more than one parent wishes to attend. In this way, it is nearly impossible to make it a family affair which kind of defeats the purpose of a children's museum.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun for kids, but a little pricey"
The one day cost of admission, currently $8 for anyone 2 and over, seems a bit costly for an outing that typically only lasts a couple of hours before someone needs a nap. However, my 3 ½ year old has fallen in love with the museum and we opted to purchase a yearly pass, which although pricey seems more cost effective.
We typically visit weekday mornings between 10am and noon. With the exception of holidays and school breaks there are very few other families and very little waiting for any exhibit. The Museum is laid out on three stories with exhibits based on age level. The layout does require the parents to follow children around in order to watch them and this proves difficult when you have two children going in different directions.
The third floor, “baby area,” is actually my favorite part of the museum. My 3 ½ year old enjoys the Train and train table, while my 13 month old can walk around with age appropriate toys. The Third floor is very small so I don’t find myself constantly wondering where my children are. However, this floor is not for anyone with older children and is only accessible by the elevator. The Second and First floors offer more interactive play for older children. My 3 ½ year old daughter loves the fire truck, dress up stage and outdoor area.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun, But Crowded and Hot"
We took advantage of a free admission night to check out this museum. Our just turned 2 year old loved the second floor role playing activities including the market, restaurant, and fire truck. He also really liked the train table on the third floor. The climbing tower was fun, but it was super hot up there with the late afternoon sun shining in the windows. My favorites were the pendulum swing and the air organ. We didn't get to try out the spinning chair outside because it was so crowded, but it looked like fun. Overall, I think the museum could be better. The third floor is very cramped with it's lower ceiling and the crawling baby area seems like a waste. The only crawling age babies that are likely to be at the museum are those with older siblings who will be on another floor entirely, rendering this area useless. It would be nice if there were a baby area within eyesight of the preschool age attractions so parents' could watch their older child while the baby has a chance to get down and crawl a bit.
Funny side note: after all the hands on activities at the museum our 2 year old had a hard time understanding why he couldn't push all the buttons in the elevator. :)
1 family found this helpful
"OK but there is a better Childrens Museum"
This is actually a review based on input from my three granddaughters, ages 5, 6 and 8 who I took to this museum last weekend. They were somewhat interested and engaged in this fairly small childrens museum even though two of the interactive displays were not working. After about 35 to 45 minutes they wanted to move on or return to the Santa Maria Valley Childrens Museum which has a lot more things to do and see and a much better museum layout. Both museums are understaffed which is to be expected due to the difficulty of funding museums. Both parents and my wife found it somewhat boring for adults. They too preferred the Santa Maria Childrens Museum. Both charge a rather hefty $8 admission fee.
0 families found this helpful
"Poorly Designed for Families"
Growing up with the old San Luis Childrens Museum, the "New" improved building leaves little to be desired. Unless your child can appreciate the working of I.M. Pei or Wright, the facade is deceiving as to what the museum actually has to offer. The two story design blocks your view from your child in the wrapping hallways, the rope stair case to the second floor is not accessible by stroller only the Elevator, by which strollers are NOT welcomed. The displays are visually nice to look at, borning, lack desire and the second story with its low pitched roof lines and 1990's Thomas the Tank Engine play area is very lacking for a building that cost the city over 2 mil....DONT waist your time or money, two thumbs down. I am not sure what they were trying to achieve, but this place is over priced and under stocked.
1 family found this helpful
"Best children's museum in SLO"
Well, to be fair it's the only children's museum in SLO. But, there are some pretty fun things to do in there. My two boys (4 and 7) really enjoy it. The younger one loves the to play cook and server in the little restaurant where they have lots of plastic food and a cash register. My older one like the top floor where they have a train set table, train and funny mirrors.
They both like playing with the stop motion camera volcano thing and the big dancing screen that makes cool stuff with your shadow. Oh and the giant bubble machine was good for over 10 minutes or so which in kid time is a lot.
There is also a nice outdoor part too showing off a water wheel and a little chair that spins really fast!
0 families found this helpful
"San Luis Obispo Children's Museum"
Nothing special. This museum is on three levels. The top level is for little ones - 18 or so months to 3 years. The middle level has a stage with dress up attire, a fire truck (not real) and trolley (not real) as well as a pretend restaurant and Dr's office. The bottom level has old kid things like a heat sensory machine, an area where you can dig for "bones" and a cave with "crystals". The exhibits are just ok - they could have been done a lot better. In my opinion, all the money was spent on the exterior of the building and the interior leaves a lot to be desired.
The cost is $8 per person, and they charge for kids ages 2 and older. Or, you can go the third Thursday of the month for free from 5PM-8PM!
1 family found this helpful
"Fun, fun, fun"
We had an 18-month old, a 2 1/12 year old and a 5 year old with us and they all had fun. They enjoyed the firetruck, dressing up as a firefighter and the kitchen. There is a baby area upstairs but they all enjoyed that as well. San Luis Obispo is a nice place to visit, as well, so after the museum we were able to go downtown for lunch and to walk around. A nice little trip.
0 families found this helpful
"Great Children's Museum!"
My kids ages 3yrs and 6yrs absolutely loved the Children's Museum in San Luis Obispo. There were some really great interactive exhibits and it was very fun and educational. The activities were all very age appropriate for my children. We will be planning another trip there very soon.
2 families found this helpful
"A little pricey"
The San Luis Obispo Children's Museum is a fun place to take the kids if you're looking for something to do in SLO. It was recently remolded and has a lot of new exhibits and features. It can be super crowded on the weekends though, so you might want to try for a weekday visit. The prices are a little high, but worth the fun :).
0 families found this helpful
"Really Enjoyable Afternoon for the Kids"
The Children's Museum in San Luis Obispo is a lot of fun for the kids. It has a lot of parent-child interactive stations that have a lot of fun things to do. The stage with the dress up area is my daughter's favorite. The new caves area is super fun. The docents do a great job with special projects for the kids. Our catapillar box was a big hit! For the size of this town, the Children's Museum is very well done!
1 family found this helpful
"Alot of fun!"
The museum is kinda pricey, but worth it I think. There are three age appropriate levels of fun and learning. The first level is for the older kids and has things like an organ played by air, a place where you can make buildings and see if they're earthquake ready, magnets and more. The second level has imaginative play in abundance. Here you can pretend to be a firefighter, a singer/actor, a waitress, a cook, and a doctor. Each area is equipped with items that really make the kids feel like they're in that career. The third level is for the little ones. There's a giant train track, an interactive train, books and other various items. The cool part is your admission is for the entire day, which means you can go grab lunch and head back for more fun!
1 family found this helpful
"Fun for your kids"
The Children's Museum has been a favorite of our family since our oldest was a baby. The museum has recently been completely rebuilt and the new museum is beautiful. My only complaint is that the price is a bit high for the size of the museum. Weekdays are a lot less crowded.
1 family found this helpful
"Tons of Fun!"
The San Luis Obispo Children's Museum is a lot of fun. They have excellent stations for observation and discovery. It has been newly remodeled and is clean and fun. They have a lot to do, but I would recommend going on the weekdays when it's a little less busy.
2 families found this helpful
"A Great Time"
took my 2 year old to the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum and we all had a blast, very safe environment, and lots of interesting things to do and play with. We got there right when they opened and was not crowded at all. But right about 11:30 it seemed to get pretty full, but still plenty of room for all. I was worn out, and we only spent a couple hours there. He loved the pretend restaurant the best. A definit to go back too. I am also excited to head up to the Paso Robles Childrens Museum, I have heard good things about it too.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
Since 1991, the museum has provided a safe, educational environment; the original building closed in September 2004 and re-opened in early 2007 with a brand new 8,400-square-foot facility. A brand new exploration caves exhibit is preparing to open in 2009.
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