Best Children's Museum (2022)

Opened in 2015 in San Antonio, The DoSeum is much more than a children’s museum – it’s a place where “minds are always at play.” Each guest is inspired to cultivate their curiosity and explore the joy of learning through STEM, the arts, and literacy. Exhibits, programs, camps, classes, and field trips are offered for all ages. DIY activities to do at home, such as fairy garden terrariums and coffee ground fossils, encourage learning after leaving the museum.
Photo courtesy of A family playing with the interactive displays in "Puppet Parade"

Housed in the 600,000-square-foot former warehouse of the International Shoe Company, the St. Louis City Museum has a bit of everything – the world's largest jungle gym, a 10-story spiral slide and a rooftop garden with stellar views of the city. 
Photo courtesy of Zakary Littrell

A favorite Indy attraction, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest museum of its kind in the world, encompassing 29 acres of fun-filled exhibits. Kids can snap a selfie with a T-rex, explore outer space through the lens of NASA’s Project Mercury, travel overseas without a passport in Take Me There: Greece, and play one of 12 sports outdoors in a fabulous interactive sports park with health in mind.
Photo courtesy of The Children's Museum of indianapolis

The Magic House, St. Louis’s children’s museum, helps visiting kids explore their curiosity, enhance their creativity and develop their problem solving skills. Housed within a Victorian mansion, the museum’s lineup of interactive exhibits include Children’s Village, STEAM Center, Art Studio, Math Path, Bubble Room, Kids Construction Zone and the Waterfall Patio.
Photo courtesy of The Magic House

The Strong Museum, a highly interactive museum in Rochester, houses the world’s largest collection of artifacts related to play, a collection that can be explored in the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame and the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Kid favorites include the Pinball Playfields, Wegmans Super Kids Market, Reading Adventureland and Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden.
Photo courtesy of The Strong Museum

With a special emphasis on early childhood learning, the Kohl Children's Museum just outside Chicago features 17 interactive exhibits. Kids get creative at Adventures in Art, practice social skills at Cooperation Station, make a splash at Water Works and connect with nature in the outdoor Habitat Park. The museum is designed for children under eight years of age. 
Photo courtesy of Kohl Children's Museum

Designed for children from birth to 10 years old, the Children's Museum of Phoenix has more than 48,000 square feet of exhibit space spread across three floors of the historic Monroe School building. Kids get hands on with 300 experiences, including an art studio, larger-than-life building blocks, fort building area, reading nook and a noodle forest.
Photo courtesy of Sandra Tenuto Photography

Inside the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, visitors can explore numerous hands-on, interactive exhibit areas meant to spark curiosity. The Attic explores illusions, perception and phenomena; the Garage is the place to explore things that drive, roll and fly; the Studio allows kids to express their creativity through various art forms and at the Children’s Museum’s new MuseumLab, kids 10 and older can have cutting edge experiences in art, technology and making. 
Photo courtesy of Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum offers two floors of exhibits that kids are actively encouraged to touch. Little ones can safely play in a construction zone or go down the rabbit hole to a Wonderland-inspired play station. A historic and recently refurbished carousel is a great way to end a visit on a high note. The museum also hosts a variety of family-friendly programs, so there's always something new to explore.
Photo courtesy of J. Fusco for VISIT PHILADELPHIA

Aimed at kids under the age of 12, the Children’s Museum of Houston features over a dozen interactive galleries where kids can learn about the culture and traditions of the Gullah, construct their own inventions in the Maker Annex, learn about the environment at EcoStation, test their bodies in PowerPlay or explore a pint-sized city known as Kidtropolis. Every Thursday evening, the museum hosts a Free Family Night where admission is free. 
Photo courtesy of Children's Museum of Houston