Because I'm a geek, here are images of several museums to compare with Please Touch Museum.
Ok, so it's certainly not as big as the Philadelphia Museum of Art or The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY. But it is almost half as big as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museumin D.C. I that's pretty big considering part of the footprint of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is a food court and not all of the exhibits are interactive. Every exhibit in the Please Touch Museum is interactive. There are even mock traffic lights at the entrance to restrooms that can be turned on/off with the push of a button.
But let's compare the Please Touch Museum, apples to apples. Here it is up against two museums of similar concept: National Children's Museum (NCM) Launch Zone in National Harbor, MD and The Children's Playseum in D.C. Wah wah wah. The Please Touch Museum gots them both beat by a (whole lotta) mile! And that's why, it is awesome and worth the $15 admission fee (non-members over the age of one). The NCM doesn't have an admission fee and The Children's Playseum charges $6 (see this short post on our visit).
We arrived on a Monday morning to a fairly empty museum -- niiice. At first, our son was tentative and took some time to soak it all in. As soon as we got downstairs to Wonderland, he was hooked.
He enjoyed running up and down the hallway in Wonderland that gets smaller and smaller.
We moved on to the E.R., and J got to play doctor. It was here that we heard "Maggie. Maggie. Maggie. LOOK. AT. THE. CAMERA!"
For $3, your child and an adult can ride the indoor Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel . J did not want to sit on the horse.
He loved the water at River Adventures! One kid kept asking his mom to get him the BIG boat in the center of the pool that was nailed down. It was funny listening to her try to explain to him why she couldn't.
Our last stop was Flight Fantasy. He loved pushing all the buttons...and pushing the other kids around *wink*. The tall boy on the left actually said to my son (who's 18-months), "You have to share." Um...yea...J gave that boy a blank stare and continued pushing away. In my son's defense, he was there first, and there were plenty of buttons for everyone -- especially the ones higher up that my son couldn't reach anyway.
I thought about saying "you have to share" too in case the parents of that tall boy were within earshot. But they weren't. So I just let the boys figure it out. And they did. There wasn't any hitting or crying.
Speaking of intervening, there was this mom with her daughter by the Nerf-rocket launchers. She was asking the group of parents by the entrance if this boy (pointing to another kid) belonged to any of them.
When they all shook their heads "no", she said to no one in particular, "Well, this boy won't let my daughter push the button, and I didn't want to have to tell someone else's kid to let her."
My reaction was, "Why not?" If this kid's parents didn't care enough to be within earshot of their kid in a public place, I'd totally ask the other kid to let my kid push the button. Or better yet, I'd ask my kid to ask the other kid to let him push the button. Just like the tall kid told my son to share earlier. Not so hard. No one got upset.
Anyways, we had a great time at the Please Touch Museum and would totally make a visit next time we're in town. By the way, we went on a Monday, and by mid-morning, place was rocking. I can't imagine what it's like on the weekends. I'm sure you'd be bumping diaper bags with lots of folks and perhaps even accidentally walk into another kid.
Besides the great interactive exhibits, the staff was also courteous and helpful. I know...I am still talking about Philadelphians! They were helpful in the Supermarket, helping the kids check-out their groceries and putting them away in their right place. They were helpful at River Adventures wiping up water spills. They were helpful in Flight Fantasy catching all the Nerf-balls being launched into the air.
Without the staff, that place would be a mess because you know there are nasty parents out there who wouldn't care where anything went. Ugh.
Last thing, if you're still reading, the food selection is ok. Hot foods include burgers, pizza, and hot dogs. Cold foods include salads, sandwiches, fruit salad, and yogurt. They have plenty of snacks and drinks to choose from also. But you can also bring your own lunch, as many families did.
Ok. End post. Thanks for reading and hope you'll check out the Please Touch Museum if you're in Philadelphia. *Sigh* I wish they had one in D.C. The Children's Playseum just can't compare. We haven't been to the NCM yet, so I'll hold off judgment.
You have any recommendations for kids museums?
and/or share this post.
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