Orpheum Children's Science Museum — Attraction in Champaign

On our last trip to the Champaign-Urbana area, my entire family visited the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum and we had a good time. We dropped by on a Sunday afternoon about 10 minutes before the museum officially opened at noon. A birthday party was just wrapping up while we waited for opening time. It’s obvious that the museum used to be a theater and we loved the architecture and some of the original details inside. The museum isn’t very large, but it is situated on 2 levels with various exhibits that incorporate a fun way to learn about science. There weren’t many people there when we visited (after the birthday party left) so we almost had the whole place to ourselves.

The Good: My toddler son had a great time at some of the exhibits at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum. Some of his favorites were the train table (of course…it was so hard to pry him away from the train table), the water table (again, a favorite among many kids – but this table was different in that it had different sized plastic pieces that you could configure to control water flow), and a sand table with purple sand.

My teenage daughter and I really enjoyed the Momentum Machine on the lower level. A small spinning circle teaches angular momentum - just like you see the figure skaters do on the ice. You kick off with one leg, hold your leg out to the side, then slowly bring your leg back to your other leg. You’ll start spinning faster and faster!

The Bad: The museum was a tad bit on the small side, and we couldn’t get some of the exhibits on the second level to work – due to missing pieces and such.

Overall: The Orpheum Children’s Science Museum is a good way to spend a few hours with the kids. Children will benefit from the many science lessons found throughout the museum – and they’ll have lots of fun doing it! Admission is only $5 per person (as of January 2015, please check website for details), so it's an inexpensive educational outing...

Ok. We are members and really wish this was a great children's museum, but it just isn't. We have been to others in the area and many in the Chicago area and this one just doesn't measure up. I understand that is mostly run by volunteers and donations but every time we go, it just seems sad and thrown together. There is a newer area with a "space" theme that is nearly empty and the 2 machines they do have are always broken. I think they need a bigger space and/or better funding to make it a destination for the area. It is fine to go to once or twice a year, but beyond that it just isn't that interesting. That being said, we will continue to be members and to take classes to support the place and hopefully they can become a destination for the...

This is a nice enough place to spend the afternoon. I think we spent 3 hours there before running out of things to do. I like their outdoor exhibits on paleontology, archeology, whisper disks (the best whisper disks I've experienced!). They also have giant bubbles but on our windy day it didn't really work, maybe because of the wind or maybe the solution was poor. The water play zone is a always a favorite at any children's museum and my kids spent a lot of time there. There were a few exhibits closed during construction and a few that really needed some...