Clay Center — Attraction in Charleston

Clay Center has really declined since 2010. The only exhibits they have now are what they call "Grossology" which is just basically big displays of cartoon pictures with sayings like " Hey kids, Did you know that your body produces boogers, mucus, and farts that stink?" I am not kidding. The art museum was craptastic at best. There wasn't a single famous artist picture there and what was there looked like they took the really cheap birthday party favor toys and glued them into a piled structure, it didn't resemble anything, but labeled it as "abstract art." The downstairs exhibits had Dora the explorer type plastic play ovens/kitchen sets so that the kids could flip plastic hamburgers, the exact toys that you will find in any yard sale in a box for $5.00. The Planetarium isn't about learning astronomy, planetary movements or stars like it used to be, but has been turned into a cartoon. We were so upset after traveling 2 hours to have family fun that we asked for a refund of sorts. They will not give you a refund. All sales are final as soon as you give them your money, beware of that. Maybe a 2 year old doesn't know that the body produces mucus, boogers and farts, but my 3 sons: whose ages are 12, 9, and 3 years old, know how to fart & pick their nose. They were not amused at all. The people working there were nice, but we came for educational fun and this is geared for a 2 year old at best. At our local mall in Parkersburg, they have a free playland for small children with rubber toys that they can climb over and around, that is more fun for kids than this place. They (Clay center management) said they have record attendance! I had to make this review to try and possibly help other people traveling long distances from wasting their money and time. This place now makes Cosi in Columbus, OH look really great. It didn't used to be...

I'm just not a huge fan of this museum/center. Maybe it's because I visited the Carnegie Science Center many times and have gotten accustomed to their high quality exhibits and presentations. Or it could be Pittsburgh's art scene. But, I just wasn't too impressed.

The tickets are decently cheap and they control where you can and can't bring in food and drinks. There seemed to be very few people over the age of 6 and I didn't see any of the music center. The only music I saw was a kid's music play area.

Ashton's Climbing is an infestation zone for the Coronavirus. Seriously, how often do they clean this climbing area? There are so many kids climbing there, it's packed, and people are touching one another, touching the floor, and spreading germs all the time. There's a vending machine near the climbing area.

There's also a water play zone, which had multiple malfunctions during my visit. It wasn't flowing as it should be, and the wheels were not turning. Employees tried to fix it but could not. There's a career play center, which is very basic. The music center is a bit more interesting, and the body experiments are pretty cool. Animatronics and dinosaurs are not very realistic, and even the kids there didn't seem impressed.

The art zone is nice. It's a lot more peaceful than the kid zones. You can see quilts, sculptures, drawings, and other pieces of art. It's a good spot to relax a bit and the only location not completely dominated by kids and families.

All in all, I didn't realize that this place was so kid and family focused. It's a good spot to visit if you have young kids, and it's quite cheap. But, for a relaxing and/or interesting adult experience, this isn't the spot. It does combine a few types of museums into one roof. However, it doesn't come close to the...

I used to go to the clay center all the time as a kid. The science museum used to be fun for all ages with lots of stuff to do and see. It's a lot smaller now and less to do. The waterworks area was over run with small children and it was too crowded to actually do anything but watch other kids splash around. The measuring room was interesting but It was more for children around the age where they know numbers. The "town" on the bottom floor was cute but it only has enough stuff to distract a 5 yr old for so long. And then the anatomy area. It seemed more like it was mostly for teenagers because a 5year old doesn't care how fast their heart is beating and they don't seem to care much about anatomy. The music area was fun and the kids seemed to enjoy it. There used to be a whole room full of interesting things that could keep kids busy for hours and it was pretty cool but when they remodeled they took it out. Like the big wall that was a magnet. Or the thing with lasers and mirrors that if you lined them up correctly it would rain. It isn't what it used to be and I don't think it was worth the money because the kids I had with me got bored kinda quick. The planetarium show was in my opinion the most...