Children's Museum at Holyoke — Attraction in Holyoke

This place has some great gross motor and dramatic play areas! There's a lot of character in the exhibits which use real objects (love the real food packaging in the grocery store and the engine in the mechanic shop!) and some that seem homemade (there's a puppet show booth made of wood upstairs, and a nice little xylophone made of old wrenches!) which is awesome! There is bilingual signage in English and Spanish and they have several large vehicles for the children to play in (an ambulance, a sports car, and an excavator). There is a really big climbing structure that my child was too little for, but it looks super cool!

I wish that there was a better staff presence - when we walked in, there wasn't anyone at the desk (however the door has a little bell, so someone came over quickly) and didn't seem to be anyone on the museum floor. I encountered a lost child who was upset and tried to find a staff member to help, but they weren't super visible. We found her mom before we made it to the front desk. The exhibit spaces were dirty. I could understand dusty corners of the rooms or spaces that aren't used frequently because understandably there are kids here all day, but there were some gnarly dust bunnies in the tots room on the toy shelves and in one of the containers used for baby blocks. After touching the surfaces of the play areas, my hands felt sticky, and I think that the high touch surfaces need a more frequent wipe down. The ladies room could also use some repairs, such as fixing the broken lock on the handicap stall, fixing one of the soap dispensers, and fixing the paper towel dispenser. We parked in the garage across the street, which was $1.13 for two hours. To pay the parking, there is an app you have to download.

Overall, they've made good use of the space and really have done well making use of the community resources they have (the pizza shop play area is named after an actual pizza shop a few minutes away!). There is a playground right next to the museum and a small splash...

My 5 year old and two-year-old love coming here. There are things for kids of every age and they even have a climber toy. So if you have a very active kid they have plenty to do to get that energy out. They also have lots of not so active options. There was quite a bit for my younger child which was more surprising for me since it can be tougher to find things he can do when we bring my 5 year old places that let him get his energy out. There is a very big water table and lots of toys to use with it, and it teaches kids a lot about Waterflow the way they have it set up. My younger child really enjoyed the air flow pipes that you can put little silk scarves into that then sends them zippimg all through the clear pipes, & you can change the direction it travels and then they come flying out near the ceiling and float down to you to be used again. There's a life size light bright board, little kiddos LOVE this thing, the "lights" are these acrylic tube shaped pegs that when plugged into any hole on the board glows 1 of 4 different neon colors. Bigger kids make pictures with the pegs, while younger kids and babies get motor skills...

The Holyoke Children's Museum is a staple within the city, and is simply a great, fun, and entertaining place to bring young children.

The museum is located in the lower lever of the building, you an take the elevator or stairs down. The cost for children and adults is $8 each, $5 for seniors, and free to children 1 year or younger. If you live in the area the best value is a yearly pass.

There are many different play areas which include a make believe restaurant, grocery store, dog grooming truck, large bubble making area, flowing water area with boats, two story climbing and crawling area, shadow room, hand puppet theater, pneumatic tube area, toddler play area, and many many more. Everything is geared towards children's playing, learning, and role playing.

There are two large birthday rooms with refrigerators, tables, and chairs. One is animal themed, and the other is barnyard themed.

The Children's Museum has a lot to offer young children, and no matter how many times I bring my own children they never get tired or...