Madison Children's Museum — Attraction in Madison

Did I exceed a character limit? I just spent like 20 minutes typing out a whole thing on this. It kept saying that it wouldn't post and it only gave me a yes or no option to retry. After hitting yes several times and it going right back to that screen, I decided to hit no. I figured it would bring me back to this part where I could copy it and try to paste it later. Instead, the whole thing just disappeared. I am absolutely not retyping all that. For the benefit of those that are truly interested I will just summarize and hope this works. I will also copy it before hitting "post", in case that happens again...

So the short version is this. Admission is either $11 or $12, I forgot which. You can check their website to be sure. There is also a $1 option if you are qualified. The museum relies on admission and donations to thrive. There is so much stuff in this place that it is a lot to list, hence my frustration with the disappearance of my original post. Anyway, there's a whole outdoor play area, tons of interactive displays and fun things to see and do. Every nook and cranny of this place has something to see and/or do. To be honest, if I were to redo my entire post, it's likely many people wouldn't want to read it all anyway because it was so long. The rooftop has a whole bunch of stuff including a plexiglass wall for safety and live animals too.

There is a little dining area with prepackaged meals, juice boxes, and small bags of chips. All of it is "pay what you can" and self serve. There is a whole entire floor downstairs dedicated to kids 5 years old and younger. We never even made it to that part, even though my goddaughter is only 1½ years old. There is a whole art area where kids can paint on a wall or even on paper to take home. There are other random art supplies so they can make things to take home as well. That's all included with the price of admission.

While they did a fantastic job of putting safety measures in where necessary, remember that it is still your responsibility to keep your kids safe. That said, put your phone down, watch your kids, play with them, teach them. They need you to interact with them. While that's true all the time and everywhere, this museum is a fantastic, safe place to do that. As I said before, my post was insanely long because there is just so much to list and describe and talk about in this place.

There are a lot of things here to learn about and a lot of fun things to do. My two favorites are the live animals and the shadow room. There is a button on the wall with a little countdown timer. Push the button, go to the opposite wall and pose, and when the timer is done counting down, there's a huge flash and your shadow remains on the wall. It's actually way more fun than it should be. Lol! 🤣😂

I recommend coming here when you have at least half a day to spend, but it's still worth coming here even if you only have an hour or two. They are only open Thursday-Sunday, 9am to 4pm. Closed Monday-Wednesday.

We came 2 hours before close on Sunday and it was kinda busy, but not overwhelming. The place is so huge and has so much stuff that it can easily accommodate many, many people at once without overcrowding anyone. There were probably 20 adults and 40 kids when we were there and it felt a...

As a Madison local, I've brought my kids here many times and they always have fun. The exhibits let the kids get their energy out, be artistic, and learn which is a win win. The outdoor play area is a ton of fun when it's warm out and the indoor playground structure reminds me of the museum in St.Louis that has the metal wire tube structure. Here is the reason I'm giving 4 stars vs 5. Today I took my wife, son (4 years old), and my daughter (2 years old) and the total was almost $50, that's high to me. The kids are usually done after a couple of hours and my 2-year old can't use some of the structures. I don't believe an admission ticket for a 2 year old should be full price. I've also been a local resident for years and don't get a discount, but you can get a discount for many other reasons. Second, one of the main large exhibits on the second floor was completely blocked off so we couldn't experience that. Also, the cow that can normally be lifted with the wheel/pulley system was missing completely. My thought is if we can't use the full museum, why are we paying full price? There should be a discounted admission fee then. Third, we took our kids to the outdoor playground and the ground was completely covered in ice, the stairs to get onto the playground we're also covered with ice and my son ended up falling. It's dangerous, and I rarely say that. I understand it's Wisconsin and winters are cold, but just put some salt down. BUT, the playground is super cool and the airplane table and sitting area with the outdoor fireplace is wonderful. Lastly, some of the exhibits need help. The arcade machine was out of order and the dials on the wall of the second floor should be replaced with something else. It's not functional and doesn't teach the children anything. And the kitchen on the second floor needs help. Someone could redesign it and make it way more functional and fun.

Overall, a fun museum to take your kiddos, just needs a...

This review is written by some kids who went there. This place was not really a museum as much a structure with old stuff in glass boxes. It is basically just a children’s activity centre. It is recommended for all ages of kids (0-12) but I don’t think this is really true. What’s even the theme of this place?? I have to admit, we didn’t explore the whole building but one of the areas we went was the roof. There were some animals in small cages including 6 sad orphaned chickens. Someone please adopt them!! I’ve gone off topic. There was also a little, pointless water feature. So, not much. On the next level down, (open to public because two levels were staff only???) there was a little climbing frame that one of the kids here insists was unstable with a slide that children could easily get hurt on made of not slidey material, tight curves and a concerning steepness. We were excited to ride the gerbil wheel (it was human sized we’re not gerbils) but it was disappointingly closed to the dismay of a kid who wanted to be a gerbil. A vintage video game was present -I don’t know why but it was kinda fun- , a wall of (knockoff) LEGO baseplates and a small box of 2x2, 2x4 and 1x6 bricks. There’s a play-pizzeria and farm intended for young kids to roleplay, a cow jumping over the moon “interactive” sculpture and wooden ball track pieces that you magnet to a wall which I love!

This review is taking too long.

It was...