Children's Museum of Oak Ridge — Attraction in Oak Ridge

Review for 3 a year olds. The children's museum of oak ridge is inside of one of the original schools from the towns birth in the 1940s. Parking is free and there is a nice covered picnic area with a new playground outside. One of the reasons I gave it only 4 stars is because of the cost. It was $20 for me and my 3 year old. When you walk in there is desk where you pay admission and a small gift shop area. To the left is a taxidermy polar bear that my son lives and a cabin/rural Appalachia from the 1800s early 1900 exhibit. Because of the cost I took him through but it only held his attention for a few mins. Then there is a very small early 1900s dress up/toy area. My 3 year old summed it up buy saying this stuff smells bad is it dirty? The answer is yes. Yes it was. Then there is a room full of taxidermy ducks a deck type structure and lots of outdoor sounds. But since you can climb on stuff my son approved. The next room has climbing, a rocket ship, rover car that doesn't move and buttons to push! I would give this room 5 stars except my son got stuck up in the rocket and I scratched myself on some sharp metal getting him down he loved it though. Then there is the coal mining room. There are scales, old phones and a little cave so he likes this room. However coal is apparently tempting to throw into the cave if you are 3. Then a long hall of things he isn't supposed to touch which went over well. Straight ahead is some not stroller friendly stairs but to the right is an old fashioned school room and a newly built switch back ramp. It's like an old mountain road only meant for one at a time. The school room is neat there are little desks and a chalk board with chalk! At the top of the stairs is a bathroom. He's potty training so we used it twice. Then on the left is the Ed Westcott Oakridge history gate tower room. (I Love his pictures and all the history) my 3 year old like the gate tower or as he say "army guy tree house". There is also an old phone which he liked. This room posed a few problems. Mostly he climbed under the structure before I could get him and I scratched myself again getting him out. Next there is a puppet room which has a little stage and bench for the audience and tons of puppets. Fun room. At the end of the hall and a little corner there is a really cool water room. There's a big boat to climb on and running water with sometimes little boats I love you and dams in clear acrylic so you can see. There's always that one kid there that has to Splash everybody and comes out drenched and since I have to claim him I usually bring a dry shirt for him and have finally got him to only get himself wet. There is then an open area with "vending" or a basket with a few individually wrapped chips or cookies and the honor system. To the left is the gym which is only used for special events and stuff. Then up a few stairs or a "fun slippy ramp" past some rooms that aren't for museum use there are the jewels of the museum. At the end of the hall at the top of some more stairs is a life size train to climb on. Model trains to watch train tables to play on and general train fun. This is the second best exhibit. Back down the stairs there are more bathrooms. Use them because the exhibit after next will be hard to pry them away from. The rainforest room looks and sound like a rainforest. It's got a wooden deck path and one raised look over. Attached is what he calls a forest laboratory and that sums it up. And finally the doll house. He would be OK if that's all we did. It's a 2 story play house. It even has a door bell stocked kitchen, living room, stairs with banister bed room and bathroom. It's open on the back side and has a back yard with bench for parents to keep an eye on things. It's the coolest thing by far he would stay all day if he could. If he didn't cry when we left every time we'd check out the display of old dolls, doll...

A great place for kids and parents in Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge has a rich history from its WWII starts as a secret city. You can find maps of the various sites to visit at several locations throughout the city. We picked up one of these and the Children’s Museum was one of the first and closest places that we came across. It is in the heart of Oak Ridge and is a true haven for kids eager to explore, learn, and have a blast. The entrance has a foyer where you are greeted by staff that offer suggestions and collect a fee to visit the museum. This is really designed for kids so adults may find few parts of it as interesting as the children will. The museum's interactive exhibits are very nice and are designed to provide children with hands-on experiences that engage all their senses and show a history of the area. From the fascinating Science Lab, where budding scientists can conduct experiments, to the colorful Arts and Crafts Corner, where creativity flows freely, every corner of the museum offers a unique experience. The museum does a very good job of incorporating education into the exhibits. The exhibits focused on STEM fields, history, and nature, children can broaden their knowledge while having a fantastic time. In conclusion, the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge is a gem in the realm of interactive exhibits. If you have children this is probably a good...

Deceptive advertising. We went for the Manhattan Project National Park, only to find out it's just a stamp desk and a very small gift shop. 99% of this location is a children's museum.

They allowed us to use the restroom without buying tickets, and in the hallway to the restroom, there was a lot of interesting information about the Manhattan Project, etc. I went back out to the desk and asked if that was part of the children's museum. After a bit of questioning, the gentleman at the desk said it was, and we needed tickets to take in this information. We ended up buying tickets to the children's museum, which was okay with us, but we would've preferred they be upfront and clear about what was there. Even the museum was very confusing; one minute you're reading content about the atomic bomb, the next you're walking into a life-size dollhouse(which was incredible). Not your typical children's museum. We enjoyed it, but would've preferred better communication up front via either internet...