North Shore Children's Museum — Attraction in Peabody

I'm a Salem resident and I am on a mission to tour all the local attractions and museums.

About this one: I went today with my 1.5 year old son, it was our first time at this museum.

What it is: It's rooms after rooms of play areas each built around a theme: the beach, the theater, the campfire, the kitchen, the bank etc etc. The highlights - for me - were the wind tunnel (a tube where you can make pieces of fabric fly) and the spaceship room where everything glows in the dark, but my son seemed to prefer the kitchen room and the doctor office. There is also a space with a more traditional playground. The rooms look great; some of the actual toys a bit beaten up.

It was not overly crowded but pretty busy. It is a place designed so parents stay next to their children all the time, and overall there was a great atmosphere and all kids seemed to be at their best behavior! My toddler was even able to play with some of the older kids without being overwhelmed.

If you are visiting Salem, it is a very short drive from it.

PROs It's entertaining and can keep your kid busy for a few hours!

CONs Not sure if I would call this a "museum". Also, it is probably more suitable for toddlers and younger kids than older kids. There is only street parking (there isn't a parking lot for the museum) on a very...

I brought my 2.5 year old and 10 month old on a Thursday at 1:00. Hardly anyone there which was really nice.. the rooms never got crowded. I personally think it’s more of a “play place” than a museum. Multiple themed rooms.. lots of cute things but I’ve seen almost all of it at other play places. Very clean and staff we super nice!

My son had a great time and we stayed almost 3 full hours. The price is great too .. $12 and $6 if you can get a library pass. We found parking no problem on the street right out front.

I think it says in the website it’s suitable for up to age 10 but I Personally think it seems more 5 and under: all of the kids there I saw were under 5 and I couldn’t really imagine a kid older than that having fun there.. it really is toddler based.

Rooms I can remember; -dress up -doctor/vet -bugs -climbing structure with blocks and tool bench -space -giant lite bite and magna tiles -sand table -fire fighter ? -books, bean bags, blocks -air machine with Pom Pom’s and some superhero’s

Some of the rooms were a little lacking and could definitely be updated or added to but overall my 2 year old had a blast...

Cute unique space and play rooms, love that this is a fun spot on the North Shore, especially for those of us with kids with larger age gaps where I was able to bring my 2yo and 7yo. On that note, I’d love to see more learning exhibits geared towards older ages. My 2yo son loved it, but my 7 yo son was a little bored after about an hour, but he still had a good time! Would also love to see this in a larger location with more spacious rooms to accommodate the crowds, as well as more accessible parking. We ended up parking and walking which isn’t a big deal, just plan ahead if you’re going during busy hours on Main Street. I felt it a little overwhelming with so many people in such a small space and many rooms filled making it hard for parents to watch their kids. Would still recommend for parents with littles and would definitely go back hopefully during less crazy hours! (we attended on a weekend). It’s really nice to have something like this on the...