SPARK, Children's Museum — Attraction in Rochester

Pros: they have added a lot and there are a bunch of fun stuff to do with kids from ages 1 to 8 They have many sensory accommodations including a more quiet room to color As a breastfeeding mom their lactation room is absolutely amazing!!!!!!! I mean seriously they thought of everything. A rocking chair. A table. A place to put your pump and plug it in. A dimmer switch. Books there for older children to read if they're with you. It also serves as a cool down room. 10/10. There is something to do for all kids even babies my 7 month old loves the cushion area with a mirror I can sit in a safe area with him and watch him interact with shapes and everything. The mirror tunnel is amazing too. The golf balls are interesting and for older kids I think they can really help teach them about physics. The giant light bright is my son's favorite and a much needed amazing addition to the museum!

Cons: they are only open till 5:00 p.m. even on weekends plus they have a lunch break from 12-1pm. It makes it nearly impossible for any working mom to make it there on a weekday. $9 a person is very steep especially when you're paying for parents, it really doesn't make any sense as I need to be there to watch my kid. A family of 5 needs to pay 45$ 😬. Unless I'm allowed to climb the helix I think it's silly for parents to pay to watch their child. Yes they have a membership but honestly they need more affordable options.

Honestly it is amazing, but I wish Rochester had more affordable and open places to play this isn't the museums fault but I wish they could consider the fact they are really all we have for...

The first time we visited we were underwhelmed. After having memberships at both the St Paul and Mankato children’s museums, this was a huge disappointment. We decided to give it a second chance. A few things to be aware of if you choose to visit: If you use a credit card they charge $3 extra. They claim this is to off set the cost of running credit cards. The average fee is 1.5 - 3.5%. That’s a huge mark up to charge $3. Don’t take toys out of their designated area. My 2 year old was scolded and the toy taken back to its proper location. (We’ve never experienced this at the other two museums). They advertise an outside play area. It’s open to the parking lot and really not a play area. Beware everything might not be open. The room with car ramps and building materials for cars was closed for a camp, though still fully visible with other children playing in the room. This was hard for my 2 year old who loves cars.

Overall they charge about the same as the other two children's museums and offer so much less. Might be great for locals, but wouldn’t recommend driving any distance to visit. We feel no need to return, instead we will continue memberships at the other two that offer more, are higher quality, and are a better value...

My kids enjoyed playing here. It was our first time.

They do a good job keeping it clean and I do like the fact they had a private nursing room. Bathrooms were also nice and clean.

I would say it’s easy to go through all the activities quick when I compare it to the children’s museum in la crosse. That is where I’m from. Therefor $12 was not really worth it in my opinion. I guess I had higher expectations with them having more activities or why it would be that high. Children 2 and up and parents pay. La crosse is $8 and it has 3 levels of fun. So that’s a much better option with just so much to do. Just felt like trying something new.

Also I had to wait like half hour to use the nursing room because a male employee was closing his eyes in there / take a nap. So that was no fun.

It was fine overall but I don’t think I would go back. Just wasn’t really worth it I think. Always need to try out things once but I think you could skip out on this unless you’re rich and don’t care about...