Discovery Gateway Children's Museum — Attraction in Salt Lake City

This children's museum is great for preschoolers and elementary school kids. My older kids have had fun but there are exhibits that don't appeal to them at all and they get bored more quickly, especially if there is a crowd at the museum making it harder to interact with the exhibits they do enjoy. There is very little for toddlers and only under 1 year-olds get in free.

There are many things to do (unless you're a toddler, see my review for that below). On the main floor there is the hive (balls and tubes for the balls to go in as well as climbing structures and a slide), the construction site (a conveyor sorting system, large foam stacking blocks, a slide, and some small cranes), water tables, a large playhouse with multiple rooms and an upstairs, a mini Macy's grocery store, a small cookie shop counter and stove, a small farm area (chickens with eggs, wooden plants to pick, a large plastic horse to sit on), a bank area, a car repair area, and an art room. On the second floor there is a pinewood Derby style car track, a dress-up area with puppets, a sensory room (I think), a new model train area that is only open for two hours a day (never made it in there), multiple small stem toys at a counter (like a small container of Lincoln logs), an indoor gross motor play area (small balance bikes, a short rock wall, a basketball hoop, large foam blocks, wind/scarf toy, a beanbag toss), an outdoor helicopter and dispatch station, and a Dino area (fossils in a lab and a fossil dig site without any sand or digging possible).

The best exhibits, in my opinion, are the hive, the construction site, Macy's, and the water tables. My kids also really enjoy the helicopter/life flight outdoor area though it is very minimal.

The worst exhibit in my opinion is the dinosaur area. My kids are always disappointed by the Dino area because there is practically nothing to do. They always hope for sand in the dig site, but there are only tools (goggles, brushes, hammers, picks) and the only things to brush at are the broken bits of the exhibit other kids have managed to break off in the dig site. I realize sand would be messy but then don't have a dig site. (Thanksgiving Point's ancient life museum successfully has a fossil dig site with sand or at least they did in the past.) The lab area has lots to look at and that's where it ends--not engaging and the only interactive elements are (1) drawers to open and close, (2) a microscope to look in, (3) lab coats to put on and hang up.

I personally would not bring a child who is between 1 and 2.5 because you pay full price and yet there is hardly anything for them to do. Most exhibits are taller so there isn't much for them to engage with. I don't feel like any of the exhibits are tailored to toddlers. Also the whole museum is very open concept (but at least the stairs have a gate at the top and bottom) so they can go everywhere easily and quickly which can be stressful if...

My daughter and I love coming here but I have a major gripe with the “sensory inclusive” statement publicized on the building. My daughter is autistic and sometimes she just needs a break. It is really discouraging that those “sensory inclusive” areas are hallways, from what I’ve seen it’s two little hallways leading to offices. This is not inclusive. I also have some issues with the sensory room itself. It is so small that you can only really have 1 maybe 2 kids in the room at a time (including their adults).

The location the sensory room is placed makes it appear to be another little exhibit and the giant sign that specifies it is designed with autistic individuals in mind is ignored. Today my daughter was getting very overloaded, which was expected since we came in on a weekend. The problem with the room is that if you do try to utilize it for it’s purpose (giving autistic kiddos a safe space) you are guaranteed to have other kids coming in and out screeching which I understand is somewhat expected but completely defeats the purpose. Not to mention the adults who come in completely ignoring the signage talking very loudly too (there were 4 separate adults who did this in the five minutes we were in the room).

I don’t know if there is some solution that can be made like an “in use please read the description” sign that could be flipped by a parent or caretaker or a curtain to close the space off a bit more. At least something that very obviously directs attention for at least adults. With kids it’s expected for them to be curious, especially in a place designed for kids.

Luckily for my daughter she does okay with some interruptions as it’s more light sensory overload but for another kiddo that may not be the case.

And again a hallway? A hallway that has no real soundproofing or privacy? That’s NOT inclusion and really disappointing that it’s posted and marketed that way, it seems as if there were a number of designated spaces that needed to be marked and not a lot of thought was really...

We went on a Thursday at around 4:00 pm. There was hardly anyone there so my son could enjoy playing at the different centers very leisurely. The staff were friendly and present in the facility, organizing and picking up items and returning them to their correct places. My son, who is almost six, really enjoyed the museum. There are a variety of activities to do that vary from active things to centers with activities you can do sitting down. Something for every kid! I would say most kids would enjoy it until around the age of 8 or 9. We spent about an hour and 20 minutes due to our schedule but probably could have spent a total of two hours to pretty much see/do everything. Here are the reason I gave the museum four stars:

1. Cleanliness- I noticed the floors around some of the play areas had accumulated dirt and dust, especially in the corners. It looked like someone had cleaned the floor but just not taken the effort to get into the corners. I also noticed a similar thing on the stairs.
2. Features that were broken or in a worn out state- As we were going through the various sections in the museum, there were many times we would push a button or turn a crank and nothing happened. In the bank area, someone had shoved too many coins into one of the money counter and jammed it. On the third floor outdoors, there was a hospital area. In my opinion, this area should not have been open for guest because it looked so worn down and hardly anything worked. Great concept but it really looked awful. The features just looked old and faded and the play clothes were all over the floor.

These things did not keep my son and I from having a good time together. I just wanted to share my experience. I think it is a great attraction but believe it would be that much better with a little more attention to detail with the cleaning and better upkeep on the play areas to fix broken features and update ones that...