Kids Discovery Museum — Attraction in Seattle

Adults should exhibit patience, empathy, and reasonableness. And frankly - the manager (Lisa?) did - mostly. So why 1 star? Reasonableness & attitude.

Notice how this review hasn’t even mentioned the physical space?

Let’s dive in.

My family went at 3pm on a Wednesday, zero other kids in there.

Upon coming in - the attitude from the front desk lady was…palpably anal. Ok, so be it. Not an issue. We’re here on vacation and it’s all good.

30 mins later, the manager gives some grandparents a tour of the space, and things went downhill.

I’ll spare you all the details, but I can confirm our kids were messy with the space and we had tons of stuff out in 4 different “sections” on the first floor. Gasp.

Did it look like a hurricane? Nope. But definitely a small squall.

I couldn’t believe our kids played with toys and didn’t put them away, instantly, when no one was around. I was beside myself. Not.

Because of this grandparent tour, I believe the main staff member was embarrassed by our “behavior” and started to spiral.

To add insult to injury, my two year old woke up 15 mins prior and stated playing. And let me tell you - we had the nerve to have the empty stroller sitting in the empty playspace. Even worse, we had the car seat disconnected from the stroller taking up even more square footage in the lovely play center.

And, it seems the staff felt the same way. When they saw this, Lisa explained, at length that the stroller needs to be put outside if the kid is no longer in it and how it’s against their policy (BTW SHOES STAY ON!!! Don’t forget this key detail!).

Lisa was very clear about this and spent 30 seconds lamenting this fact. Though, respectfully so - and I did actually appreciate that piece.

I did not appreciate the next part of the story.

With great fervor, the front desk lady comes to play FEMA and fix the disaster that our children made.

So why was I not grateful for this anxious intensity? She was cleaning the space for the benefit of all, after all - this was our responsibility wasn’t it.

Sure, but we weren’t done playing. This is a kids play space and they need to chill out. Look at the other comments addressing the attitude issue in this play space.

Guys, we appreciate your passion for running a fantastic space. Just please take the intensity down a notch. We’re all trying our best and this is supposed to be a “fun” thing, not a crisis of interpersonal conflict waiting to be ignited. The world is complex enough. Perhaps we make the kids discovery museum on the beautiful island of Bainbridge a place of calm. I believe in y’all.

Note: Lisa refunded our entire visit and that was a very appropriate action. Lisa also appropriately defended her staff member, who may have perceived the situation to be a crisis (it wasn’t).

Let’s take a collective deep breath. Thanks guys. Very well done space. Would love to rate...

This museum is sub par at best... According to parents I spoke to.. while visiting there.. there are no changes made monthly to make it interesting.. the upstairs is taken over by a very large area the most toddlers are bored with.. the children I was with don't even like going upstairs because in their words it's so boring... it's the same old stuff... I think they should have themed months or seasons and invite a local business to come in and collaborate something interactive a d interesting.. membership is pricey for the same old stuff.. I think they are so focused in childcare that they forgot that they need to keep it fresh and interesting for the regulate everyday users.. they could get some ideas from other children's museums.. invite doctors or fireman or police or the local newspaper to come up with ideas to help raise awareness or introduce a job etc.. it would be nice to have an interactive crafting area too.. maybe some information about forest conservation or island life.. what makes Bainbridge or Kitsap peninsular or Washington so unique.. that entire area upstairs is geared towards older kids and your main clientele are ages 1-5 .. come on kidimu let's figure this out.. boring... staff is exceptional snd bathrooms and areas are kept clean.. it's good for an every once in a while visit but your kids will quickly become bored if you come...

I've been to well over ten children's museums around the country. This one is definitely the worst of them. Overall the museum is small and over priced. It's best for children age 3-5. The upstairs area has some things for older kids, but it's a very small section of the museum. There is also an area for kids 2 and under but it's less than 10sq feet. Any more than one adult and your cramped. You pay $8 per person and you do have to pay for adults. That's steep for a muesum that doesn't seem to be any larger than 1500 sq feet. They also frequently had schools here making the space feel even smaller. They should close the museum on those days just allowing the school to be there. The staff was dismal. Every children's museum I have been to in the past, has had several staff members walking around cleaning up any tripping hazards and making the space stay organised and welcoming. This muesum lacks in that area. It was tough to get around with all the mess. I'm giving the museum 2 stars simply for the fact that they are a blue star muesum. I wouldn't recommend it, but if your desperate to get the kids moving, it may be...