The Children's Museum of Wilmington — Attraction in Wilmington

Several of the 5 star reviews appear to be from many years ago. The photos in reviews are pieces/toys/exhibits that are likely long gone. The wooden ship is there painted another color and the school bus in the backyard is there.

Family of 4 went for an afternoon to celebrate our 2 year olds birthday. The museum is inside a historic building so with that comes the normal facility related items, uneven wooden floors, steep and narrow stairs, high handrails all of which add up to a dated scene and an issue from kids under 4. Our 4 year old, was able to navigate ok, but struggled on the stairs with no kids handrails.

The exhibits are a grab bag that are all home made and seem to be put together haphazardly. Everything is well worn, dirty and missing pieces. If you family has a big imagination, you can make anything fun like we did. Otherwise, its a small "exhibit" with no direction and limited pieces. Placards with more information about the interactive area would be great, even if for the older kids/adults. We are used to museums and playgrounds near Raleigh & Durham. Think Marbles Kids Museum Raleigh.

There are several craft areas that seem as though they have potential. No staff available and we were in there for a while creating paper art.

Cost is outrageous for what is is. Street parking is mandatory, there is no parking lot for the museum. Rates range from free on Sunday to $14+/hr based on the parking lot/meter found. Not a fault of the museum, but this cost hits before you pay the high prices of $10/person regardless of age. They offer memberships with access to all of above with their highest tier at $200+ giving you unlimited access.

We were members of the Ashville Zoo for a family of 4 and two guests with unlimited access for a year for $140...

Had high hopes since its labeled as museum, but we will not return nor refer anyone to go. This should be relabeled as an interactive play place so the standards are realistic.

Needs funding and clear direction. More corporate sponsors like Publix and Planet fitness (two of the only real exhibits)...

This place does what a lot of businesses do these days - they set up autorenewal of membership and pretend like you didn't cancel it ("technology issues") so they can leech a hundred-fifty more dollars of a product (the museum) you are not even in the position to utilize. Here's what happened:

I originally signed up for this when my family and I lived in Wilmington, NC. When I made the membership purchase the front desk person said it was a year's subscription, and because I've been burned like this before, I asked if this subscription automatically renewed after a year, and the front desk person said yes.

I didn't make a stink but I demanded that I not be set up for automatic renewal, or have it canceled, whichever option was easier for the business - because I did not know if we would still be living in Wilmington or nearby in a year's time (sure enough, we would move later that same year). The desk person said they needed a manager to do that, which I found a little baffling, but the manager who was summoned told me it was no problem and I followed them to the office to make sure it was done. They told me that my membership still had to propagate in the system, but to check back with them in an hour or so. My daughter and I played at the museum for an hour and a half that day, had much fun, and afterward we dropped by the management office again to make sure all was well. The manager gave me the thumbs up along with a receipt (which I doubtless lost in the cross-country move late in 2023), and said my membership renewal was cancelled, and to call them if there was any trouble.

I was wrong, and didn't catch the extra charge until a couple months afterward. I am disputing the charge with my bank, and disappointed with a business that otherwise gave my daughter and I a lot of fun times (she loved most the water exhibit with the LEGO duplo blocks in them - we made so...

Disclaimers: We went the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and our child is a 16 month old toddler. The guy working the front desk did say it was less crowded than usual though so I don’t know if it’s like this normally or if it’s even worse than this

It wasn’t a good environment for young toddlers. There’s a toddler treehouse that in theory would be a fantastic area for toddlers to play and interact, but it was overcrowded with children who were over 4 years old. There is a sign on the room saying that it is for children under 4 and their caretakers only, but it’s a very hard to notice sign and the parents in the museum were just letting their kids run wild.

It’s a very cool children’s museum with great exhibits that can be enjoyed by kids who are closer to elementary age.

Problem I have is that unlike many other places - they charged $10 for children between 1 and 2 and it wasn’t a good environment for that age. There’s one area that isn’t monitored.

Ultimately, the whole place feels like a big playground for younger elementary school kids and parents seem to match that vibe and there isn’t enough staff to control anything. Toys end up all the way across the building. For example, a pepper toy from the grocery area that is on the second floor was found near the dentists area across the building and on the first floor.

Feels like I wasted thirty dollars for me and my wife to alternate carrying our overwhelmed toddler for an hours before...