Wheel and Cog Children's Museum of Hutchinson — Local services in Hutchinson

I was very disappointed going here. I called prior to driving there to see if it would be appropriate/worth it for an 18 month old who was only crawling still, or if we should wait till he is a little older. The girl assured me there was lots for an 18 month old to do an an entire section dedicated to babies under 3. Drove there and when I got there was told I had to pay for myself as well as my son, which I thought was extremely unnecessary because all I would do is stand by him. I paid and said we had never been there, and she didn't offer any guidance. I asked "So how does it work?" and she said they ask the children to not wear shoes but the parents can (which I thought was odd because my son doesn't walk yet). Also that we could use anything we wanted in the whole place. I told her I had called asking and was told there was a section for little toddler/babies? And she pointed to the middle of the room saying "well it's just that area there". Which was a little area that had tape on the floor around it with some baby toys in it like push walkers. Definitely not what I pictured when I was told "entire area dedicated to children under 3". So I took off my son's shoes, even though he doesn't walk, and our jackets and was carrying them around as my son mostly wanted to watch the other kids running around more than anything. It was bothersome carrying the jackets and shoes when I would have to pick him up and bring him to another area. When we left I saw before the desk there were cubbies that people were putting their outside stuff in, but we were never told that was there. When we were near the front desk before we were leaving I heard the employees talking about how disgusting the nursing/changing area in the back was and how there were gross diapers everywhere, and how one of them piled them in a corner in the room for the other employee to clean. I can see how this would be more fun for older kids (like 4-10) who need to run off energy in the winter, but it would have been nice for the people to tell me a child who would be walking/running would be more fit to enjoy it, that the parent has to pay too, and pointed out where to put shoes and jackets when I had said we had never been there before and asked how it worked. Sounds like they should check/clean their changing area...

This is a great spot to spend a few hours with the kids. They've done great with their small space they have in about three rooms in the mall. There's a solid variety and my.kids we're going from exhibit to exhibit, fully entertained for 2+ hours.

One very different thing here than at the children's museums in Mankato and St. Paul is the heavy presence of signs with rules. Check out the photos for examples, but the vibe at the other museums is very much "let them play, let them fall, let them imagine" while this place is full of a lot of "don't's". Not a huge deal, just a vibe change that was slightly...

During a birthday party for my one year old, we had children 1 through 13 in attendance and everyone had a good time (including the adults). The atmosphere felt very safe- not worried about kids falling or injuring themselves. The time for a private party went so quick! We were there for 1.5 hours- definitely not enough time but fun while it lasted. The party room was small but people didn't spend much time there so it didn't really matter. Next time I wouldn't bring food- people are more focused on exploring than grazing. Lots of places for cute photo...