delaware children's museum

We have been coming here for a few years now. Although daughter is older she still likes the art room and the climbing structure. This museum is smaller than say Baltimore or Philly but is quite entertaining. No food available other than a few snacks/water/juices. There are several restaurants nearby.

We went on Thanksgiving weekend and were surprised that the museum wasn't very busy, by the time we left, we realized why... Many of the exhibits were broken or in disrepair, efen the basic ones. We actually went because I read there is a new touch aquarium. Either this needs to be re-named or replaced. It's about a 10' x 3' aquarium with about 10 animals in it. The biggest problem, it was way too deep for any of the kids or adults to touch the creatures. All the kids were getting soaking wet and leaving completely disappointed! When I asked the woman working there why it was so deep - her reply "well ya know". The best thing about the museum was the "free" popcorn.

I have visited this museum several times with my children. There is always something that catches their attention though our visits are shorter each time since they have already experienced most of the attractions and they are older now.I definitely recommend more for the younger kids though there are some attractions that teach school age lessons such as banking and energy conservation. Some of the exhibits have experienced much wear and tear over the years (for example, car mechanic's play area).I do think that perhaps there should be more staff presence in some of the play areas. I have seen children playing in a more unsupervised fashion and not really sharing the toys which are a bit limited in each area which can lead to some children having to wait a while on busier days. This does tend to happen at other museums as well on busy days though. The decor is adorable and it does cover different topics.

My son LOVES this museum. It has a giant rope climbing apparatus in the front entrance that goes up to the 2nd floor, and kids can play for quite a while in this area. There are steps for parents to climb to retrieve thier children who make it to the top. The exibits are cute, and perfect for preschool to young school age, while others are definitely geared for school age children (readers). My kids spent an easy 4 hours here and were not even slightly interested in leaving. Unfortunately when we were there, there was no place to purchase food. We had packed some snacks, but I wish I had known so I could have packed more substantial food.

I am writing this late, only after visiting and reviewing another children's attraction recently which I found to be exactly the opposite experience. We visited DCM as part of a birthday party, and although the organized party itself was quite chaotic, the idea and activities provided were excellent. My first disappointment in the main museum though was that I specifically called ahead to ask about bringing a step stool because my son is a little person (dwarf). He is still young and I was just starting to get a feel for what special accommodations he might need for his differences. I was told by the person on the line that yes, they have them, no need to bring one just ask at the desk. But when I did, nobody at the desk had any clue what I meant and after much looking we found two stools in the art room and were then told by (possibly) a manager that we could not move it anywhere else because the activities are age appropriate and sized accordingly and if he is too short then it's not meant for him to participate in. Now as I said, I was new to all this at the time and rather than be offended I just said well I would've brought my own if your staff could've answered me correctly over the phone! So we did what we could with my little guy to not let it be a waste of the day. There was one very short section at the water tables with a stationary stool, wedged between 2 water guns or spouts or something, that he played at until he started getting sprayed and reached over by the older kids near it. My overall impression of the place was just some of the rudest kids & parents I have ever witnessed, and they were not part of our group's. One Mom just watched as her child pushed all the other kids out of the engine in the train room and literally hogged it for 20 minutes not letting anyone near it. I reached over to ring the bell, and she literally slapped my hand. At that the mdiagonally said something. Another let their child wander around with the most disgusting display of snot running from his nose that I have ever seen. I was literally gagging. Near the toy cars & tracks two unattended older boys were using every single car, and while I politely tried to ask for one for the "other little boy" to use and receive ed just blank stares in return, my little Angel commando crawled right over and just started playing along with the boys, clueless as to why they stormed off. Maybe themuseum can't do anything directly about things like that, but a little more staff presence in each room could help. Overall we just did not get a good vibe from the place or it's visitors, which is disappointing because the content itself was pretty good.

My kids love going there. We going pretty often. Its a great hands on museum, that you can feel safe with the kids running around in each room. They love it every time.. Ages 7 and 9..

We take our 3 year old grandson to various museums and other spots that a child of his age would enjoy. This was our first time at this museum. It is smaller than its regional competition and actually simpler in its offerings. While our grandson seemed to enjoy it, we did not compare it as worthy as the others within our range. This does not mean that you should avoid it, but it will not, in my opinion, please any older child. or any child with more exposure to the competition

The museum is certainly children friendly, but the exhibits never change. It's a bit pricey to go back more than once to do all the same things over and over again.

Very disappointed. The current reviews were very good 4.5 starts out of 5 and there were many good comments online about this place. So we made the 2 hour trip so the kids could have one last fun event prior to starting school. First the general area is a little scary. Buildings with bars on them and people are not nice. Their driving is also very horrendous. Admission price is $12.00 per person which is over priced since the majority of the exhibits were broke or closed. There are more broken things then ones that function. At 3pm the staff was already closing down parts of the museum in preparation of closing time at 4. This place is equal to a day at home with with Legos and coloring books. Did not see any staff so can't comment on that. Also people let their kids run around like animals which just adds to the disappointment of the day!

Visited on a Sunday morning with a 3 yr old and 18 month old. They had a good time running around and playing. They especially enjoyed the room with the trains to play in. The water table was also a hit. Price is probably a little high.

While I am loathe to give someone a bad write up, we travel a lot and bring our kids to many museums. Having just visited the Franklin Institute in Philly, I have to say, this place paled by comparison. I wouldn't plan on spending more than an hour to and hour and a half there. Our kids are 8 and 10 and I think this place was at the end if their engage to level. I think our 12 year old would have been bored. That said, it was clean, safe, the staff was friendly, and parking was free. Just not as exciting as other places we've been.

This had been one of our favorite Children's Museums before our move, so we were very excited to meet friends here and make a day of it. While by and large it is the same, many things were worn out or missing. The biggest shock was that they no longer are a Blue Star Museum, the second was that they no longer have a café (which we had planned on sharing lunch with our friends at). We rolled with it and the kids always LOVE the water table and the 3D climbing maze, but we won't make an effort to return.The temporary Lego exhibit was nice.The crew/rowing exhibit was broken.The tv/show stage wasn't working.Not enough pieces to build with for the giant construction sets (even when all the kids are trying to build the same item!)Café is gone, though kids did enjoy the new huge blue foam items. I felt they would have done better to keep the café and swap out the construction set that are missing so many pieces.The giant cash register/game is gone with nothing to replace the 10' square space, not even an educational poster.The route from the front door to the River Walk should be easy and clear.We loved this very much when it first opened.Kids are currently (13,11,9,and 6) and friend's kids were (11,10,and 6)Backyard is still a wreck and could be used to great advantage.

Came here with my nephews, 4 and 6 at the time, and both had a blast here for several hours. I've seen children's museums that are both much better and much worse with this one about average. But, when I was a kid there was no such place anywhere in the state so I consider this a huge step up. The grown ups had a good time playing with some of the exhibits as well. Parking is free. Food is just vending machines, but there are fun, kid-friendly restaurants along the riverfront for lunch.

I took a 14 yr old, 11 yr old, two 8 yr olds and two nearly-5 yr olds to DCM. This was a repeat visit for all of them (some have been more often than others).We got there just before 11, went for lunch (at Joe's Crab Shack) at about 2 and left at 4. All the kids had a great time. They were thoroughly engaged the entire time, physically, intellectually and/or creatively. After we took a walk along the riverfront (it was a beautiful day, not too hot) afterwards and went for an ice cream down. A perfect, full day.One of the impressive things about this museum is that they are constantly updating and adding to the displays and activities. I've been going to DCM and Please Touch for the past three or four years running and Please Touch is great but always exactly the same. Every year that I go to DCM there is new and/or improved stuff.

We had an awesome time! So many areas to play in and both my kids enjoyed it. This is a must see for sure!