The Best Children’s Museums in the Northeast

The first children’s museum opened its doors in Brooklyn in 1899. Since then, children’s museums have steadily grown in sophistication. These museums help children engage in learning through play. They also offer ongoing classes and provide venues for family entertainment, making them important community centers.

We’ve rounded up 12 of the best children’s museums in the northeast, each with its own unique vibe and offerings. While we list admission price ranges, please note that these museums have membership programs which may prove more affordable than single tickets for repeat visits. Most of these museums also provide free or reduced-cost day passes through their local libraries. These passes often are booked well in advance, though, so plan ahead.

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Children’s Museums in Connecticut

EverWonder

Newtown

Admission: $3-$10

This museum focuses on (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning through play. The hands-on displays on wind, water, gravity and motion might appeal most to children 5 and under. Unlike many other children’s museums, the layout of EverWonder is divided into smaller rooms, which may be especially appealing to those prone to sensory overload.

Sacred Heart University’s Discovery Science Center and Planetarium

Bridgeport

Admission: $15-$18

This newly renovated and expanded museum offers a cutting-edge STEM play experience, with permanent exhibits dedicated to the exploration of space science and physics, as well as an awe-inspiring planetarium. For children not obsessed with outer space, there are more generalized play areas, including a hospital for teddy bears.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children

Norwalk

Admission: $16-$20

This hands-on science and natural history museum features exhibits geared toward older children who like to learn through play. Highlights include a multimedia television production experience that puts kids in front of and behind the camera, a paleontology dig site for dinosaurs and a lab to explore the energy-generating capacity of moving water.

Children’s Museums in Massachusetts

Boston Children’s Museum

Boston

Admission: $22

The Boston Children’s Museum offers something for kids of all ages. Highlights of the three-floor landmark include a large room dedicated to water play, an enclosed climbing maze and animatronic dinosaur displays. In good weather, check out the nearby playgrounds by the Charles River.

EcoTarium

Worcester

Admission: $14-$19

Visiting EcoTarium is like being at several museums at once. The large children’s museum includes hands-on displays to learn about natural history and science, enclosures to observe otters, owls and a mountain lion and a preschool room – a “mini-Worcester” where little ones crawl, climb and play. In good weather, the museum also offers a large outdoor play area and an open-air train ride to survey the extensive grounds.

Wenham Museum

Wenham

Admission: $8-$10

This cozy play-based museum offers many opportunities for open-ended, tactile play and to learn about New England history. Highlights include a panoramic model-train landscape, as well as a preserved 17th century living room. This hands-on museum is best suited for energetic toddlers and young children.

Children’s Museums in New Jersey

Imagine That

Florham Park

Admission: $7-$22

This children’s museum provides plenty of opportunities for freeform, imaginative play. Highlights include a supermarket display, a climbable pirate ship and a full-size cab of a fire truck within a kid-sized firehouse. Little ones will find plenty of possibilities for play here.

Liberty Science Center

Jersey City

Admission: $26-$31

“Epic” may best describe this 300,000-square foot museum, which houses the Western Hemisphere’s biggest planetarium and a skeletal display of a blue whale. Other highlights include an 80-foot touch tunnel to navigate in pitch darkness, and a vast, suspended climbing place space. Liberty Science Center has exhibits catered to kids of all ages, from toddlers to teens.

Children’s Museums in New York

The Long Island Children’s Museum

Garden City

Admission: $16-$18

This intimate children’s museum is dedicated to play for younger children, with revolving and permanent exhibitions, live theater and art spaces. The museum’s exhibits are colorful and well-designed to invite sensory exploration, and there are opportunities for outdoor fun in good weather.

Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum

Poughkeepsie

Admission: $14.50

Located in a bright-yellow building overlooking the Hudson River, this cheery museum is structured to encourage open-ended exploration through play. The hands-on displays are designed to capture the imagination and spark the creativity of small children, although older children may begrudgingly have fun, too.

Westchester Children’s Museum

Rye

Admission: $12-$18

A perfect rainy-day activity located just steps from the beach, this museum provides opportunities to play and learn for younger children. Highlights include the 48-foot-long Pixel Wall, with pegs for making a constantly changing mural of colorful artwork and a larger-than-life Erector-like set, for older children who are into building and design.

Children’s Museum in Rhode Island

Providence Children’s Museum

Providence

Admission: $16

This smaller museum is perfect for entertaining little ones for a morning or afternoon, with indoor and outdoor play structures and opportunities for hands-on learning. Highlights include a water play room and a room for creating magnetic mazes and shaping tubed structures that utilize wind power.

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Featured image: Courtesy of Stepping Stones Museum for Children