Day 2 of our Colorado Springs stay-cation included a full day at the Children’s Museum in Denver!
This is our third visit to the Children’s Museum- the last time we went was almost 3 years ago! We’ve added a family member and have changed quite a bit since then 🙂 and the museum has change a lot in that time, too!
The Children’s Museum of Denver has 2 floors of exhibits that is designed for kids age newborn- 8.
The Children’s Museum has their exhibits broken down into 4 different categories: explore, imagine, investigate, and create.
EXPLORE:
Explore Altitude, Big Backyard, Box Canyon, Center for the Young Child, and Joy Park.
IMAGINE:
Imagine in the Book Nook, Fire Station No 1., My Market, Ready, Vet, Go, and Village of Healthy Smiles.
INVESTIGATE:
Investigate Bubbles, Energy, Kinetics, and Water!
CREATE:
Create in the Art Studio, Assembly Plant, D.I.Y., and Teaching Kitchen.
The first thing that we did when we arrived was go straight upstairs and sign up for the kids cooking class in their Teaching Kitchen. The classes fill up fast. We arrived at 10 am and signed up for the 2 pm class.
The first exhibit that we explored was the Altitude exhibit. Kids who are over 40” wear a helmet and can climb a ‘mountain.’ My 5 year old was the only one tall enough (and they were pretty strict with checking height. Our 3 yo was very close but they would not let him climb). Our 5 yo did not seem too into climbing- he didn’t get very far before he came back down. I think he would have had more fun with his brother.
Then we spent a lot of time at the Water exhibit. A lot of time. All 3 of the boys were very intrigued with the different hands-on water experiments. My boys are ages 5, 3, and 16 months. The baby REALLY loved throwing the balls into the water drain. They provide Columbia rain coats for kids to wear.
I took our youngest to the smaller kids area-Center for the Young Child. We spent a lot of time here climbing, running, playing with the different toys and stuffed animals. It’s perfect for the child with new legs- padded, carpeted, and pillowed!
Erick took the 2 older boys to the Fire Station where there’s a real fire truck, fireman uniform, fire pole, and firehouse that the kids can explore.
The favorite exhibit of my older son (age 5) was the Kinetics section. We spent most of the day figuring out how to get balls from one area to the other using the laws of physics and different mechanical tools. The last time we were here (3 years ago) this was his favorite section then as well!
We spent a lot of time in the My Market section shopping at the Farmers Market (last time we were here it was a grocery store- I guess it’s changing to reflect current culture). The 3 boys also loved Big Backyard (and they provide the cutest little animal costumes so kids can pretend that they’re an ant, squirrel, duck, rabbit, etc.). We made a quick stop at the Art Studio which is also newly expanded. The boys just drew on the walls for about 2 minutes and painted the buffalo for about the same amount of time.
As mentioned earlier we took a kids cooking class near the end of the day at the Teaching Kitchen.
They provide hands on cooking classes to younger kids with real food and kid-safe cooking tools. The baby was sleeping in the stroller at this point so I took the 2 older boys (and he would have been too young, anyway). The class has a maximum of 16 participants (including adults), hence why it is so important to sign up early. Today they were teaching how to make steamed dumplings. They have the kids watch a demonstration on how to make the dumplings, then provide the food and supplies that are needed to make the dumplings at our own table. Both my boys (ages 5 and 3) did great making the dumplings and following directions. We practiced using chop sticks while the dumplings cooked. Once the dumplings are cooked everyone gets to eat their own creation. They also provide a handout of the recipe that is made that day in the class.
We ended the day searching for fuel and making rockets in the Energy section. We could have stayed in this section longer but at this point the museum was closing. They recommend that a visit take between 1-3 hours and we were there for 6 hours! And we could have stayed there longer had they not closed at 4 pm.
There is also an expansive outside area at the Joy Park. We just ran out of time so we never got to experience this, however it is recommended that you bring a change of clothes/swimsuits and sunblock, etc.
The boys were very excited that there was a perfect view of Mile High from the terrace
All in all the 3 boys had a blast. If we lived in Denver I would have purchased a membership 🙂
Location: 2121 Children’s Museum Drive Denver, CO 80211
Price:
- Under Age One:Free
- Age One:$11
- Ages 2 – 59:$13
- Seniors (60+):$11
- Members:Free
Website: Children’s Museum of Denver
So glad it was such a fun day!! what a great tip on the free cooking classes!!