Our Seven - Tricks to Survive the Children’s Museum

Children's museums are popping up all over the country and provide some of the best designed activities for families.  Although most parents know how awesome these museums are, many avoid them because they are seen as being too stressful.  Below are some hints to make the Children's museum experience more pleasant for the whole family (mom and dad included).

1) Meeting Place - Every parent’s nightmare when visiting a children’s museum is hearing their name announced over the loud speaker requesting them to go to the front desk to meet their child.  Yes we are glad that our kids is safe, but we also feel embarrassed that everyone now knows that we let our precious blessing out of our sight.  Note, I am a firm proponent of not watching your child’s every move and really a children’s museum is an awesome place for kids to develop self-efficacy, but not all parents think that way.  The solution to avoid those judging stares is to properly select a safe place for you and your child to meet if (when) you get separated.

I highlight the term “properly” to suggest that there are good and bad places to choose as a meeting point.  Most importantly, make sure it is a place where your child would want to hang out.  They may be waiting for 15 minutes or more before you notice that they missed their check-in time.  If the meeting spot is boring then after 2 minutes your child will start asking people “have you seen my mommy”.  As any parent knows this question only has to be asked once before your name blasts across the loudspeaker.  Hint: To keep the meeting spot from getting boring, don’t spend too much time there prior to heading home.  Other recommendations for choosing your safe spot: choose someplace with lots of other parents and kids (you don’t want your kid to be alone), avoid locations with lots of small places for them to hide, stay close to a walkway so you don’t have to go deep into an exhibit, and be consistent between trips to the same museum so your kid doesn’t get confused.

2) Get a Season Pass - Rather than going into all of the reasons we buy season passes I will just point you to our video explanation.  In short, season passes make you a better parent.  We will often buy a season pass for the children’s museum at the largest nearby city.  Living in South Dakota our nearest major city is Denver, and yes we have a season pass even though the museum is 6 hours away.

Bonus Hint:  Children’s museums participate in reciprocal programs where you can buy a pass at one museum and get free or discounted access to other children’s museums across the country.  There are two major reciprocal programs in the US, and most museums participate in one or the other.  On the rare case that you live near a museum that participates in both (ex. Discovery Gateway museum in SLC) you win.

3) Teach Kids to Recognize Staff - One of the first things we do when we arrive at the museum is to identify a couple of staff members.  Most museums provide staff with a unique outfit indicating that they work there.  This is as much for safety as professionalism.  Make sure your children know who the employees are and that it is ok to get help.  Note: In most public settings we teach our kids that if they are scared or lost it is ok to ask for help from anyone who looks like a mom.  It is worth the risk of a panicked parent if our kids feel confident that they are safe.  In a children's museum the staff is used to having wandering children and make for consistently more relaxed assistance.

4) Know the Exhibits - Before you start visiting exhibits develop a game plan.  You can probably guess which exhibits you kids will just love (aka. bubbles), and which ones will only occupy their attention for a brief period of time.  Some parents choose to visit the most exciting exhibits right off the bat, ensuring that the older kids have enough time at their favorite places before the younger children break down.  Other parents choose to save the best for last, visiting the most educational areas first rather than forcing it at the end of the trip.  Neither technique is inherently better, but it is important to be deliberate with your decision.  If you are visiting the museum with a spouse or friend it is also important to communicate this decision so all adults are on the same page.

5) Be prepared for the Water - Some of the best exhibits include water.  If you bring a change of clothes, or even rain boots, you can let your kids get soaked and have a blast.  I personally don't like to go anywhere without a change of clothes for both myself and the kids, but these clothes usually end of staying in the car.  If I know there is water at the museum then the clothes come along.

6) Bring Food - Not all museums allow outside food, but many do.  Have an assortment of snacks to occupy kids while you are trying to congregate between activities.  Also bring a larger lunch as museum food is typically expensive.  Most importantly know the rules regarding food before you go.  There is nothing more stressful than getting your kids settled for a snack just to have a staff member tell you that you have to eat someplace else.  (Hint: I always plan to spend a little money on treats from the museum.  Popsicles don't travel well but can cheer up any day.)

7) Make it Fun AND Educational - A lot of thought goes into making children’s museums educational and they often incorporate complex concepts related to physics.  Older kids should be given challenges such as restating the printed material in their own words.  It is amazing how quickly kids can learn Newton's Laws when presented in terms they understand.