I admire people who say things like, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” Those Tuffo-clad toddlers dancing in downpours and making mud pies, bravo!
I’m not that tough.
Before my kids started school, a children’s museum was practically our second home — and an annual membership my salvation. It beat climbing the walls in our actual home, in a place where no one will bat an eye if you have a full-on meltdown.
Maybe you’re a fellow weather wuss or you had a pandemic baby who hasn’t seen much of the indoor world yet. Grab your soggy kids and come on in. We’re lucky to live in a region with fantastic kids museums.
Imagine Children’s Museum
The newly expanded Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett is the granddaddy of them all. A $25 million, 33,000-square-foot addition opened last September, more than doubling the museum in size. It is massive. You can easily spend the entire day here and feel like you barely made a dent.
The original exhibits, including the water zone and the farm, are still here, plus three more floors of new exhibits. Enter through the new wing and you’ll walk into the woodland area, where a network of rope bridges stretch between the trees (keep your eyes peeled for Sasquatch). The second floor is all about the Salish Sea, complete with a gray whale skeleton. The third floor is where you can go for a snack break and views of Everett. Don’t miss the outdoor rooftop playground!
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; 1502 Wall St., Everett; free/children under 12 months, $22/adults and children over 12 months; 425-258-1006; imaginecm.org
Hands On Children’s Museum
Hands On Children’s Museum is absolutely worth the drive to Olympia. For February, National Children’s Dental Health month, the museum transformed its baby nursery into an interactive dental office. Kids can don a dental jacket, check out X-rays, hop on the reclining chair and help stuffies brush their pearly whites.
The museum is offering free dental screenings 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25. (Reservations required; call 360-956-0818.) Also on Feb. 25, Wonder Woman and Batman will make a special appearance from noon to 2 p.m.
Of the museum’s regular exhibits, the Ballcano is a real crowd pleaser. Kids can explore states of water and feed balls into an 8-foot water vortex. Also super popular: a two-story treehouse where you can climb into the eagle’s nest, then slide down into Puget Sound. Outside, there’s a 56-foot vintage schooner kids can play on and a lighthouse with a spiral staircase.
Hot tip: On First Fridays, admission is only $1 from 4-8 p.m.
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays; 414 Jefferson St. N.E., Olympia; free/children 17 months and under, $16.95/members of the military, $17.95/adults 65 and older, $18.95/adults and children 18 months-64 years, buy tickets online to save $2; 360-956-0818; hocm.org
Seattle Children’s Museum
The Seattle Children’s Museum is the best-kept secret under the Space Needle. If you’re standing in the Armory food court, you can peep down into the museum and see tots hiking up a faux mountain.
The museum reopened last spring after a two-year closure, during which they built new exhibits and refreshed existing ones. There’s a new veterinary office, pom-pom blower and area where you can engineer your own Seattle streets. The reading room transformed into the Salish Sea, featuring the artwork of Olympia illustrator Nikki McClure.
We love exploring the series of miniature worlds: the pretend post office, the pretend Metro bus, the pretend theater, the pretend supermarket (our favorite). We also get a kick out of the tiny, working toilets in the restrooms.
The museum’s daily programming includes story times and crafts. February is all about outer space, African American scientists and love.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Monday; 305 Harrison St., Seattle; free/children under 1, $11/adults over 65, $13/children and adults 1-65; 206-441-1768; seattlechildrensmuseum.org
Kids Discovery Museum
If I were to describe a perfect day trip, it would start with a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island while admiring views of the Seattle skyline. We’d walk off the ferry to the small but mighty Kids Discovery Museum. Then we’d pop by the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art next door (where admission is free!). Afterward, we’d wander into downtown Winslow for a scoop of MORA ice cream before taking the ferry home.
If you need further persuading, as of last October, kids 18 and under ride for free on the Washington State Ferries. Woot woot!
KiDiMu is an island gem. On the first floor of the museum, kids can explore a treehouse, captain a ferryboat and hop into the driver’s seat of a Smart car. Upstairs, the wall-sized Lite-Brite is a fan favorite. Newer exhibits include space science, the science of nanoparticles and women pioneers in science.
1-5 p.m. Mondays and Fridays, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; 301 Ravine Lane, Bainbridge Island; free/children under 12 months, $8/members of the military, grandparents and older adults, $9/adults and children; 206-855-4650; kidimu.org
KidsQuest Children’s Museum
Bellevue is bursting with young families, and KidsQuest Children’s Museum is centrally located right next to the Bellevue Library. The place gets busy. KidsQuest is still requiring pre-purchased timed tickets, which helps with crowd control, but we recommend visiting on a weekday morning if you can.
The museum is wildly popular for good reason. Highlights include a 2 1/2-story climbing jungle, a semitruck cab and a water-play area (forget about staying dry). Two new exhibits feature real bees and worms. The bees are currently hibernating, but you can watch worms doing their thing in a compost bin. In the Bellevue Mercantile, look for a new cow wash and fish market.
KidsQuest is also celebrating Dental Health Month and helping kids learn about how sugar affects their teeth. Free 15-minute dental evaluations are available 3-6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24; preregistration required.
9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, and 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays; 1116 108th Ave. N.E., Bellevue; free/children under 1, $14/children and adults, price is $15 per person on highly attended holidays and school breaks; 425-637-8100; kidsquestmuseum.org
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