As good as it can get. Amazing place for kids with lot of toys and playing options. As must visit in Tacoma. A big shout out to all the volunteers that keep this place up and running. Safe environment that promotes collaboration and playing together.

It was fun. The place is quit small but they have plenty of activities and the kids can be engaged in lots of activities for 4-6 hours without getting board. There are coloring and painting activities, stem activities, climbing and engineering activities. We loved and welling to visit it again when we are around.

Great place to spend a few hours on a rainy weekend afternoon. Best part is that admission cost is 100% donation based, give if you can and if not able to afford any donation amount, theres ZERO judgment. Love the museums arts and crafts studio the most - they rotate out different mediums, like watercolor, playing with slime (pre-made) and dot art. The art studio has a creative movements section, featuring a large rug that is situated in front of a large mirror (think dance/yoga studio). The kids can adorn themselves in a colorful assortment of ribbons - as a headband, skirt or just hold in their hands. It also features two chalkboard easels and a giant swine statue that kids can add paint and paper mache to. Within the studio youll find the builder and fixers workshop, which features real nails, and screws that kids can pound away on. There are small pieces of material that can be used to make something to take home. For the younger children, 1 to 3, they have fun imagination play areas, one that includes a home-like setting where the kids can be creative storytellers. Theres even two pulley baskets within the museum, one inside this play house, and one at the airplane section. These two pulley baskets allow the kids to send items to one another from up above and from down below. The younger ones also love the intricate water play stations located in the center of the museum, which offer tons of different toys and such for the kids to test out and explore how water moves and behaves. The museum also features a dress up station (think sea creatures, reptiles), a super fast slide, a second story airplane deck, which offers kids the chance to pedal one of two stationary bikes, that make the gigantic wings move up and down, a tug boat equipped with life vests and squid sea creatures, as well as two kinetic stations that teach kids about inertia and gravity. This museum is nothing compared to Everetts or Olympias childrens museums, however, it offers enough stimulation for a kiddo ages 1 to 8.

We had some time to kill in the morning and this was perfect! Free entrance, and free locker for small items (18X18) that you dont want to carry around. We added some cash to the donation as we expected to pay and it helps keep up with wear and tear that kids put it through. If youre looking for a two hour block of fun for the kids and around this is the perfect place to go.

A pretty amazing facility. It is basically a kids play area with a learning and development bent. There is a pirate ship with flitting wings, a tree house with stuffed toys, a water area, a book five, a , an exploratory area with tools and art, plus v scullThey have a limited eating area, but washrooms are clean and well maintained. Price is by donation, and your patient helps support the museam stay open for all families. A really great experience. Parking is limited to street (cheap) or some limited parking if you are a paid member. They are on transit lines. Bike tracks close by.

This is a “pay as you will” Children’s museum. My son’s favorites were the ship, water area and workshop. The ship was a great play space with lots of room for imaginative play. The water area is a great place for kiddos to enjoy pouring, splashing and so much more. The workshop had actual real tools that kept my son’s attention very well. We had a fun time. Biggest thing is parking is really, really complicated. Mostly street parking as the lot next to the museum is actually owned/spoken for...

Okay.....looked at some of the bad reviews before hand someone was complaining about price....this place if free they only ask for donations. Others gave bad reviews for thinks out of the places control kinda ridiculous.If your still here. This place is great its called a kid museum with interactive areas and play places that help teach kids about water and currents, magnets, vacuums, tools, painting, and building forts. It is a good place to go to have fun with the little ones.It is a little chaotic as you are expected to watch your own offspring and interact with them and guide them. Mostly parents just lets their kids run out of control with no guidance. Which makes it harder on people who do stay focused on their kids and are trying to teach them.Lastly there is staff who are there to maintain areas and are more than happy to help show you things if you need it.

Loved visiting! They have some large indoor play areas, water table, building tables and interactive toys. Pay as you will is very nice as well if you dont have much time.

Would like to see more curator lead stuff, teach them about the water, or the suction tubes. Art days would be cool. Its amazing, dont get me wrong, but the times weve been there, its nothing but an indoor playground. Make our annual pass worth it!

Extremely fun for kids, and easy to manage for adults. There are several areas that make it fun for all kids of many different ages. If you need a play date idea this is it.This place was an amazing idea and works well in practice. Also a great place for Birthday parties.

The kids love it. Donation based entrance fee. They are always changing up the activities. There is stuff for toddlers and older kids. Only one exit and entry to help control the flow of kids. We feel safe there, its always clean, the staff is friendly, and we always have a great time.

Absolutely wonderful! No complaints!By donation.Have member options available too!

To my granddaughter in our WEDNESDAY adventures and decided to bring her here. I was a childcare teacher and remembered how much fun my students had.... And my granddaughter loves it... It really wore her out. Great water activities... Lots to climb and explore... And I love the art area... Her mom is an artist. The only really HUGE negative is the location due to parking!!!!I paid $2 for 2 hrs. Which wasnt bad I guess but oh my Lord it took FOREVER just to find a spot I really wish the location was NOT downtown Tacoma.Otherwise it was fun and great social interaction with other kids.

I brought a 3 year old and a 9 month old and they both had a blast. Its pay as you go, so its a great way to support the community if you can and a safe place you can take your kids for free if you cant. They have some really great STEAM and arts activities too.

Awesome place to take your kiddo! They are donation based and the membership rate is really good for 1 year. There are a lot of amazing play areas to keep your little one entertained and burning energy.

Oh my god was this place cool!!!!!!! I’m not sure what I thought it would be, but it blew every expectation I had out of the water. I’m not sure if I had more fun or if my kid did. They are completely donation based, don’t be stingy, but it’s a great option if you are short on cash.

Good place for kids and very family friendly. Its donation only, so you pay what you can. Lots of fun activities for kids, that I actually had fun with too. Now compare that to Seattle childrens museum that charges and an arm and a leg - very income discriminating.

Great place to take young kids to have fun exploring science and the world around them.

This is an excellent place for kids to enjoy themselves and enjoy a lot of different activities! It is a non profit so they let you in by donating whatever amount you would like! If you dont have a donation they still let your kids come in and enjoy themselves!! Phenomenal!!

Very kid friendly for young and older chimdren. Toddlers and school age children both enjoy the museum, and its FREE!!! They accept optional donations. For large groups and birthday parties theres a charge.

For donation only--it was great! That factor is beyond awesome!The play area had covers for the kids to wear so their clothes didnt get wet, that was awesome!However, there wasnt much for the kiddos to do. The building zone was not very well maintained.If you want to kill an hour at donation only, here is your place!

I have been taking my son on Special Kids Tuesday to get him some social interactions and he gas LOVED every moment. It is noisy, so sometimes it takes him a minute to get used to the energy level...but the water table is his favorite spot and he spends almost our whole time there. Awesome that he can make a mess, explore and play!

Our kiddos just luv this outstanding fun zone. By donation so very budget friendly and u give them anything or nothing if its hard times. Makes sense to me

Great place to bring youth 12 or younger. Love the water play and the room for building! Staff are very nice and aware of children with disabilities and their needs!

We were lucky enough to get I for free during The Smith sonian Museum Day. My infant had a blast playing in the water section! I loved that they had a hardware section! So many kids were hammering nails, with real tools! The staffs were real happy and friendly. Always available to help if needed.

Tacomas small childrens museum is great. It is just the right size to spend an hour or three and just let the kids run. There is a place for tinkering and art, a water play some, and a few large interactive play places. I really enjoy how clean it is and how nice the staff is. We go often and always enjoy sitting in a window seat watching the kids play.

Really practical and diverse activities, and conveniently located in downtown. We also liked the pay what you can pay system, which prevents making it an exclusive museum. The somewhat negative is parking, but couple bucks not too expensive for couple hours off street parking, particularly when compared to Seattle.

Besides it being small, it is a cool place to take the kids really fast and is cheap because it is whatever you can donate for admission. So if you do not have it one time you can still go and then give some another time if can. But I would say it is for kids 1-10 at the oldest

Our first time there and we loved it! Perfect place for kids to be kids and lots of exploring for them to do. Safe, friendly and easy going. Encourages learning.

Donation base admission, good kids programs

Share this great Childrens museum with the little people in your life. They will not forget it. Its in a beautiful old historic building so tell the kids that THEY are now, even more, a part of history. Its hard to beat that!

Great for smaller kids and the donation every fee is nice. They have done a great job with the space they have to offer. Street parking only.

We had a lot of fun today, we spent about 2 hours playing with my son, the most he likes was playing in the water with different toys.Museum has tons of activities.Will come back for sure.Thanks to all staff for taking care of this beautiful place.

Lots of fun activities for the kids to enjoy! Each section is just big enough for the parents to watch and sometimes join in with the little ones. Both my toddlers, 3.5 and 1.5 years old had a great time!

The museum is a pay as you will meaning they accept donations only. Whatever you can pay which is a wonderful concept and means any kid can play.It isnt as big as other locations I have seen but they do have far more that the kids can play with. My son spent the entire time in the water section while my daughter was all over everything else.They had staff throughout keeping an eye on kids and clearing up the water to keep it as safe as possible. There was an arts area where kids could color, paint, or draw. Plenty for kids to climb on and far cleaner than I expected. A great time.

Best place to just play and explore. We could quite literally go every day and always have something new to do. Just a wonderful invitation for imagination and play!

Small but full of fun for the kids! Its a pay as you can kids museum thats totally worth a donation. My two littles had a blast exploring and learning!

Pay what you want is awesome! Fun time with all the kids.

This place is amazing I take my daughter here usually once a month. The amount of hands on and interactive things for kids to do is great. Perfect rainy day place to let them run around and be kids

Small but still lots to do for the kids. As a family we take the kids at least once a month and have fun every time. If its a no school day, summer break, or a weekend it can be very busy.

Great place for kids, especially on a rainy day. Tons of room to play plus guided art projects for when they mellow out. Additionally, its cheap. They recommend a $5 or $10 donation (they take cards) but if you cant swing that, nobody will judge.

Great kids museum for littles 2-7. So much to do and explore. It would be easy to come back multiple times a week.

The museum is great. Lots of great areas to play for kids and a perfect place to go on a rainy day. Many different activities including an amazing water section inside. We stayed for 2 hours and didnt get boredThe only negatives are it can be hard to park outside and it can get very crowded. Definitely the best place to take young kids on a rainy day in Tacoma

Really awesome place ran off donations!! My kids were a bit old at 10 and 12, but for younger kids it is incredible. Wish I would have had access to this when they were younger.

They have some fun things for kids to do. Pretty basic but still fun and engaging.

Great place to host my sons 1st bday. The play area is amazing and the area for dining is a good size. I recommend it. The price was also great. The staff was very helpful and polite.

Fun for sure she loved it! Getting her into her car seat was a nightmare! Please donate to keep up the place nice for all!

This is basically a giant creative playground with arts and crafts and really cool play units with tons of kids to all have a good time together - I would be careful taking your kid here only because they wont want to leave while theyre thereI will definitely be coming back with my little one

Plenty of activities for your younger kids. Donation based entry is a huge plus. Good weekend activities for bad weather days.

Loved this place! Not really a museum.. more like a hands on activity center.. great for kids under 5.

Great for younger children. Can get busy at times. We had an issue with older children running down our 2 year old grandson. He had fun though.

A great environment filled with fun from Wall to wall.

There are so many fun things to do there. Lots to climb. Theres an art room, a water area, and a room for tools so your little one can hammer, screw, and cut different materials. And the best party is that theres no set admission fee, they simply ask for a donation. Its awesome. Definitely going back.

Absolutely love this place! My daughter is two and this is one of her favorite places to go. She loved the water area and the painting and crafts area. She also loves to play on the many play structures. There is always something fun to do and they do a great job of keeping things orderly and clean. Its pay as you will (donation). Parking can be scarce and its metered, but we usually find a spot on the street. Highly recommend this place.

Totally awesome. They have no admission fee, but you can always give (or charge) a donation. Separate areas - for example, a workshop with real tools and fasteners, plenty of material to be creative with. A water area, when the kids can build dams. A spaceship. A big spaceship that could hold 50 kids or more. All sorts of controls. A pneumatic area. Put a rag in a pipe, and it will come flying out...somewhere. You have to drag your kids out of this one. I would volunteer here if I lived closer. Clean rest rooms. Place to stash strollers and backpacks.

Great place for my son to come and meet new friends and get his energy out.

Small but packed with a load of things to keep kids interested and engaged! The kids always have a wonderful time there. The museum is donation based so there is no entry fee, so donate what you can.

Always a great experience. Everyone is very helpful and the displays are fun for young kids especially! My kids are a huge fan of the water play area!

Great place for kiddies 10 and under! Its a wonderful service the city of Tacoma puts out to the public!

Very fun lots of different things. Nice size for kids to run around almost without worry.

Entry is pay as you go.There are some basic exhibits and play areas for the kids. It is small though and gets crowded on the weekend.By far the best part were the pneumatic tubes towards the back of the museum.I would suggest going to the one in Bellevue or Seattle if possible. Worth the extra distance and money.

Great place for kids from toddler to about 10. Older kids may like the art room and the building room. It gets a bit noisy but no more than a indoor playground. Exciting exploration areas.

Great fun for big kids and little kids. Indoors. We attended a birthday party hosted there. Awesome!

It was super busy and packed when we came but it must have just been a busy day. The kids loved it and we had fun watching/chasing them around.

Hands down our favorite Childrens Museum in the country

This place is fun!! Great activity center for most ages up to young adult. My grandson had a blast, as we were there for a bday party, and it was clean and well supervised as well.

Great place to bring your kids toddlers or babies. They have a lot to do to keep the young ones occupied. I would recommend this pace to everyone.

Charming, open, naturally lit space providing multiple ways for children to explore, create, think and play. Includes quiet spaces, inventive climbing/physical play areas, water play, art, construction and physics.

My 2 year old loves this place, perfect for those rainy days when you cant take them to the park

Totally awesome. They have no admission fee, but you can always give (or charge) a donation. Separate areas - for example, a workshop with real tools and fasteners, plenty of material to be creative with. A water area, when the kids can build dams. A spaceship. A big spaceship that could hold 50 kids or more. All sorts of controls. A pneumatic area. Put a rag in a pipe, and it will come flying out...somewhere. You have to drag your kids out of this one. I would volunteer here if I lived closer. Clean rest rooms. Place to stash strollers and backpacks.

It was fun. I recommend it.

Went for our deaf child and she just loved the place, loved the water even more. Great place to take the little ones would definitely bring her back

Really fun place to take your little ones they have everything from dress up to painting and building and crafts to take home

My kids love it there, always crowded buuut its cause its a fun place for the kids to hang out

Wonderful place for people of all ages. I would say that the exhibits are best suited for ages 2-10. The staff is so helpful and knowledgeable. There is a fun tree house playground, water table area, painting and drawing area, building area, slides, fun vacuumed wall contraption and more. My niece loved it and we will be returning.

Art, tools, water and so much more...this place never dissapoints!!

Nice place especially since they have pay as you will. Only one floor you can use and the outdoor area you see from the road is only for the preschool they have there. Smallest children’s museum we have been to. Keep kids busy for 2 hours. They have art area, water area, play/ build area

Awesome little place for the kiddos to learn a thing or two, burn some energy, and do some arts and crafts. People that work there are nice and friendly. Definitely one of my favorite spots to visit when the kids want to play.

My kids love coming here, only downside is its hard to find parking.

We love the museum! They work with you on tight budgets for birthday celebrations and are so accommodating. We genuinely appreciate the heart of the museum and that each employee has a heart for the kids in the community. Donation based entrance fees have helped us go when we had no money more than once. Thank you TCM for being so amazing!!

The place is free so thats a plus but unlike the one in Olympia its easy for anyone to come in regardless if they are with a hold of not. Also I had an issue with how crowded it was their was nowhere for my little guy to play without almost being ran over. I would say dont take a child under two to this one and be mindful of the security issue it is an incident just waiting to happen

Been taking our kids here for 9 yrs great place for kids to just be kids.

Great place to take the kiddo. Its inside, and has plenty to do to keep her occupied for a couple hours. They have crafts, play areas, and creative sections for kids to have a blast.It can be crowded, just make sure you consider what day you go.One time we went and it was empty, the next it was crowded.Overall this is a place we will take her as long as we can.

A better description would be indoor play place. Its free and there are fun things to do but it isnt my idea of a museum.

A wonderful place for kids and family,especially the pay as you will for those who income is a little tight!

My daughter had her 5th bday party here. Had a blast!

Busy place but very family friendly and appropriate for a wide range of young children.

Ive been taking my son sense he was about 7 months. One of our favorite places to spend time having fun. With So many activities from water play, to water coloring, blocks, slides, even a little rock wall. I always see Kids of all differant ages enjoying themselves.

Great place to let kids run around and its by donation

The facility was clean considering how busy it was, the staff was very friendly. I truly appreciate the front desks check in questions about first time visitors. She went over the rules and admissions policy. Once inside the play area, the layout was different then expected but my son seemed to have a good time overall. My improvement comment would be that it would be helpful for a staff member to be at each station to help explain the activity and/or fix the activity when/if things get stuck.

Absolutely wonderful experience for myself and grandson

Was the best kept secret for years during fall and winter weekends

Definitely a fun place to take your younger kids. Lots of activities to keep them entertained.

Best place in Tacoma (Pierce co. actually) to take your kids.

Pay what you can afford. Great experience for kids of a variety of ages. Our son asks for this place by name.

I have 4 kids, and they all love the Tacoma childrens museum!! It can be free, or you can get a membership for extra benefits. The staff actually cares about kids! Also, my littles have never gotten bored there!

1st time there my grandkids had so much fun, will definitely be back.

Awesome space. Pay what you can. Kept up really well. Clean and functioning well. Free lockers. Family restroom. Cafe area. Parking is a little tricky on weekdays. We paid $1/hr down the street. My 2 year old went bonkers for the water tables.

Great for kids 1.5 - 6/7. Nice staff, facilities, new things to play with every time we go.

I love this place and so do my kids. Its always a good time when we go. This is probably the biggest indoor play area Ive ever seen. I really like that its a suggested donation to enter. They wont turn you away if you cant afford to pay.My kids really love the water play area. It reminds me of a gentle stream. Theyve always got a ton of toys to explore how water works and they provide waterproof aprons for the kids to wear so they dont get soaked. We also really like the tubes in the back that have a strong air current. They have scarves out that the kids put in and its so cool to see them get sucked through the tubes super fast.The only downside is the parking lot. Only members can park there. Weve started parking at the freight house squares free park and ride lot and riding the free tram to the museum. My son especially likes the tram. Other than that, youre stuck with trying to find a spot in the street and paying to park.Overall, this is a really awesome place and I highly recommend taking your children to play here.