The Denver Children’s Museum: All you need to know

The best kid-friendly museum in Denver is by far the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus.

This museum has it all. From dream Art studio to hands on cooking classes, this museum is a hands on, interactive fantasy land for young children. The ideal age is 10 and under. However, my 11 year old had so much fun the last time we visited.

What to do

One thing I really like about this museum is that it has an indoor and an outdoor section. I don’t know about your kids, but my children love to be able to move and challenge their bodies no matter where we are. So I love visiting this children’s museum because I don’t have to worry about them needing a physical outlet. The indoor section has a climbing structure. And outdoors has multiple areas where kids can play and climb. Right outside of the museum, there’s a playground. We always stop and play when we leave the museum just to get some extra play time.

The museum is 46,000+ square feet with 20 amazing exhibits. The museum’s exhibits focus on lots of different activities and interests.

Here are some of the current exhibits at the museum:

• Kinetic where kids can play with plastic balls and watch them move through a complication structure
• Bubbles
• Teaching kitchen with cooking classes
• Fire station
• Vet hospital
• Play Supermarket
• Assembly Plant with hands on projects kids can work on
• Adventure Forest (Outside)

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular exhibit.

The Art Studio

One of our favorite areas in the Art studio. This is the best Art studio I’ve ever seen in a children’s museum. This Art studio has it all.

My kids love the painting section. There’s paint, paint brushes, paper, easels, and even aprons. This section of the museum is free with entry. Kids can even place their artwork on drying racks and grab them on the way home.

They also have these large cars and animals that the kids can paint. They look like they have 100’s of pounds of paint on them, but the kids love adding their special touch.

If you look at the window in the background of the photo above, you’ll also see that there’s a window kids can paint with chalk.

Another free activity in the Art Studio is the clay area. Each child can get and hunk of clay to mold and play with. They can build things over and over again. If they’d like to take it home, there is a small fee based on the weight of the clay you’re taking home.

You can also have your child’s creation fired up. With this option, you have to leave the clay mold at the museum and pick it up in two weeks. This option also comes with another fee.

There are also premade items kids can paint. The fee for this activity is based on the cost of the item your child chooses to paint.

When visiting the Art Studio, I would save at least an hour for this activity. I would also head here in the beginning of your visit so that you can leave any paintings to dry while you explore the rest of the museum. This should give it plenty of time to be nice and dry by the time you head home.

The Teaching Kitchen

This is such a cool room at the museum. They offer cooking classes for kids! The classes are free, but limited by the amount of kids who can participate. If you’re interested in attending a class, sign up when you get to the museum as the classes fill up quickly. The kitchen is on the second floor. The sign up sheet is usually right outside of the classroom on a clip board.

We have attended a cooking class and the kids loved it! They made a pasta dish. The teacher explains everything and demonstrates each step for the kids. They receive child size bowls, knives safe for kids to use, and all of their ingredients.

I love that the recipe is so easy to make and healthy. I also love that my kids did not need or want my help. They were so content to make everything themselves. They both loved the meals they made and were excited that they could prepare a meal! The class lasted about 45 minutes.

The next section my kids are obsessed with is the bubble section. My kids love bubbles! So it only makes sense that we spend at least an hour here every time we go.

So many bubbles

My kids are obsessed with the bubbles section! They love bubbles. So it only makes sense that we spend at least an hour here every time we come.

They do offer goggles and jackets in this section so I would suggest grabbing some if they’re available. This section can get messy and wet.

Just as the name suggest, there are several sections where kids can do hands on experiments and activities with bubbles. They can play with small bubbles and big bubbles. There’s even a section where they can create a bubble wall so they feel enclosed inside of a bubble.

This section is so much fun, you’ll even see adults playing along.

Other Activities

The Assembly Plant always has fun projects kids can create. They provide all of the materials, and kids can take home their creations. This activity is free. My kids have made robots and memory boxes. With my younger kids, I usually have to help them a bit as sometimes the instructions can be very detailed. But overall, this section can be a lot of fun.

Definitely go outside. The Adventure Forest is open during the summer. During the winter, they usually have a snow themed outdoor play space that is a lot of fun.

Details for visiting

Here is the address of the museum:

2121 Children’s Museum Drive
Denver, CO 80211

The Children’s Museum has a parking lot directly in front. It’s a shared lot with the Aquarium. Parking is free. Just tell the attendant that you’re going to the museum.

You can make reservations online. We usually just walk in and have never had an issue getting in, and we typically go on the weekends. However, if you want to be sure you can get tickets, reserve them online.

The tickets cost $15-$17 dollars per person. Children under 1 are free. They also have discounts for military and SNAP/EBT card holders. They offer memberships and are one of the locations on the Denver CityPASS.

When you walk into the entrance, there are restrooms and lockers where you can store your things. The lockers are $0.50, and you have to pay with quarters. We always get lockers for our coats during the winter. During the summer, we don’t typically rent the lockers.

I usually bring snacks and/or a lunch for the kids. They have tables where you can eat. They also have a cage that offers grab and go food.

I would highly recommend the museum for families with young children. We always have an amazing time when we go.

What activity do you think your kids would enjoy the most?