Where can you, your kids and your grandkids climb, build, bat balls and race cars, all the while keeping out of the summer heat? At a children’s museum, of course. These indoor playlands combine education with fun, focusing on STEM or STEAM-fueled exhibits (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts. and Math). When visiting cities this summer with your family, take a break from the big downtown attractions to explore these four appealing, midsize children’s museums. To maximize the visitor experience and guarantee admission, the museums recommend purchasing advanced timed-entry tickets.
In Washington, D.C., where most of the city’s excellent museums have a look-but-don’t-touch policy when it comes to their exhibits, the National Children’s Museum is a find for its many hands-on opportunities. Let the kids loose to climb and crawl through a three-story web of high-tech netting. They exit—giggling—down a slide. Kids fashion and fly paper airplanes to learn about aerodynamics, press buttons to test reaction times, test their balance by walking across stepping stones, and swing bats at an interactive outfield screen that measures the balls’ distances and speeds.
