Pros:
1. The Food Situation- this is pretty huge in my book. The museum has a smallish cafeteria area with a well-stocked selection of pretty healthy food choices. No saturated-fat injections found here. Another plus, the prices are pretty reasonable. My favorite part is that you are more that welcome to bring your own food and sit at the tables.
2. The Art Center- this place allows you to be that super-cool, laid-back parent who lets her kid finger paint without having to take a tranquilizer first. Smocks are supplied, there's a nice wash-up area close to the easels, and there's a clothesline to hang the artwork on to dry so you don't have to schlep your future Picasso's dripping work around a crowded museum. There are also crayons, glue sticks, markers and scrap pieces of paper for working with multiple mediums. My only moment of near-hyperventilation was when my 4 year-old found the bin full of scissors and nearly cut one of her pigtails off.
3. The Fire Truck- this exhibit was pretty cool. The kids are welcome to climb all over the truck, dress up as firemen and there's even a life-sized Dalmatian to hug on. The other parts of the exhibit teach kids about dialing 911 and creating an emergency escape plan for your own home. Of course, the best part was introducing my little girls to the ancient art of ogling cute Fire Fighters.
Cons:
1. The Assembly Plant- the Maclaren "Digit-Guillotine" Stroller pales in comparison to this den of destruction. Found between the art center and the marketplace, this area is supposed to be for "Kids 4 and up and their Dads". Let's not even talk about the sexist issue there. What is really upsetting is the fact that there is no door, no gate, and no employee making "Dad-checks" to ensure kids aren't left unattended with the drills, saws, wire cutters and vices. Any 2 year-old left to his own devices could do some major bodily damage in no time. Great idea guys.
2. High cost for not a lot of entertainment- The $7.50/person admission fee seemed a little steep considering how small the museum actually is. There are only 8 different exhibits, and some of them are pretty boring or, as mentioned above, death traps. The exhibits themselves are rather cramped, so extended play isn't easy. After an hour and a half of playtime, it was pretty obvious the kids were starting to get bored.
3. Little employee supervision- The museum was rampant today with middle school-aged kids and their non-existent parents. They all congregated at the "Under My Feet and Over My Head" exhibit. This place is shaped like a big tree with little burrow holes where kids can crawl and explore. Now, imagine a bunch of 12 year olds who act like they've been given a high fructose corn syrup IV in the midst of a sea of toddlers with different walking abilities. The poor little rugrats were getting knocked down like bowling pins. There was no authority figure with a name tag to tell these kids to settle down. It was up to the parents performing triage on their own kids to handle the situation. Needless to say, no one was comfortable disciplining someone else's kid. These days, you never know how much jail time it'll get you.
All-in-all, I have to admit my family had fun at the Children's Museum today, but I'm not sure if we'll ever go back. A place like this has to have a lot more to offer to make the drive to Denver and cost of admission worth it. I think the kid's play area at Mr. Biggs is just as entertaining and by far less stressful for parents like me who believe toddlers and saws shouldn't mix. If you want to check it out for yourself, you can go to the website for more info at www.mychildsmuseum.org.
Happy Exploring!
