This is very much based on the amazing time my kids had here. TBH, seeing the very small building and (seemingly) small outdoor space, I was bummed at first having made the 50 minute drive from NOVA BUT 1. We knowingly went on Maryland Days when it was $1/each to enter (so $3) and 2. I tried to get my kids to leave at least twice before we finally left 20 minutes before closing. The true highlight for my kiddos was the old fashion school room/living room. We had fun playing "jacks" and "pick up stix ". My son rocked his guitar skills, my daughter loved playing teacher , and both relished the outdoor truck pit. We spent time making several art pieces, throwing rocks and hiking, and dressing up in many costumes and performing shows. The doctor/dentist room was cute too and we spent a good amount of time there as well with the X-rays. The grocery and home area too was another favorite. We loved observing the animals-particularly Squirtle the turtle. This was a fun day trip rounded off with ice cream (separate review ) and we all agreed we'd like to come back in the future! read more

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Such a cute place with lots of activities and friendly staff . We took our 6 year old grandson and he really enjoyed seeing the turtles, snakes and frogs, up close. He also enjoyed the music room and hiking trails. The trails go along the water, so more wildlife is seen and heard. It was a nice outing and reasonably priced. Gave 4 stars because the bathrooms could be cleaner and the place is in need of some updates. Otherwise I really like the charm of it being in the old radio station building and the old antenna outside is pretty cool. read more

This place was awesome and my children love it! Would definitely go back again. Highly recommended for families.

Lots of interesting outdoor spaces and things for young children to do. You're only young once. Come out on October 29th at 11 am and enjoy the Ebony Hillbillies, a petting zoo and lots of fall fun. read more

Chesapeake Childrens Museum - Museums Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

My kids love this place! It keeps them busy for hours. They love the kitchen area and the craft area, but end up playing all over. We have a seasonal pass but will probably get a yearly pass when it expires because we have been going every weekend! read more

Special place where kids and grownups play and learn! Hands on learn touch play environment! Dear to my heart Chesapeake Children's museum has been a wonderful place for active hands on learning fun for over 27 years! Girl Scouts programs to special events or birthday parties! A wonderful place for children to play and learn! ‍ read more

Interesting place indeed. Upon entering my daughter was excited to play on the tug boat that was the first object you see. She really enjoyed playing with the stuffed animals and got super excited about the seahorses. She said that was her favorite part of the visit. The place had live turtles, bearded dragon, seahorses, and a tiny lobster. I must admit their habitats seemed like they could use a cleaning and some food. Just my impression. Each room has a theme and their was an arts and crafts area. The lady working was kind. For an area that's solely run on donations, I can understand how the toys are out of date and run down. For it being in Annapolis, you would think some of their surrounding neighbors could afford to help this nonprofit out. The community could really come together and make a really great spot for children to go. Just my 2 cents. The only downside of our experience was their was a group there that was possibly volunteering. One of the gals sat in the chair the whole time guarding all of the plastic fruit and vegetables in a shopping cart. Whenever the children went their to go and play with the fruit, she would take it back or directly out of their hands. This gal was not a child. The aid or mentor wasn't around to correct her. Additionally, three other older volunteers or helpers with the aid joined the room where they took over and started wiping down all the stuff. It was weird given there was other children playing in that room, so we moved on to another room. Overall, my daughter had fun and really that's all that really mattered. read more

Okay I feel a little bad giving this place such a bad review. I know that they are volunteer run and their heart is probably in the right place. However, I have never wanted to leave a place so badly as I wanted to leave here. It is located in an old house and it appears that most of what they have is donated. There are various areas upstairs and live creatures to look at. There is a music area downstairs but you have to walk through the employee lounge to get to it. The creepiest part of this place was the giant puppet in the "doctor" room. This thing was easily 6 feet tall, had a huuuuuuge head and it's intestines were coming out of its stomach. This is where I am kicking myself for not having a better phone. You have to see this thing to believe it. Needless to say my daughter was having none of that. read more

Wish I had read the reviews before making a trip out here. They have a lot of nerve charging to get in this museum. And by museum, they must mean dirty, run down double wide filled with toys fished out of a dumpster. I guess the couple of dirty tanks with fish and turtles are what makes it a museum? I'm confused. Or is it the old dental chair? What a waste of time and money. read more

I couldn't agree more with Misty K's review. The place is quaint to put it politely, but my two little girls ages 2&3 LOVED IT! I went ahead and bought a summer membership ($25 for the entire family) because it's a great place to get the kids out of the house on a rainy day. I could let my children go from room to room without worry of losing them. My husband travels a lot and I often don't take the kids out by myself unless I know it's a safe place. If you are a germaphobe this place will freak you out....if you are all about a small place with snakes, turtles, lizards, fish and toys older than you, then you'll like it. I would definitely call it a play house, not a museum. Wish the state or a wealthy owner would put some money into the place. The concept is great. read more

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Place is very run down. We bought a Groupon so it came out to be a fair price. Kind of unorganized the front desk just has stuff everywhere. I feel like they need a good cleaning and perhaps they would be a decent place. The music area downstairs is just sad. Nothing other then the piano works. My kids enjoyed playing in the doctor office area the most. Will definitely not come back but glad I got my kids occupied and excited for the time being. I would say it's worth maybe 1 visit. Bathroom smells and has mold on the ceiling they should probably get fixed asap. read more

Today, we were looking for new activity for our young son and heard about the Chesapeake Children's Museum and made the hour long drive from DC to Annapolis to explore. After reading the other reviews, I do have to agree with most of the comments, EXCEPT my son loved his experience there. Maybe is was the timing, but we found the most delightful young children and their parents playing in the various rooms. Each seemed like regulars (season pass holders) and in my opinion there was plenty to keep young children occupied and engaged. One might suggest renaming Chesapeake Children's Museum the Chesapeake Children's Corner/Place/Zone as it may accurately describe the atmosphere better. Overall, the $4 admission fee is not bad considering they need money to keep it running. Some more volunteers and a little cleaning/organizing would make this place a little diamond in the rough. We would probably return again sometime. read more

It's not really a museum per say -- but it's a playspace, which at 5 dollars per person ((or even less if you take advantage of one of their donation offers detailed on their website)) -- is a pretty lovely way to spend an hour or two for a little kid. Yes -- it could be in better shape, in terms of newer stuff and slightly cleaner cages for animals -- but it's 5 dollars! Put aside your snobbery...and just enjoy read more

Girl Scout troop 4833 had a BLAST! The guides are very into what they do with the girls. Lots if experience with children and the Girl Scout program. Everything is hands on. Thank you for such a memorable experience. We will be back! read more

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I wanted to love it, but it was kinda nasty. The museum is sort of like going to a creepy Grandma's house in the country. I was scared for my kids to play with the dirty baby dolls and salmonella covered turtle area. The volunteer at the front desk told us within the first 5 minutes that my three year old daughter should use her inside voice. I would skip this museum. Annapolis could do much better. read more

I won't really call this place a museum. It's an old converted house set back in a residential neighborhood. It's very dirty! The toys which seem to be hand-me-downs are sticky and broken. There were some turtles, a rabbit and lots of snakes. The doctors room was quite scary. The downstairs was a hodge podge of musical instruments, a table and a futon. What in the world do they need a futon for??? Very strange place. My nose and eyes itched for the entire time I was there. I washed my daughter's hands before we left and put hand sanitizer on it. She now has a cold 2 days later. Very gross! read more

This place is pathetic. I've been in a lot of museums and this is little more than a dirty uncle's living room and kitchen. A boa constrictor locked behind a padlocked glass. Some crappy toys thrown in a corner. A fish tank with cloudy water. I wish I had donated my 6 bucks to a demolition company to tear this place down. read more

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Every year Smithsonian sponsors Museum Day and unfortunately this year the choices for kid's museums was sparse, that'a how we ended up here. The Building (I refuse to call it a museum it's more of a dirty old trailer with some kids toys and a couple reptiles) is near a residential area and off of the parking area is a pathway that leads to an athletic field. When we first arrived and got a look of the outside of the place we knew we had made a terrible mistake, it is very run down and there was a pair of used sterile gloves on the porch railing (leading me to believe perhaps we should have worn haz mat suits). The group of us included my husband, sister, best friend and her fiance and her 3 kids - Sadie 9, Jordyn 7 and JT 5. We finally just decided to suck it up and go in, well myself and my sister took the kids in, my best friend walked out moments after entering, and we were greeted with the overwhelming smell of Chinese and Chicken Wings - the women at the front desk had plates overflowing with both and in a room we were told was a dress up room there was a table with food all over it and the children of the employees running around eating and touching everything getting it all greasy from the wings. We carefully walked thru each room, getting more disgusted by the minute but the kids wanted to play with the toys and look at the turtles so we sat for a moment and as I looked around everything was clearly old and broken and had not been taken very well care of. The animal's cages were disgusting, the paint was peeling off the walls, the screens were ripped from their frames, the carpet was stained and disgusting and the basement "music room" was in the middle of the employee kitchen that was filled with an assortment of expired canned goods and other foods and an overall health threat. I don't know how anyone could be comfortable allowing their kids to play with anything in the building plus there was no supervision in any of the rooms other than the parents present. Our total visit lasted less than 15 minutes and upon leaving I immediately slathered anti-bacterial lotion all over myself, sister and each of the kids. The outdoor play area is another accident waiting to happen. The Little Tikes style playsets weren't put together properly, there is a folded up ping pong table in what I assume at one time was little stools made to look like mushrooms that now teeter back and forth. The path takes you down to a stream that was heavily polluted and a large sign welcomed us letting us know to avoid contact with the water after the rain because of the high levels of bacteria. I simply cannot understand how the Health Department hasn't shut this place down, I was appalled and embarrassed for not doing better research on the place before planning our visit. The only reason this place has 1 star is because there is no option to leave 0, at best this place seems to me like a haphazard dump off for kids in the area. You really would have thought that knowing they were a part of the Smithsonian's Museum Day that they would want to do what they could to give a good impression but the staff clearly doesn't care and nor does whoever runs the place. read more

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Calling this a house is giving it too much credit. This is in a prefabricated trailer home, and it's been "converted" into a museum. All the other reviews are spot on about the upkeep of the building, interior carpet is stained brown-green. There's a nice walking trail outside, though. We stayed in the "museum" (more like a disorganized hoard) for 10 minutes tops and had a much better time walking outside. read more

I took my two girls here when I was off a week for Spring Break. This place was DISGUSTING. Working at a private preschool in Severna Park I had always heard about this place and how amazing it was. In fact a few of my co-workers even volunteered here for Continuing Education credits. Never did anyone tell me how gross this place was. We get there and the "museum" is nothing more than a run down trailer with peeling paint and some old dirty looking outdoor toys scattered around. I wasn't sure I wanted to go in but my girls were so excited so we went anyway. What really made me mad was that the admission to the place was $5.00 for each person regardless of age. I don't believe parents should have to pay an entrance fee seeing as how they are not even playing. The animal tanks were so gross, green on the inside from not being clean and half of them were empty. Down stairs in the basement was the "music" room. Meaning a few old and I mean old plastic kids instruments surrounded by storage space. There were so many books and papers and boxes lying round I felt like we were in the storage closet instead of an exhibit. In every exhibit there were dirty and broken toys. I am by no means obsessed with germs, however I was having a hard time watching my girls playing with these Disgusting toys. The dress up room had tons and tons of ripped, stained and gross pieces of used (mostly adult sized) clothing. No actual costumes, just items that looked like they had been picked up from the thrift store. The toys were just so old and outdated and many of them were broken or missing pieces. The owner of the place was so rude and would yell at the children if they were getting too loud. Had I wanted my children to play with toys in a house I would have just stayed home and saved $15 bucks. Do NOT bother wasting your money here. read more

Quite possibly the dirtiest museum I have ever been too. The fish tanks and animal cages were dirty. There was a sign that advised us to wash and sanitize our hands after touching the turtles, that could apply to the whole place. It was just a sad place. read more

Parents: you'll probably hate this place! Your children (younger than five) will probably love it! :/ You'll have that same feeling you get when your child plays with the toys in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office. Although, the toys in the pediatrician's office are cleaner. Whoever runs this place is more than likely a hoarder. There is so much stuff there, and it is all over the place. Maybe they understand child psychology?! Again, your kids will probably love it and want to play with everything, and you'll be hoping you brought hand sanitizer and maybe a bottle of RID. I really can't say if this place is awesome or atrocious. It did make my son happy for a few hours and maybe his immunity is better for it? read more

I was a volunteer in the beginnings of this wonderful interactive space for little kids and their parents. The museum has grown so much. There is everything that a young child would want to promote their imaginations, both inside and out. Animals, games,books (even an outside book box for "take one then return it"). There are safe playgrounds and a wonderful grassy meadow.If you have little ones they probably could stay all day. read more

My kids love this place. No, it is not big and yes most of the toys are donated but that doesn't make my sons enjoyment any less. They did recently (in the past few months) redo a large section of the main floor due to a leak in the roof. They always have a ton of art supplies and are constantly cleaning. read more

Dirty, old and broken toys, a door in back was cracked open so kids could exit easy. We went once and that was enough.

Due to the mixed reviews I figured I would bring my 11 month old son on free museum day. I expected since it was free museum day the place would be packed. Negative. Only two other kids were there and they were around 6 Years old. As we walked in you are hit with the terrible stench that resembles a pet store. They have reptile and turtle tanks all over the "museum" and they reek! we were there a total of 30 minutes just because I didn't want to be rude and run out of there but I wanted to the entire time! Everything is filthy, old and dirty. My son is a beginner when it comes to walking so he wanted to crawl so i let him and noticed his hands full of crap from the floor!!!! I picked him up and ran to the bathroom to wash his hands. Even the bathroom was disgusting! Smelly and dirty. How this is still open for business boggles my mind. I would never go back nor recommend anyone take their child there. This place needs to be closed down. read more

My husband and I took our 20mth old son here during the week. First, we drove up from Waldorf, MD to visit this museum, almost a 45min drive. We should have kept driving. We used our GPS navigator to get here, and once we reached here, I was sure that my GPS had done it again...gotten us lost. However, to our chagrin we were not lost. The museum is set at the end of a residential street, and itself is a old house. There was a $4 charge for each person. While that is very minimal, it's actually $3.00 too much for each person. The staff is VERY friendly which was probably the best part of the experience. I am not entirely sure why this place is actually considered a museum. Inside the "house" is various stations filled with used/donated toys and live animals (rabbits, snakes, turtles). My son played with a train set the entire time and was not really interested in the other parts of the "house". My husband and I did venture through the other parts of the "house". In one room there were some old typewriters/computers and it also doubled as the doctor's office with some medical instruments. All in all, as we were leaving, it dawned on us that we had driven 45mins to a place for our son to play with a train set. That was not the intention. read more

Some bad reviews here but my 6 years old son loves this place! He is very much into pretend play and this kid's place has plenty of opportunities for that, they have several rooms with fun stuff for various activities: the dentist/doctor room, the grocery room, the costumes room.... We love the animals as well. If you're snooty, you won't like it but if you put yourself into a child's shoes you will love it. read more

This was an interesting visit, more the ambiance than anything exciting. Misty K. had the same thoughts I am having now. My two boys, 5 and 3, are having a blast but I keep feeling like I'm going to have to take them to a real physician after playing here. Someone definitely has a passion and I applaud their drive to make this a positive place. If it is ever going to float and be successful, e.g. not making visitors feel like they are going to catch something after a day of play, then they really need to invest some money for a maleover. The entry room appears to be new, they need to shut down for a few months and redo everything else. The downstairs had mold and exposed studs, not a safe area for children, no matter if the intentions are good. Again, with kid eyes, this place is a great hodge podge, but in reality it needs some major improvements before I would recommend anyone paying four dollars to get in. Hard honest truth, I hope my children's immune system is tough because the more I look around while writing this review the more I regret spending 2 hours here. And if you're going to have animals, please take better care of them. The tanks need major attention and the snake cage needs cleaned! I owned a boa, python, and iguana, 6ft, 8ft, 3ft, respectively, and there are all kinds of illnesses they can acquire from improper cleaning. I wish the lady the best of luck and applaud her dedication but she may need a bit of reality to make this what her dream truly is. read more

I'm very happy that we as a family chose to ignore the negative reviews here. We had a wonderful time at this museum for 3 hours with a 7, 4, and 2 year old. The museum is an old house converted for the benefit of a younger audience. Everything is reachable and on their level. It's very Montessori-esque in this way (plus there's a lot of wood). Also, each room is dedicated to a theme: grocery and food, dress up, arts and crafts, boat and marine pet area, building and truck area, and a doctor's office room. Great for imaginary play, I'd describe this museum as quaint, or charming. It's like going to your great-grandma's house who has a lot of toys from all of her progeny...that may be old-fashioned but still have a lot of play left in them. The wear and tear=love. And I didn't see a lot of tears either. I particularly liked the typewriters and old touch phones in the doctor's room--it's nice for kids to be exposed to those in this fast-paced technological world. The only thing lacking was that there was no specified eating area, which would really be nice, and the doctor's office could use a makeover. All in all, the customer service is great as well as the cheap rate, the bathrooms are CLEAN with diaper-changing areas and stools, and there's a lot for children who haven't hit puberty to do. It's also wheelchair accessible with ramps. There was a girl playing there today in a wheelchair. We look forward to coming back, and we didn't even see the whole museum during those 3 hours, including the outdoor play part. My 4 year old exclaimed that this was the best day ever, and I couldn't agree more. This museum is for the down-to-earth who just want to let their children run around and have a good time playing with your supervision in the room. It might be of note that I used to work for the Capital Children's Museum and National Children's Museum in the D.C. Area, and have been to quite a few children's museums around the nation. So coming from those more upscale museums, I felt completely comfortable and cozy at the Chesapeake Children's Museum. I got my own play time in crocheting while the children did their thing. read more

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Not a museum it's a dirty trailer converted to kids play area. Everything was dirty. NOT a MUSEUM. These people should at least be honest and take museum designation off. read more

I wouldn't call it a museum necessarily, but more like a very large play room. There are tons of toys, a few reptiles, art area and grocery area to explore and our two year old loves it. It's shabby and could use some renovations, but it's run totally on donations and volunteers and I'd say they are doing a great job. read more

We stumbled across this place as we were driving through Annapolis. It was very dirty. That being said, my 20MO loved it.

I only gave this place 1 star because I could not give it zero. Filthy place with so much junk. The place seems like it has not been cleaned for over a century. Do not go!!! You will be extremely disappointed!! The staff is clueless and rude! read more

My 6 year old has grown up going to the museum and absolutely loves it. Yes, it's not a pristine building, and the toys are donated, but kids love it because they can just play. The volunteers are always so helpful and kind. CCM also hosts some fabulous events in the Annapolis area. A great little neighborhood gem! read more

If I could give this place Zero stars I would. It was poorly run, we were there for a Daisy Day event. The director was rude and left in the middle of the program. The Trash Art was discussing, the toilet paper rolls still had toilet paper on them. There was no direction what so ever. Parking is non existent. I could not leave there fast enough. ZERO STARS for the building, ZERO STARS for the director. read more

This children's museum is not like others you may have visited. They don't have fancy exhibits and yes, most of what they have is donated. They also don't have the $15 and up per person price tag that those kinds of kids museums have. It's all about hands on play and is definitely geared to the younger kids. We have been a few times and both my almost 2 and almost 4 year olds love going. It's like going over to a friends house who has many more toys then they do and allowing them to explore by themselves. It's always hard to get my kids to leave. read more

We love the children's museum, the kids always have a blast and all the people who work there are friendly and kind to the children! It is awesome! Our boy likes the huge boat, he spends hours on it. The girls love the animals and the dress up room!!!:-) keep on doing what you doing children's museum team, you rock!!! read more

This place is not toddler friendly at all! They have a stairway that is not gated off and it is very dirty. Many of their toys were broken and there is not much to "explore" after the first 10min. On top of this we were treated VERY unkindly by the woman at the front desk. Although it is a very reasonable price do not waste the money or your trip. read more

I'm surprised by the bad reviews of this place. I will say that the name doesn't totally fit-- it's really more like a kids play place and my 21 month old & 3 year old friend LOVED it. It's not fancy by any stretch of the imagination-- it's a sort of mom & pop shop play place-- definitely old school, a sort of patchwork of toys, games, etc. (I think that's what makes it charming! I like that they've made something cool and engaging out of very little.) There are a few animals to look at but the main draws in my opinion are the play areas (arts and crafts, a mock grocery store setup, a kitchen play area, a main room with tons of toys (blocks, trains, a dock and a boat to climb on) and a whole room full of dress up costumes and clothes. There's a play doctor's office that's probably better for kids who are a little older (maybe 3 or 4+). We didn't make it downstairs because we were having so much fun upstairs there wasn't time. If you're looking for a museum, this probably isn't the place for you. If you want a place where your kid can freely play and explore without pressure and you can relax a bit, I say it's worth it! A lovely woman working there even sang a song to my daughter just because. She loved it. So did I! We'll be back! read more