Review Visit: November 10th, 2012 Where a kid can be a kid and where an adult can also be a kid. If you are wondering, I don't have any explanation why 3 adults visited a museum that is geared towards kids besides that we are all kids at heart and like to have silly fun. With that in mind, Erin, Matt, and I checked out the Children's Discovery Museum. I'm not sure exactly how we ended up wanting to explore the Children's Discovery Museum but I am glad we did. None of us have kids so it was a bit weird that 3 grown adults were walking about this museum and playing with the stuff as if we were kids, but we were never told to not play with the stuff as well. We did avoid the stuff that our adult size might break or render unusable. Overall, I don't have much to say about this place since it's been so long and I can't remember all the activities and interactive things they had. I will say that if you have kid(s), they will love this place. If you have kids and are a kid at heart, you AND your kid(s) will have a blast here. read more

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Adorable little shopping location for the kiddos! The staff help me pick out a gift for the kid I am babysitting. Shoutout to employees for going above and beyond! read more

Childrens Discovery Museum - bluey and bingo - Museums Near Me - Normal, Illinois

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My daughter LOVES it here. It's most definitely worth the drive and fun in the summer time to stay cool! read more

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My kids loved it there and I was happy to see them having so much fun and playing together

It's a very nice museum but I feel there should be a senior discount. our granddaughter and great grandson are visiting from Ohio so we brought them here. Basically we are just sitting here while he plays. $40 for one child to play, his mom to take him from place to place and us to tag along. read more

So much to do! We were only limited because our toddler was having so much fun that he needed an early nap. Three floors of fun interactive learning with a large water table, an outside area, and a dining space for snack time. Fun for parents too! read more

Wow ! Such a wonderful Experience! Kept my 2 year old grand daughter busy for hours / she wore me out! Such amazing staff. Very Attentive to the children there - and helpful when needed. Polite and so kind . A must to do for children any day of the week and as frequently as possible ! read more

Landmark review We journeyed from Champaign to this children's Museum and was surprised how much it was like the Chicago's children Museum. It is a bit smaller however it spans multiple levels. The children Museum is really like a large playground for kids from the area with the waterworks where they can play with little boats to the make-believe grocery store or even the kitchen. There's play areas for toddlers to you can the older kids. Since it's not too busy like Chicago you don't have to worry about your kid being run over. For the price of seven dollars for any kids or adults over the age of two it's a rather good steal. You can pretty much occupy your entire day except when your little one needs to nap. Hidden deals: Free admission if you are a annual member of the children museum network including Orpheum in Champaign read more

Childrens Discovery Museum - The make believe oven - Museums Near Me - Normal, Illinois

Visited half a dozen Children's museums throughout the Midwest. Meanwhile similar in construct, each offering something unique. Our favorite is always the art studio. This spot is great for toddler to 10 yrs. My kiddo also took a STEAM class here which was hands-down one of the best summer camp experiences. Lots of educational activities in an engaging manner where she was able to learn while having fun. Kudos to the great teachers for creating such a wonderful experience! read more

Had a great time more so for children 6 and under. Would go back again and just bring my toddler

We were gifted tickets by a friend and have been back twice since!! I have four kids ages 2 to 8 and each of my kids have found things to love. The main level has a health center (play doctor, nursery, heart health, etc), train and car table (build tracks & play), a toddler area, water table, pizza parlor/grocery area, etc. the second level has air tubes that kids can put scarves and lightweight items in to blow through the tubes, it also has a climbing area, 4-H area, imagination area etc. The third level has an art area, painting room, theater room and music area. My kids love the theater area where kids can dress up and put on a play. Usually one of my kids plays with the lighting, another kid will take tickets and the others will dress up. This place is not huge and can easily get crowded. My kids don't seem to mind too much but if your kiddo has a hard time sharing, maybe go on a day where crowds aren't an issue. I would give an extra star but I feel like places like these should come up with a way to track your kids. I've never lost one of mine but it's a constant fear of mine. The guy at the front said there's really only one way in or out but I saw several exits along the way. It would be pretty easy for someone to walk by the front with someone else's kid. read more

Atmosphere for the children was without a huge hit. Room reserved for three year old grand daughter birthday party. The parking that was included with the over exorbitant price was not available. Two extra children, unable to start at scheduled time because of the parking situation, and more money was demanded. The manager on duty was customer focused and did an outstanding job of taking care of the group. The employee that this review revolves around was rude, pushy, disrespectful, less than presentable in appearance and did her best to speed up the vacating of the room after her supervisor alleviated the situation. read more

We are visiting family in town so decided to get out of the house and let the kids play for a bit at this museum, it's a nice size for younger ones, they have pretty much everything a large children's museum would have but in a smaller scale which is nice for the smaller kids and toddlers. Nice place to spend a couple of hours indoors specially for a rainy or cold day. The admission is very reasonable to, $7 per person for two and up, and if you have a membership at other museums you might be eligible to get a 50% discount. Depends on the membership, we have one for the please touch Museum in Philadelphia and it worked here. read more

It's nice to have this type of museum in our town as a place to take kids. They have many wonderful displays for kids to actively participate and learn. With three floors, the first floor has a large water table, a grocery shopping area, a medical area, and an area for rotating displays. The second floor has a large area focused on recycling, an area focused on wind energy, and about half of the floor has a tractor and cow miking station to learn about agriculture. The top floor is dedicated to the arts, with an area to paint, musical performance displays, and a small theater. When we've taken our kids (3 and 6), it usually takes us about 1.5 - 2.5 hours to make it through the entire thing (depending upon how interested they are in certain displays that day). You could probably make it through in as little as 45 minutes or take as long as 3 hours. The current cost is $6/person for anyone 2 and up, so a family of 4 will cost $24. It can get a little crowded on Saturday mornings, and my advice is to go immediately to the elevator and start on the 3rd floor and work your way down on days like that. read more

I just popped in while walking around uptown. You do have to pay to go into the museum which isn't much of a museum. It is a big room that is separated into sections and each sections has something different to offer. The store has so many fun toys for all ages of kids. The prices were really reasonable as well. I am glad I stopped in its a great place to pick up presents for all of my nieces and nephews. read more

Fun for kids of all ages! From babies to adults, you're bound to find some educational fun. Very clear and well-kept. Staff is incredibly friendly. Ethan is the best! Some places to climb for kids under 5. Big water table-like feature, new wind power education feature, play grocery store, dress up and theater, an area where you can paint on windows, lots of agricultural education, an arts and crafts area with all the supplies you could ask for, and so much more! Highly recommend! read more

This place is wonderful and adventurous! I use to have my visits with my daughter here and it's been a place of fun and uniting! It's an inviting place from all area of life! This place not all has fun things for kids to do but they also learn from all subjects of life! It amazes me how this place is! It is colorful, fun, learning, amazing, creative, and most of all caring for the children! Everyone is so kind and generous! They come to your aid or need in all aspects of any area of each floor! My daughter is almost 5 and I believe this place taught my child to love music, art, science, books, and people of all kinds in the museum! It matters! It really does! We never had this when I was a kid! To come up with ideas like this amazes me! I'm originally from Monroe Louisiana and I've never seen anything like this place for kids! Whoever came up with this concept of learning for kids I appreciate your adventurous creative spirit for all younger generations! I hope they go viral! Thanks for letting me know of this great museum for kids! read more

Really a gem within Uptown Normal, the CDM is a great attribute for central Illinois. Three floors of activities and educational, the CDM is great for kids ages 1 year and older. From the water table to the farming exhibit to the painting wall, there's so much to do. Great staff and wonderful voulenteers make this a great resource. The only thing to be mindful of is it can get particularly busy on some weekdays with school groups. read more

It's awesome having a museum like this for the kids in town. It's the perfect place to go for a couple hours for the kids to learn, play, explore, and burn off energy. Especially great when it is cold, raining, or snowing outside. read more

We take the kids here at least twice a week. They are 2 and 3 years of age and haven't tired from going here. They love playing in the sand (summer exhibit) and enjoy all the other play areas. We also bought the extended pass that allows entry to other museums and have used that for out of town museums. What a great extension of the pass to offer. read more

This is an awesome children's museum, and you honestly don't have to be a child to enjoy it! My sister works here, which is cool. Also, many of their events are fantastic, like Potterpalooza a couple of years ago. read more

Cute exhibits, our son loved playing on each level. Colorful and interactive. He picked up a weird virus, though, that turned into a rash that lasted 5 days. There were about 100 day camp kids that we saw leave the museum about an hour before we arrived. Toys were still scattered everywhere when we arrived and we saw only one employee cleaning up. The other two were just sitting at the desk. They need to be better at cleaning up after big groups and wiping/spraying things down. We saw hand sanitizer stations but a few were empty. read more

The CDM is a fabulous place to take children to learn, explore, play and have new experiences. We have a membership and go a couple times a month. My children still love going. The CDM is a wonderful business in our community. read more

This is an excellent children's museum, far superior to the one in Galesburg. It is always clean, and there are three floors of interesting activities. My son (almost three years old) loves the place, most especially the Plan City table and the puppet stage. It's also right next to the Amtrak station, so kids can get a view of trains passing by. Highly recommended. read more

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The Children's Discovery Museum in Normal is really amazing. We've have been regular members since they moved to the new uptown location (6-7 years ago). This is also a great location for birthday parties and special events. They continue to open new exhibits to keep things fresh. My kids never seem to get tired of going there. In fact, my kids have practically grown up there with probably 18-20 visits a year. The season pass is an excellent deal and gets you access to museums all over the country for one price. read more

Great place to take the kids especially the young ones. There really isn't much to do in this town so the discovery museum is a great place to take them for some entertainment. read more

I went with my three sons ages 4, 6, & 8. Stayed for 4 hours and still had much more to see when we left. Excellent agriculture exhibit.

LOVE this place. My two-year old loved it. Went in the early afternoon and it wasn't busy. Seemed clean and well cared for. Tons of stuff! Easily spent two hours here. read more

It's a decent place to bring your children on a rainy day or during the winter. I wish there were a few more staff members to keep things organized. My only issue is the seating area on the second floor for eating. A sign needs to be posted stating that the seating area is for people eating lunch only. We got up there around 11:30 and several of the tables just had people sitting at them while their kids played. They refused to get up and let our children sit down to eat lunch after seeing us holding our lunch boxes. Someone needs to enforce this rule. I would suggest it for children 5 and under, older kids may not have as much fun. Overall it's a fun place for children to let off steam and burn some energy. read more

I thought it is worth taking a toddler to a few times but I would imagine it gets old after awhile. I was also not impressed with the lack of manners from other guests. Be prepared to play dodgeball with the other kids who's parents let them run wild. My toddler was nearly knocked over by kids six times her age several times and the parents just lollygag around. Husband thought it was boring but I think our toddler enjoyed it. It's something different to do a few times a year but not any more than that as it would get very tiresome and old hat after awhile. read more

You really get a lot here for your money. Three floors everything is hands on for the kids. Took my nephews and spent much longer then we expected. Plan ahead and pack a lunch they have a little area to sit and eat your sack lunch. One nephew is 6 and the other 11 at first we worried the 11 year old would not like it. Wrong he totally loved it! Lots for all ages to do! read more

Luckily we got into this museum for free due to our reciprocity with our hometown science center. We expected more. It was too basic for our 6 and 9 year old boys, but would be fun for 2-5 year olds. read more