This is a cute unsssuming museum that is probably best suited for children under six years old. There are a variety of themed areas including a bank, grocery store, auto shop, and theater, along with an agriculture themed section. They also have a bus and fire truck to explore, a water area, climbing and building toys, STEM activities, and a play set with slide. A special sectioned area for the toddlers is in the back. While not a large space, this museum is enjoyable and it's a great option for indoor play for little kids. They allow parties in a small room near the front. We've been a couple of times and enjoyed this place. Prices are very reasonable and they offer a military discount. read more

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This place was such a let down. It's nothing like any children museum I've ever been to. It's more like a sophisticated play area and definitely not worth the prices they were charging. We only went here because the main museum was under renovation and didn't want to waste money on a place that was 50% open. But after coming here, we should have gone to the main one. I'm giving 3 stars because my son enjoyed his time there. read more

We have always gone to the Richmond location and it was our first time visiting this one. I didn't have high expectations because it's in a shopping center, which I thought was weird. Boy I was wrong, and I'm happy I was. There was so much to do and the kids had so much fun. The employees are constantly walking around to clean up each section. It's a very open area so you're able to see your kids easily. The water section was closed, which was a bummer. But other than that, it was clean and the kids had a ton of fun. read more

Children's Museum - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Great place. I took all my kids here when they were little and now take my grandkids.

It's just ok. This place is run down and neglected. Very little effort put into this place. Almost every exhibit is broken or out of order... There's hardly any accessories. It's pretty pathetic... Who has a pretend grocery store/restaurant with hardly any food items... Or a fish weigh station with only two squids? Or a couple dirty plastic stethoscopes for a vet clinic, the theater stage has maybe two raggedy dress up items. Also the amount of dirt and dust on the exhibits is horrendous. The gift shop area looks like they have nothing in stock. Like a huge tower that supposed to be full has maybe three dinosaur stuffies. And literally only 1 person is working the entire museum. No wonder why it looks neglected. Come on Richmond do better for the children! This museum is embarrassing. read more

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Very entertaining for children - took my toddler here and they enjoyed it very much. There's a drawing area and a second play area in the back consisting of a jungle gym and water activities. The staff was friendly and consistent picking up the toys - did not see any sanitizing however. Bathrooms were a bit on the messy side 3/5. Would probably come back again. read more

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My toddler loves this place, there's a lot to do and it keeps him busy. The staff is always friendly and helpful. I am not really sure how clean this place is because last time we came here he got a cold a couple of days later. Kids are always getting sick so who knows. read more

Children's Museum - Front - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

The children's museum is a nice place to take your kids so they can burn off a little steam. This location is a little lack luster compared to its sister location in Richmond. There isn't an outdoor play space, splash area, or carousel. However this location does have a fire truck and a bus that the kids loved. read more

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This children's is great! Fairly deceptive upon arriving since it's in a strip mall! But once you get in, it's pretty big! I love that it's all one level. They have an area for toddlers, a little stage with story time, a water play area and all kinds of things to keep littles busy for a few hours! I love taking my kids to these places. They love to explore all the new stuff! read more

Children's Museum - Real fire truck inside to play on! - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Absolutely love going here. It's the perfect place for all ages. My son is 14 months and has a blast but honestly I have a blast too. There are interactive play stations everywhere and theme rooms like a grocery store , vet office, art and coloring room, farming area. A whole fire truck and greyhound bus inside the place to play in! I'm a big kid at heart and I know everyone would have fun here. If you have snap, wic, or veterans you get tickets for $2 entry each person instead of $8. And kids under 12 months are free. Highly recommend. read more

Children's Museum - Foam center - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

I am very pleased with the Children's Museum! We celebrated my son's 2nd birthday! Location: Great location space for children to play, Large parking lot. Very clean space and once inside, spacious areas and meeting/ rooms available to rent for birthday parties. If you are a children's museum member they are discounted pricing. I really enjoyed the detailed process from the moment that an event form was completed online to the follow up and birthday event/ set up day. You are able to bring outside food/ drinks. Ice, plates, utensils and table settings are all included in pricing. My son and his toddler friends enjoyed the variety of play that the children's museum provided such as: water play, arts and crafts, the grocery store and of course how can I forget the huge fire truck. I would highly recommend the children's museum for events as well as everyday play and engaging children with social interactions and sensory play. There are a vast variety of play equipment/toys/areas for infants, toddlers and even a rock climbing wall for older siblings. read more

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It's a very large and creative space. However, the displays were in horrible conditions. The fire engine seat was tattered and not comfortable to sit on. The Lego and pretend food was scattered throughout the location. There were a group of kids that were roughhousing, going full speed with the shopping carts (with some of them sitting inside them) with no regulation from their guardians or staff there. I would not recommend taking your young toddler here. read more

I have always loved the Children's Museum and grew up going to the one in Richmond. The Chesterfield location has always been fine when I've gone. However today, I noticed that every exhibit area had something broken, dirty items, or otherwise unsanitary (such as gum stuck to it). The staff were fine and the manager was very nice. My 2 star review isn't a staff issue but a facility one. The broken items should be replaced and the building needs a good cleaning. I was hyper aware of the dirt, trash debris, etc. probably because my son is 1 and still crawling. The chesterfield location has not been open for that long... I just hope it doesn't go downhill as it is a fun place to take kids in my area. read more

Children's Museum - Dust and dirt - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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fine for what it is. no where near as clean or safe as it should be. there is a massive area of bird poop and feathers right outside and the feathers and poop get tracked inside... and nobody cleans it up... gross. a toddler can at least get a workout here. and the staff is nice. but beware of the general filthiness and several sharp corners, uncovered outlets, crumbling floors and other dangers within. read more

Children's Museum - bird flu central outside the doors... gets tracked inside... - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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My girls aged 7 and 8 really enjoyed the place. Several play areas and a drawing station.

We were visiting family with our girls (2 and 1) and they suggested we come here. I'd say it's a solid 3.5 stars. Our kids loved it, it had a ton for them to burn off some steam and kept the busy for a couple hours. We came around 3 and they close at 5, I was worried, but for our age kids 2 hours was just enough. They have a real fire truck and bus, my girls LOVED this. We spent a lot of time in there. The play grocery store, shops, etc. are all fun. It's fairly open with lots of room to run. I do wish they had more padding in the flooring, a tumble by a toddler there may cause some tears. The back room was kind of odd, it actually scared my 2 year old so we didn't go in, it had a bunch of tubes with balls in it and some like exercise bikes. The slide area was really meant for bigger kids, I wish they had a bigger slide for toddler age. The sandbox was cool because it was little rubber pellets not sand. There's also a little arts and craft area, but luckily we didn't partake in that. They have the typical kid music playing, and when Let it Go came on it was game over and it became a dance party. It's a bit pricey I think, for 3 adults and 2 kids it was $44. I mean, maybe cut the adults a break, not like we are playing we're working. There wasn't a ton of staff around, mostly they just sat behind the counter. We would definitely come back. read more

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Had a really fun time. A lot of activities for the children to learn and express themselves through playing in different centers.

Very disappointing in this place as I used to love to go there so many people brought very sick kids runny noses and coughing everywhere. Very disgusted will not be going back. read more

Didn't feel very clean. Many of the activities we tried to do weren't functioning properly. Wouldn't pay to go here again.

This place has a big open area which is really nice. Unfortunately, there are a lot of exhibits that either have missing parts or don't work. Very disappointing. read more

Very friendly staff and helpful. Our family enjoyed their time while visiting from out of town.

WOW! Went here today with my youngest son.. He had a blast!! The layout was very open and fun. Also, I noticed that almost all of the exhibits were wheelchair accessible. My son and I were overwhelmed with activities. They had an art area, sand box, pretend grocery store and restaurant, a fire truck,a bus, dress up and SO MUCH MORE! My son and I were there for about two hours and we still didn't get to do everything. I REALLY appreciate how much dedication they put into our children's education. The ONLY concern I had was the lack of security for checking in and out. I saw a few unsupervised children and it just makes me a bit nervous knowing that anyone can walk out without being checked. read more

Children's Museum - Lots of things to do!! - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Great play areas! We take my granddaughter to the Children's Museum about six times a month. The staff is always helpful and friendly and they keep on top of ensuring all toys are sanitized on a regular basis. The activities have age appropriate suggestions with each play area so that parents can help children learn through play. The grocery store and restaurant have a wide range of "food" for the children to play with. The garage has a good variety of automobile "equipment" to help with fine motor skills. There are plenty of legos for children to build and run their own race cars down ramps. I highly recommend the Children's Museum to anyone with children or grandchildren!! read more

This is a great space located in Richmond - tons of open areas for kids to explore and play. Each area seems like it's sponsored by a different organization/business, so there is a little bit of marketing/branding going on, but it's not overly obnoxious. For a hot summer day with young children who need to run off some energy, you really can't beat this. We had to pay $9 per adult (which was a little pricey in my opinion) which covered the cost of play for the entire day. I went with an average rating here because a lot of the areas were run down, not particularly clean, and in general, just average. In particular, the rock climbing wall looked like the hand grips had never once been cleaned. Other areas were a little less obvious, but overall, it wasn't the cleanest or most organized indoor play area I've been to. So - pros and cons - if you have small kids, this is a life saver on a hot day, but be prepared to throw your kids in the bath and sanitize them once you get home. read more

My son loves going to the Children's Museum! He enjoys the grocery store... Well the carts... and being able to run about and explore at his own pace. My son is 2 and this is a great place for ages 1-5 but I would think after that age kids would be bored. I wish there were a few more features like the downtown museum. While I totally understand that parents may have children of varying ages, the older kids that run around can make it challenging for toddlers and I've seen several kids get knocked over by older kids. Overall this is a great place to take your kids when it's too hot or too cold to play outside. Well worth the membership. read more

Children's Museum - Fun at the museum - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Nice enough if you live in the area, but the Richmond location offers just as much + more. This facility is nowhere near as clean as Richmond either - we've been a few times and never saw the bins for the staff to clean dirty toys, like was in RVA read more

I will start by saying that we were excited when the location opened and I think we became members almost as soon as you opened. My son had so much fun there that we decided to have his 2nd birthday party at the location. The party was hosted by a girl named Sade ( hope spelling is correct) and she did a wonderful job. She has a natural way in engaging children and she had them all listening to her and playing games. The party was such a success that a friend bought a membership and booked her son's party based on the experience. Too bad her party was hosted by 2 girls who showed no interest in the children or even being in the room and we had to request many items and activities that were at my sons party. It was highly disappointing. We went to the Museum regularly and enjoyed it but slowly issues arose and while complaints were made it was clear no changes would be made. We stopped going for the following reasons: 1. There is a teenage boy ( too old for CMOR) who is at the location almost daily. He gives inappropriate and uninvited attention to much younger children. He would follow my son around asking his name, taking toys from him, harassing him, and coming and standing behind him so close he would almost be touching him. I was constantly having to manage this individual telling him to go away but he would always return. I literally had to stand over my son and it ruined our experience. One day I asked Sade about it and she immediatley began to handle the situation redirecting him and monitoring his interaction with younger kids. If she wasn't working he was more than a problem and no other employees would address the situation. He is age inapporpriate for for CMOR and has no business being in the store! 2. On one visit to the Museum there was an older man in his mid 60s wandering around without affilitaion to any child. So I asked him which child he was with and he responded by saying "no child just checking the place out". Really???? When I asked the manager about him being there with no children, hanging out with children I was told that CMOR is a public building and he paid and could be there. What?????? Now if it was an innocent situation where a grandparent wanted to check out the location they should be given a guided tour around the facility then escorted to the door. 3. Every visit I asked for my membership card and was given the same story that the machine was broken and I would get it next week. Well next week never came and the manager told me that I didn't need my card just my ID. Well that may be true if you only go to CMOR but on a trip to Pittsburg we took the kids to the Childrens Museum only to discover that you need your membership card. CMOP is $13 for adults and $12 for children over 2, we wanted to go a couple of days while in Pittsburg so we bought a membership because it was cheaper. 4. I can't count how many days staff, including the manager watched me struggle with 2 kids and a stroller to get in or out of the building and DID NOT come and open the door but just stood behind the front desk watching. 5. On several occassions I have bought my son a toy prior to leaving and on our last visit I told him to go pick out a toy and he could have it. He went and got a train, I was standing by the front desk waiting for him and talking to a friend. As he was waliking toward me an employee walked up to him, didn't say a word,reached forward and ripped the train out of his hands then walked away. My son 2.5yrs had a meltdown because he can't understand why a stanger would take the toy his Mom told him he could have. It is highly inappropriate for any person to take anything from a child that is not theirs!!!! The appropriate course of action is to find the parent and ask about the toy. What if I had already purchased the train? Because of that I did not purchase the train and we left and have not been back. read more

We really enjoyed this museum, particularly the open layout of the place so that you're able to pop a squat from a bench and watch your little one run around and play. It's not the biggest children's museum I've ever been to, but it checks the box. I liked that they had train rides every hour although for my 2 year old it gives a very jarring start and goes way too fast. It's probably better suited for 3 and up. I also really liked the little facts they had about a child's development painted on the walls. That was a cute touch. I was also pleased to see an organic, healthy vending machine...what an oxymoron! They even had my favorite beverage ever: Pelligrino Limonota. I've NEVER seen that before in a vending machine, very cool. They're open from 930-7pm in the summers and you can leave and come back, which is exactly what we did. Great place to kill a day! read more

Children's Museum - Organic, healthy vending machine with my Pelligrino Limonota!!! - Children's Museums Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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This is the only Children's Museum of Richmond location I've visited and I'm pretty impressed. My 2 year old daughter loves it! My two complaints are: 1) The Enchanted Forest, the play area designed for children aged 2 and under, is pretty unimpressive. There's a single "slide" and a few toys littering the floor. 2) This place turns into a madhouse on weekends and hot or rainy days during the summer. read more

Our boys enjoyed the open play area, but didn't really get into the other exhibits. There is a real fire truck, a bus, a grocery store area, theatre stage, bank, water play table, rubber pellet sandbox, and more. Most are better suited to slightly older kids (my boys are 1). Some areas seemed a little dirty. The water area was pretty messy and all the smocks were soaking wet. There is a toddler area for smaller kids but my boys weren't too into it either. Not sure I would qualify this as a children's "Museum" but there's lots to play with. Prices are a little high (especially since they charge for each adult and child) but there's a discount if you arrive after 4pm. (Edited to change comment about uncovered electrical outlets. Apparently they are special outlets with automatic shutters that keep children from getting hurt.) read more

We paid $18 for our 9 month old to play in a filthy play area. The carpet is stained. The toys look like they have never been cleaned. Plus looks like the area is never vacuum. read more

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We came here with our parents on a trip from California. This place is amazing. So much for the kids to interact and play with. Huge amount of kids there and my girls made quick friends. I wish we had something like this at home. read more

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Great activity for my 14 month old!!! Found this location while visiting family and it was perfect. We went on Saturday morning when they opened at 930 and for about an hour and a half more or less had the whole space to ourselves. A lot of different activities, games and areas for all age levels. Very clean and safe environment for free range play. Paid $16 for two adults and the baby was free with a wrist band to leave and come back, good value for the price. Only used this location but with such a good experience, looking forward to the others. read more

This is a very nice spacious place. A lot of things for the kids to do and they have nice size rooms for parties. The staff that works there are very helpful when it comes to having a party. read more

This location has a lot of potential, but the upkeep is vey poor. The one bathroom we used during our visit was dirty, with toilet paper and trash littering the floor. There were also very few plastic balls (5-6 that I could find in the entire building) to be used with the several interactive exhibits that require them. I asked the front end employee if there were more balls she could provide so the kids could actually play with the with the exhIbits. She was very uninterested in providing assistance to be and simply said that there should be balls between the three exhibits I could use. Even after I told her I went to all those exhibits and could only find 5-6 balls total, she seemed unconcerned. read more

We adored all 3 CM's in Richmond when we lived there. Great for a rainy or cold day, lots of fun and the membership is a value if you go alot like we did. We miss these museums! read more

For an oversized playroom my son enjoyed it. The prices are ridiculous - my son was 1 and we both paid full price it need a to be one or the other - i understand a business needs to make money but that's a little ridiculous - then the whole time they try to get you to buy a season pass or whatever. Like I said an oversized playroom. 1 time was enough ... It was clean and my son loved it but next time well just stay home read more

My grandson had a great time. He played in every area and was excited with all of the activities. He loved driving the fire truck and bus. The grocery store was well stocked as well as the vet area. Great time! read more

This location could be good but honestly it's nothing more than a glorified playground. The exhibits are super cute but you can't actually do much in most of them because staff does not make sure it's being utilized correctly. For instance parents just allow their children to take shopping carts from the wegmans area and drive it all around the building. Why isn't there adequate staff to make sure this doesn't happen. With their new soybean activity all of the balls for the Apple tree are in there making the apple picking exhibit completely useless. The "sand" box needs more l rubber pieces as the children have to practically scrape them off because there's not enough in there. The water area is a disaster and need to be staffed. We didn't use the art area, sandbox, bank, or apple picking because there was nothing to interact with. For 9 dollars a person including adults, I expect better. We only go on 15 cent day for that very reason. Unfortunately they got rid of 15 cent day with no warning. The new addition of the rock wall and pirate ship were really nice. Even so, I don't foresee us returning anytime soon. This location as well as the other locations could really benefit from staff being present in each area, and helping parents who are using it as a playground use it as a learning experience. As an early childhood teacher I see so many possibilities here but sadly each time I go I'm beyond disappointed. There are times I just want my children to play freely and those times I take them to the park or bounce house. The museum should not be treated as a playground while kids run around unsupervised while their parents just chit chat. read more

We are members and love going to the children's museum at Short Pump. We have been to this one only a few times because even though it is five minutes from our house nothing is ever stocked! NOTHING in the grocery store today, very little in the restaurant and an exhibit for berry picking with no berries in it. LAME. Guess we will keep trekking to Short Pump. read more