I don't often find myself in Olympia but when I do and I have the family in tow, then this is it!…read moreThis is the family friendly, rain or shine you're going to want to visit. The Museum is quite large with both indoor and outdoor space. There's a cafe area with food and drinks. I was quite impressed about the amount of activities to do from crafts, to science projects to all sorts of ways to flex your creative muscles. This was quite the experience and bonus points for all the seating for adults. I can't wait to come pack!

A must-go for all families with littles. Hours of exploration and hands-on entertainment. Our…read moredaughter especially enjoyed the bubbles and water exhibits. What could be better than endless play stations for them and zero cleanup for us?! Would go again and again.

This free discovery center across from the Children's Museum was a lot of fun, and educational…read more They have a scavenger hunt for the kids to do to help them learn more about water, and they get a prize once they finish it. They have a small free lot for parking which is nice. Staff was very friendly and helpful when the kids needed a hint about one of the questions on the scavenger hunt.

This place makes a great stop off if you happen to be next door at the Children's Museum or at some…read moreother location nearby. It might be better for older, science oriented kids, but adults will likely find it interesting as well. It's free and all they ask you do is provide some info about how many people are in your party and the zip code you are visiting from. It's a good rainy day activity and can provide some educational moments. There is an interactive scavenger hunt which involves doing 8 tasks and ends with the ability to choose a prize. The maze pen we won is pretty cool. My 10 year old nephew was easily able to complete all the tasks and seemed to enjoy doing it. Some things were like video games, which he seemed to like and maybe it will give him some ideas about career possibilities for the future. It was a good learning opportunity about the importance of saving water and learning about what happens to all the water we waste, etc. I wish I lived in Olympia and was able to trace where the water goes when I flush the toilet. It was nice that they ask you to share what you learn when you go to redeem your prize. I'm not sure if my 8 year old niece would have found it as interesting, but there are places to sit and some kitchen toys to play with if not. It looks like they also have some crafts available. Check it out if you are in the area.

This was a really fun experience. Myself and my wife really enjoyed the two hour Chehalis valley…read morerailroad tour. We were in town for the weekend for other activities, and we decided to do this as a tourist activity as well. We took the last train of the day, so unfortunately we did not get to tour the museum as we were running late, but the train ride was amazing. The steam engine train is not running right now, which was a bummer, but they still run rides on a diesel engine train. We had a very funny conductor that kept us entertained. The ride was very peaceful and tranquil and on an older train so we appreciated the tranquility. There were not many people on the train with us, just two other couples. We were almost running late and the employee met us at the coach to give us our tickets, which was appreciated. The ride included pictures of the Chehalis River, scenery, wildlife, and more. The train and coach were definitely older, so we appreciated that classic vibe. I do know they also have special event dinner rides and such as well that they host several times per year. Overall, I definitely recommend the Chehalis railroad tour. It was a great experience!

Very fun they served hot chocolate and cookies and Santa was there the kids loved it.....I'd…read moredefinitely take the kids back to do it again..

Children's Museum for free! Yep! They ask for donation and I was happy to donate! The staff are…read morecourteous and helpful and even caution the unruly kids running around! Water play area is definitely the most high activity zone. My kid almost spent an hour playing in that area. The air flow duct with scarves is another fun area for the kid. Among all the other museums I have visited, the painting, arts & crafts area is quite unique to this museum. The wooden boards and the net at the end of the museum is another adventure for all kids and not available in other museums. This was the first time I saw my kid feeling the courage to climb over the ropes and explore. The paid parking area near the museum has good number of spots but the signs can be confusing as it says "only reserved" and you tend to wonder if you will get ticketed. Park Mobile app location 50271 is good and confirmed by museum folks! Or there is street parking too!

This isn't a very large children's museum, but my 5 and 8 year old had a ton of fun playing. It's…read moreso nice that it is pay what you can so that anyone can come. We were impressed by the cleanliness. Though, I didn't look closely, nothing jumped out as being gross. If you're in the area, it's worth a stop, but I wouldn't go too far out of the way for it.

This place is an absolute gem! It's free admission but they take donations to help support their…read morecause. Our 3 & 4 year old can't get enough of this place. It's smaller than hands on in olympia so don't expect anything of that magnitude but honestly I prefer it to them because it's more intimate and just as entertaining. They have a nice water table section, an art room full of tiles, logs, paints, dry erase... a climbing section & spaceship slide, a room with oversized foam pieces to craft roads and houses, a calm room with books & nooks for softer toys. It takes up two hours for us. Not to mention their outdoor playground. They even had a Native American speaker on this Nov 24th. I'm impressed.

Wow. Great small children's museum with activities to spend hours in. Our boys, 4 & 2, had a blast!…read moreWe started with building paper rockets that get rolled up and put on air cannon launchers. Then we moved on to the BEST section, water flow tables. We built dams, broke dams, threw ping pong balls into cyclones and then dinosaurs into cyclones. There were big foam blocks that were turned into a fort and other "art". A ropes climbing area, an arts area, a big slide. Wow! 5/5 would go again.

What a great experience and a gem of a place, here in downtown Chehalis! We had driven past it…read moremany times and never really stopped in. Decided to make the plunge a couple of weeks ago and boy am I glad we did! It is an old, renovated train station/depot building - that's now a museum to celebrate and remember the bygone eras of the towns and county. There are multiple displays and exhibits that highlight the many chapters of Lewis County's history and culture, from the time of Native Americans and early pioneers all the way to 1950's. It is filled with actual items from each era (tools, appliances, clothes, maps, merchandise, etc). It really does much to bring history alive and allow visitors to see with their own eyes, and not just in photographs, what people used and lived with. The highlight of the museum, though, is of course the trains! All the way towards the back of the building is a ginormous electric model train set! It's set up to mimic the geography and landscape of Lewis Co. and is so captivating. There are two separate sets and each actually work with the push of a button. There is also a medium sized wooden train set for the kids to enjoy. My two boys absolutely love it!! At just $5 per adult and free for the littles, it's a bargain! I highly recommend the Lewis County Historical Museum for a wonderful time with great fun and learnings for the whole family!!

This is a great 'halfway' stop between Portland and Seattle. Get out, stretch your legs and check…read moreout some very interesting exhibits about all kinds of 'goings on' in Washington's first county! The General Store area, with costumes to try on and stuff to play with, is a big hit with kids!

Took all 4 kids here for a school outing. First time here, very professional staff, clean,…read moreinformative environment. Lots of hands on activities and lessons that adults and kids can all benefit from. Interaction with live animals, horse drawn wagon rides, candle making, blacksmith activities and more. Highly recommend!

There was alot of staff who where very welcoming and nice but one staff member almost ruined the…read morekids filed trip. Who ever is in charge of the activity room where clothes are washed and they learn about making bread was EXTREMELY rude at all times and was yelling at the children for things she could have simple asked nicely. She is condescending to even the adults and her attitude sucks. Honestly she shouldn't be working with the public. She needs retraining at minimum an a better attitude overall. Other than that it was fun but several parents have agreed we won't be back, solely based on this woman.

What a great place to walk down memory lane and remember those who served! Volunteers make this…read moreplace as amazing as it is, and do a great job at bringing the community together.

My Favorite Museum I have ever been to and it has guns, a big US flag, vehicles, uniforms, etcread more

Very interesting! Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained everything about the planes and…read morehelicopters. Our toddler grandson loved it too. It was well worth the visit!

This is a sad little museum. There are many things, but almost nothing has context. Plenty of signs…read moresaying "don't touch" or "not for sale" but nothing to explain what I was looking at. The walls are covered in faded, unlabeled pictures of people and airplanes. There are cases jammed full of items that are difficult to look out due to the poor displays, and have no labels so what are they? It was reasonably priced at $7, but only took 5 minutes to wander through.

I'm surprised there are no updated photos or reviews about this Longview gem!…read more No worries. I'm here to save the day. We've come to the CDM a few times. It's always a fun low stimulation activity we enjoy doing on the rainy days. We love all the inclusiveness to the facility. It never seems to be too busy. Parents have always been very attentive to their own children. There's a little kid room. I'd say more for ages 1-7. There are signs and rules to follow. Our child hasn't got sick from this place yet, mind the signs, please. When a sign says "shows off" take yo shoes off. Then there's a bigger kid room (my toddler loves it nonetheless). This room has more ages 5-10 age range. There's some nature stuff, a tiny grocery store with cute carts. Doctors office. The train was a newer one. There's different STEM type activities as well. Very open space for many kids to play at once. It's extremely cute for a nonprofit kids space. Then occasionally they have their "Science Room" open. It's pretty cute! A little more for older kids like 7-13. Definitely keep an eye on your more squirrelly kids in this area. But very cool space when it's open! Anyhoosies, we really enjoy the CDM. They also do events quite often. I believe they have a mascot. They're pretty active on their Facebook page. Only downside, their hours change often it seems. We can't go often due to our schedules not matching their open times. It's okay though. I understand staffing can be difficult and whatnot. Hope this helped! Happy Yelping(:

Seriously a hidden gem. Both my kids love this place (ages 18 months and 13 years!). What an…read moreabsolute treasure to have in our community.