This is the best children's museum I have ever been to. My children are 1 & 3 and we spent hours here exploring. Even the adults were having a great time! There were no 'dud' or 'filler' exhibits and nothing was dated (MoS and Boston Children's Museum could take note). The fact that there are no 'placards' here telling you how to play is an absolute asset not a deficit. I loved that children (and adults!) are encouraged to interact with everything and see what happens. There are so many little corners and nooks to explore filled with fun surprises. The museum is definitely geared to kids under 10 but I see nothing wrong with that. It does a much, much better job at that than any place I have ever been to. I think a failure of other museums aimed at kids is the lack of interactivity. Here you can interact with everything! read more

Our local library offers 50% off passes to visit this museum, so we had to try it! (Check to see if your local library does the same!) The place is huge, and has activities for infants-about 5th grade or so. My two year old had a blast, and tried everything. The staff is always around, keeping things clean and organized. There is outdoor areas as well, which we did not get to try due to it being a bit chilly. My only suggestion is make sure to bring a change of clothes!!!! The water sensory turns into a splash pad situation very quickly. We saved that activity for last. We will be back! read more

Love this place! Great hands on learning! Definitely better for younger children. I can see why the other reviewers were complaining about the prices. They are really high for both children and adults, but I'm a teacher so I got to go in for free :) The older staff were very friendly. But the younger staff were at a bit rude and did not make it fun for the children. It was better when you didn't have to interact with any of the staff. read more

We've been to at least 5 different children museums and my husband declared this one the best. It's a solid mix of science based play (the light/prism room, the lab upstairs, etc) with imaginative play (the camping room, diner). On a raining monday, I would have enjoyed it with 30% less people - parents had a hard time finding a place to stand while their child played (they could use more benches!). A shame that we didn't get a chance to explore the outdoors, it looked fun. When we left around 11:30am we were being stalked for our parking spot so it is far better to get their early. read more

awesome spot to bring your kid. definitely worth splurging for membership if you come more than once. tons of creative activities and water to splash in. with a smock, of course. go every sunday at 11 and it will be packed. monday at 9am, not so much. excellent. read more

We headed over here right after a visit to the Children's Discovery Museum and though it was equally as crowded, the little man still had a great time. He loved the sand pendulum, climbed the ladder upstairs to peer out into the sky, and was sad that the line was so long at the workshop. (Okay. So I bribed him to stop waiting - but really, parents need to limit their kids. We waited about 30 minutes and the same kids were still there. When you are four, that's a really long time!!) Overall, still a lot of fun and an enjoyable experience. read more

The new museum and Discovery Woods is amazing. Love that it is completely ADA accessible for my child. SOOO much thought was put into every detail. Thank you for building something so amazing in our backyard! read more

We stayed today for the first day after the renovation. The museum is amazing, we love inside and outside. We bought a membership card because we would like come more often. Perfect for the kids and for the baby. read more

The old DM was was a little run down but still very fun for my kids, we were sad they were doing away with it but the is new one is awesome! The under 3 room with the private nursing room is nice for my easily-distracted 1 yo, who loves climbing as he gets better and better at walking and climbing on all the surfaces, and the air room, the water room and the huge block/building room is endlessly fun for my pre schooler. The water room can get everyone wet so wear the smock and maybe bring a change of outer clothes for the ride home when it's cold out, it's our last stop before we leave. I love how they kept the feel of individual rooms upstairs and in the back. We renewed our membership to include my 1 yo and it feels like a value now. read more

They have removed all exhibits for older children with the renovation. It's really geared for ages 6 and under now. It's too bad because when they had separate facilities, the building for older kids had larger displays (like the talk water tornado, the giant Newton's cradle etc) that are all gone. Instead there are lots of small tables for toddlers to stand at. The whole scale is different. Don't bother coming if your kids are in grade school. They will be bored. read more

We loved the old Discovery Museum but love the new one even more. My 2 and 4 year old had a blast and found lots of things that they both enjoyed. I noticed someone said that it wasn't good for toddlers and I couldn't disagree more. We spent almost four hours there today between the main building and the tree house. We ended up getting a membership and can't wait to go back! read more

We have been there 5 or 6 times in my daughter's 2.5 years of life and are never disappointed. The older "house" museum is set up with a lot of fun things to do; my daughter loves the Rube Goldberg room. The newer museum is more sciency, and has a ton of cool experiments the kids can do. We haven't been to the treehouse in the warmer weather but look forward to it. Staff are very friendly, they keep it clean, and there's a lot to do; can easily spend 2 hours there. Would recommend the membership as it is a little pricy for a family of 3 (38 bucks a stop in otherwise) read more

Yes - the place is small especially if the kids are on vacation or if it's raining. But if you live in the area, it's a great place to spend a few hours. Personally, I like the bigger kid's museum (behind the little museum). It is more science oriented. I had my daughter's birthday party there and it was actually a LOT of fun. It was a change from the typical Gymboree thing and since it was in January, there aren't many outside venues. There is a special Birthday Room and there was someone there to help coordinate. Then the other kids got to play around (get out that energy from the cake and ice cream). The only downside is that the time spent in the 'Birthday Room' seemed like hardly enough time to eat and open presents. If you live in the area, it's a great place (certainly not as big as the one in Boston). And if you want to do something else, there is a lot of Conservation Land to walk around in in Acton and surrounding areas. read more

My family (two adults, one senior, two kids ages 6 and 22 months) attended the new building over the weekend and it was great!! We loved all the updates and that they incorporated some things from the house and former museum as well. The weather wasn't great for the tree house and outside part, BUT we did try that out last year as well and the kids LOVED it and being able to have an outside picnic after touring the museum. Hope Bessie stays where and is and maybe the house will be put into use for the future for other things. Lots of great updates and worth visiting if you haven't been there in the past year or more (and have small kids). read more

NEVER AGAIN! thank god i went with a library pass bc i would have been really peeved if i paid full price for this!!! not remotely stroller friendly, so if you are one parent going with a 1 and 3 year old, DEFINITELY skip this place. three levels of tiny tiny rooms. no gates or doors to prevent young kids/babies from crawling up and down stairs. i was told it was a "fire hazard"....which i get on some level, but i'm wondering how kids dont go tumbling down those stairs more often than a fire actually breaks out. getting to the third floor is a disaster. about 2/3 the width of the average stairwell with an even steeper incline. there's a sign telling you to hold your kids hand while using the stairs, but how is that possible unless ur a bean pole. i tried it with my 1 yr old in a carrier and an unwilling 36lb 3 year old... NOT FUN. which leads me to my final point, i (foolishly) went alone with two kids and we were clearly struggling at various points in the morning...not a single offer of help from ANY of the employees there!!! hate this place. childrens museum in boston IS huge and chaotic at times, but at least they have a manageable kids play space on the second floor that we will be sticking with for the immediate future!!! read more

I have been going here for 4 years with my 2 boys. I hate to say it but what used to be a great science museum is now a museum for toddlers. If you have a 2 to 5-year-old it's perfect and probably a ton of fun but what in depth science they had is now gone with the new facility. read more

I loved the old discovery museum, and I think that with time, I could love the new one, but for now, they are still working out the kinks. I acknowledge that it is very difficult to design a space for ages babies to tweens, and it seems to me that for various reasons they have chosen to focus on the younger age range. Any kid above age 10 will be quickly bored by this museum, whereas in the old museum I would have recommended it up to age 12 or 13. I understand that all play is learning, but as I was visiting with an 8 and 9 year old, I would have appreciated the opportunity to do some more in depth science with them and have more detailed explanations of the phenomenon they were experiencing. Notably, in the light room, there were no placards or explanations at all and since I lack a scientific background I had no idea why the light was behaving that way. The water play room was enjoyed by all the kids, but the older kids got soaked by toddlers turning jets of water on them, and unless you were physically standing next to your child at all times, there was no way to prevent them from sticking their entire heads in the water. Many little kids got completely wet despite the smocks. The treehouse might be in winter mode, or maybe they just took out the mosaics and other manipulatives that I recall from previous visits. In any case, the treehouse was cold and boring, though the swing was a huge hit and all ages loved the little round branch houses. I wish they hadn't taken the woodworking away, or that they would offer a few special things, even if just at one table, for older kids. Older kids can use glue guns and sharp scissors fine if given the chance but davincis workshop, in an attempt to be open to all, lacked some more mature materials that made the old workshop so much fun. Overall, the kids had a great time, but it made me a bit sad and nostalgic for the old museums, where a tween could concentrate on actually learning something instead of being surrounded on all sides by screaming toddlers. If they have a special area for the under-3 set, why not for the 8-and-ups? The staff were present but with one exception didn't engage the kids and didn't talk about science at all. I would have loved to hear an explanation of parabolas or something by the person staffing the pendulum-marker-drawing table, but instead they were just lining the kids up, explaining what to do, doing it, then on to the next kid. Overall: they worked really hard on this museum and deserve a lot of praise for it. Their programs are amazing and disabled kids can do everything other kids can here. It is beautiful, incredibly welcoming and accessible and I would recommend it to anyone but don't bother with a membership unless your kid is 5 or under. read more

Yes, my family likes this museum. We are equidistant from this museum and The Children's Museum in Boston. The Discovery Museum has free parking, and opens at 9. This is a great combo for our daughters nap schedule. We like this museum because it is great with the short, little toddlers. Our daughter can do nearly everything in this museum! It is a house where she can play with everything. In Boston, she is really not tall enough for most of the activities, and is frustrated by all of the larger kids. Yes, it could be cleaner, and some things need updating, but this is a great place for children under 3....especially with the museum pass at half-off. read more

This place is cute and the kids (3 and 4) enjoyed it. I do think they charge a little too much for what is offered and to make parents and other caretakers pay as much as they charge the kids is a little bit silly. I like that they have the science building as well as the small house because it did provide more options. Overall, this place is definitely A-ok for a couple of hours but probably won't keep your kids busy for much longer than that. The easy and free parking is definitely a perk. read more

Visited today for the third time since they opened. It appears there is less staff supervising stations at the museum. The museum is crowded with unsupervised kids and their parents, chaperones, or grandparents. The museum seemed very messy to me today. A lot of objects from one activity had made it to other activities making activities useless or dangerous. It was a very disappointing visit and not worth the admission price IMO. Parking is also limited. My child is four and I'm glad that she may have outgrown this place. read more

I'm surprised this place has such bad reviews. My 2 1/2 year old was in absolute heaven in the Discovery Museum. We were there for about 2 hours and he cried when he left. While it's not like the Children's Museum in Boston (which we also love) I find this one is more manageable with a wild toddler because of the small rooms. It's also nice that it's really for toddlers and preschoolers so I don't have to worry about my little guy getting plowed down by a gaggle of 9 year olds or something. We didn't go to the science museum but plan to in the future. The only reasons I give it 4 stars is because: a) it is a little expensive. It should be about $8 or $9, not $12 and b) there's no good place to sit inside to have a snack or drink. read more

Brought my four year old nephew on a Saturday afternoon and he loved it. The cause and effect room was awesome, the water table was fun and the diner/kitchen area and top floor with the ocean/boat theme were super cool. Even the science museum had activities for him. We loved it, bought a membership and plan to return. Thanks Discovery Museum for a fun afternoon! read more

When my wife and I first arrived, I didn't have high hopes. There are 2 sections to the museum - one is geared toward young (think toddler) children and the other a bit older as it tends to me more science based. The toddler section of the museum is based in an old, classic new england home with each tiny room taking on a theme. While the idea is cool, the space does not support more than 1 family in a room at a time. Ok, maybe 2 but you have to be really friendly. I give this part of the museum an F. Not just for "fail" but more for an adjective that begins with F and ends with "ing". Oh, use it in a sentence you ask. Ok, no problem. The discovery museum is f---ing disgusting. The toys were FILTHY. You could feel the germs, years of snot and drool just oozing out of them. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. A zero stars on this one. We decided to head up to the science portion of the museum even though our little one is only 2.5 y/o. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. This section had many exhibits that were hands on and actually better quality than the children's museum of Boston. I would give this part 4 stars. The other critique that I have, no one told me that there is a reciprocal admission if you are a member of the Boston children's museum. Not cool Discovery Museum. Overall, if you go to the science part, it's worth a day with your little one but the other portion should be quarantined and incinerated. read more

The Children's Discovery Museum is a nice option to have in the suburbs. There are two buildings located on the property - one is a victorian house which is geared towards younger kids although my 8 year old had a ball there. There is also a larger building in the back for older kids - there are 3 floors of hands-on exhibits. The house does get crowded - check the hours before you go - as of now Tuesdays are group days so camps and school groups can fill up the place. I believe they are closed on Mondays. Before you go make sure to pick up a library pass because you can get in for 1/2 price. Children under one are free but otherwise the admission is $10.50 for adults and kids - there is a senior discount. There aren't a ton of places to get food in the area so pack a picnic or be prepared to eat somewhere else. read more

I should have listened to the other reviews about when to go. It was during a week day but it was raining and thought kids would be in school. Found out it was a Holiday! Also there should be a sign on the front saying " if your kid is coughing or has green snot running from their nose please do not come in! Way to expensive! Kids under three should be free not one years old! read more

I was so excited to try this place out with my daughter (18 months). I knew they had a water play area with rubber ducks, and we visited the Children's Discovery Museum in Bangor ME while visiting family for Christmas (super fun place!). I was so disappointed in the Acton Children's museum. We got there around 9:30am on a Friday morning, it didn't look very busy from the outside. I should also mention that this is an old house, not an actual municipal building type structure. When we got in, it was very packed. Imagine trying to squeeze 50+ people into your house, even a large house. That's about how it is here if it's busy. It got worse as the morning passed, until they actual closed off admissions at 11am! It's January. There is no lobby, no waiting area. They actually put out a sign outside that says "have a seat, the wait is now 1 hour". I couldn't believe it. They had some kind of overflow classroom thing but most of the parents seemed upset that they'd lugged their entire family to the museum only to find a sign telling them to wait outside an hour, in winter. In summer, obviously a different story. My daughter and I ate lunch in our car, watching the poor kids and parents going in and out, in and out, because they finally determined it was probably too packed and was borderline a fire hazard. I mean, I understand places like this get busy, especially on Fridays/weekends. But when you literally can't walk or move around without bumping into almost every person next to you, it stops being fun. Now if this place was not busy, and say maybe 5-10 families max were hanging out with their kids, I think it'd be great. Lots of fun exhibits. But if you can't move, you can't really enjoy anything. I would not recommend the Children's museum. We didn't see the science building so I can't say anything about that. read more

I attended the dirtopia exhibit and was very disappointed to see the admission is $ 12.50 per person even for Caretakers and/or parents. while touring inside there were at least 12 exhibits that were broken. the water table was shut off and the bubble table did not have enough solution to make the body bubble. the employees were engaged in conversation amongst themselves, especially on the second floor of the Science building. there was a boy and girl who were talking together for the hour and 20 minutes I was on that floor. when I left they had actually gone into the recording studio to talk as so not to be bothered by anyone. unfortunately the price makes it almost impossible to visit repeatedly. read more

We had a great time at the Discovery Museum with an 18-month-old and a 2.5-year-old. I think 3+ would be the perfect age. We brought lunch and ate it outside, did the water area first, and then went back outside to dry off, and then explored the rest of the museum. Everything seemed clean, and there was a great variety of activities! read more

My mother in law purchased a membership at the Acton museum that was also valid at the Boston Children's Museum. Over two months later we still have not received a membership card, and the people at the museum have no way of helping us out because the Membership person is out on vacation (and I assume they don't have up to date records to look up in their system). Meanwhile our membership is ticking away, with no card for us to go visit the Bos Children's Museum with. I'm asking them to make the membership valid as of the day we actually receive our card! Between the long drive from Boston all the way out to Acton (1 hour, no less) and the challenge of working with people that are obviously functioning with the technology of circa 1965, I'm not impressed. Cute quaint charming little place, but I would certainly not bother spending my money or time to get out there. read more

Crowded place. Too small rooms, do not have minimum of space to enjoy it. So crowded every time that I have been here! They have not done any improvement in 3 years! The science building it is close until 1 pm...unbelievable... read more

We absolutely love this place! My four year old has been going here for a year and a half and has not tired of it at all. He/we love both museums. The first time we went we spent 4.5 hours there and didn't see everything. I agree, the only way to make this better would be to add a cafe of some sort. read more

I recently chaperoned my child's school field trip to the Science building. As someone who has been to this museum many times for many field trips I was actually a bit disappointed with some of the new changes. The school group was given a much shorter time slot than in previous years which was disappointing considering the length of the drive. In the past they've been able to bring a bagged lunch and then play in the treehouse after, allowing them a lot more time inside. This time they had 90 minutes total to do everything. In previous years the kids have loved the Spirograph/pendulum activity however that was not part of the field trip this time either. Overall, I don't think I'd recommend this as a school field trip anymore. read more

My daughter now 7 and a half loves this place. We've been to various children's museums in Boston, Easton, Ma, and Providence. But this is the one she always asks to go back to. There is an earlier review here saying the largest play room was only 8 x 12. That is false. I'd say the average room size is closer to 12 x 15. When we went again last week, there were probably 6 kids and 6 adults per room on average. And that is in building #1. There are two buildings. Number 1 is a converted old house, and is designed for 2-5 year olds. Building 2 is a much more open, and spacious commercial design. It is geared towards the 6-10 year old range. I don't think its fair to knock the place because its a long drive. You wouldn't say Europe is awful because its a long flight. I feel its also wrong to critisize the place because its crowded during a rainy holiday weekend. Yes I admit, you may need to bring aspirin for yourself due to many loud kids, but the fact that it can get crowded, and kids are runnung areound will tell you the kids like it here. The big difference I saw between here and Boston, was that the kids in the Boston museum were much more agressive. The kids here were more willing to share the space. read more

I rarely write reviews but after reading so many negative comments about the Children's Discovery Museum I felt I had to share my experiences. We did go on a weekend and it did rain, but the museum was not very crowded. I do see how one's experience might be negatively affected if indeed the entire museum was packed but this is a criticism that could be leveled against virtually anyplace anywhere. If this is a concern then by all means visit on a weekday. There are 2 museums you can visit for the $11 entry fee. I definitely would have liked for my 1-year-old to go for free and yet the place is so tailored to very small children that the fee is not unreasonable. Next time I will definitely seek out the 1/2 off library pass as others have mentioned. The Children's Museum (the first one we visited) is a converted Victorian-era house, three floors converted into areas for kids to play in. The first floor has a train room (with a train table and a climb-on toy train with whistle, bell, "brake", "throttle", and "furnace". There is also a water table room and a "Rube Goldberg" room where you send balls down various ramps and tracks. My kids loved the train and the ramps the best on this floor. The second floor has a "Safari room" with stuffed animals (not dirty as one reviewer mentioned - my wife is a germophobe and she was fine with everything in the place, and appreciated the hand sanitizer dispensers scattered through both museums). The Safari room has some climbing areas suited for small children. Kids can also climb on the "Adventure fort" (which includes a puppet show theater) and the "Rainbow room". My son liked these three activities the best. This floor also has a "diner" where kids can serve up toy meals. The top floor is "Sailing/pirate" themed, which has a small boat and a few ship's wheels to play with, as well as kid-sized crawling areas with a lighted sand table and "submarine" controls. We spent about 3 1/2 hours in the Children's Discovery Museum and 1 1/2 hours in the Science Discovery Museum. The science museum is a lot of fun and adds value to the $11 admission. My kids' favorite parts of the science museum were the recording studio, sand pendulum, and an exhibit on air pressure using ping-pong balls and PVC pipes. My wife and I are always looking for activities for our small children (1 and 4) and it's hard to find a place that really caters to the little ones. If your kids are 6-7 or older, they will probably enjoy the science museum but the children's museum might be a bit too young for them. If they are 5 or younger, though, I think they will have an absolute blast. It was very hard to get my kids to leave! This is the type of review that would be best written by a small child, the negative reviews on here do not at all capture the actual experience a very young child will have at this museum. Believe me, the kids I saw today were all having a GREAT time. And since the whole place was filled with small children and their parents, I didn't see any of the difficulties with roughhousing, running, cutting in line, shoving, and pushing that I have experienced at attractions where older and younger kids are mixed. 5 stars is for the value we received and the fun my kids had, we will definitely go back. I am very glad I didn't listen to the harsh reviews here, and again if you have little kids and are in the area (we drove an hour) you will have a great time. Recommend having 4-5 hours available, especially if you go to the science museum as well. read more

This place is a complete and utter waste of money! $29 for an adult and a 2 1/2 year old! $14.50 for a 2 1/2 year old is an absolute disgrace. Not to mention the fact that the "new" museum is NOT tailored to toddlers at all. There is little to nothing for them to do. Also, don't bother going during the week because they bring in field trips and the older children take over the entire museum. Why would you book that many children into one area?!? Oh wait....because you want to make as much money as possible?!?!? Give me a break. Trust me, do yourself and your toddler a favor...go to a free park (Littleton Castles are right down the street), go to the Museum of Science (you'll spend less money and have a 1000 times more fun), go anywhere but here. You'll thank me in the end. read more

We went here the other day for the first time. There was a lot of stuff to do and my son loved it. He had so much fun at the pretend restaurant. The new treehouse was awesome! So many cute activities going on. If we lived closer we would be back more often. read more

What a great time on a rainy Saturday morning. There were so many different options for kids ranging from 6 months - 8 years old. We had a terrific time and found the staff extremely helpful. Thank you for a great experience! read more

It's a good place for toddlers and not older children but not at full price. At full price of $11.50, it's a tad steep for a 4 person family. You're better of getting a MTA membership and/or a library pass. Also note, that if you check-in on Facebook, you'll get a complimentary pass -- which I discovered after paying for admission. They do offer Free First Fridays of the month for a few hours in the evening. Overall, the kids enjoyed themselves quite a bit. It wasn't crowded when we went today, so it worked out great. Note, there is no restaurant or cafe on the premise, so you have to go out to eat if you plan to spend the entire day there. Downside, is there's no water fountain at all, and drinks (and food) are not allowed inside -- which is a bit of a downer for children as they can get dehydrated quite easily. The buildings are not designed for young children in mind as it can be somewhat dangerous without adults on hand to keep them safe. Neither place is handicap accessible with exception to the Science Museum part of the 2 buildings, though there would be hardly enough room to maneuver a wheelchair at all but there's an elevator to take you to the different levels. One comment I have to add is that the bubble room water was not "soapy" enough to make bubbles and was more of a bubble room. The floor was quite wet with a lack of rubber mats all around so that my 2 year old slipped and fell and thankfully didn't hurt himself much. It's nowhere as big as the Children's Museum in Boston, but it's good for 2-3 year old kids. I read some bad reviews about the cleanliness of the place, and it seemed fine to me. A bit old and tired, but still lots of life for children's enjoyment. read more

This review is for the toddler building. It is filthy. I just got home after my first time there with friends who recommended it. I will never go again. The toys and wall exhibits were visibly dirty, and most were broken, the entire place is in need of a good disinfecting clean and a paint job, the bathroom situation (1) is inadequate for the number of people that were there and for the love of god could they get some more balls for the ball room? There were literally 4 balls to put into wall mazes and watch drop down and all the kids were fighting over them. For an extra $10 I would rather trek into the city for the Children's museum. My overall feeling was that this place was gross and overpriced, not for us. read more

It is too small , very less parking. Asked us to park in Kmart then took the shuttle today. It is way too much for me with 1 toddler and and 1 infant . Very not friendly for stroller . Not friendly for kids under 3, will not recommend read more