We took our two granddaughters, ages 5 and 8, last Saturday. There are actually two buildings. The first one is a converted house. The exhibits are simple, primitive and meant for very young children. The new science building on the hill is definitely worth the price of admission. We spent hours there enjoying the fun, clever, thought-provoking scientific offerings. Great fun and well done. We would definitely recommend the science building. Non Upstate NY read more

My kids love this place. Free parking. Never too crowded. Great for kids 10 and under. We are members and go at least once a week. Late hours on Friday night and free! read more

I took my child and some of my friends' children to this place couple of times. Though it is bit cramped and not a museum in a traditional sense, the kids really seemed to enjoy this place. I appreciated that there was a lot of interactive activities and the staff was very friendly. I was happy that the place exceeded my expectations. read more

We took our 5 year old grandson and he could not get enough of it. There was so much for him to do and he was filled with so much curiosity. You can tell that the old house with all its little rooms was thought out well by someone with education in mind. It was not only our grandson, though, that was having a blast. Everywhere we looked, we saw kids having a great time. We really wish we lived close by as we would definitely get a family membership and keep enjoying it over and over. read more

Planned to go here with my niece and nephew after calling the museum to check the hours. Drove to museum and found out they are closed to the public on Mondays. If you call the museum they list their hours as open 7 days a week. Very disappointing. read more

This place need to look up the word "museum" in the dictionary. It was not in any way educational or interesting. It was quite literally a cramped, old house with some shabby toys in it. A train table was one "exhibit", as was a water tub with some rubber duckies, and in another room was a toy activity cube. I have all of these things at home. One room was called a "boat room" because it had some dirty seal stuffed animals in it and some pictures of penguins taped on the wall. Are you kidding me? There were only about 7 rooms total. It was extremely lame. The only impressive thing for me is that they would have the gall to charge what they do for it: $9 per person for everyone over 12 months old. I am considering charging people to enter my house and play with my kids' toys because it seems like just anyone can call themselves a museum! read more

I prefer these two little museums over the Childrens Museum in Boston. First, everything works here (unlike Boston, where it seemed half of the exhibits needed repair). Second, it's a manageable size -- free of the chaos and overwhelming noise of the Boston museum, a little kid can actually do most of the stuff without being jostled or scared by bigger folk. If you kid is under three, this is a place that actually has stuff he can do and enjoy. And if your kids are older, the science museum there is great for the same reason -- everything is clean, accessible, and relatively uncrowded. It's expensive, but really is a little gem. read more

BUBBLE WALL! I'm 27 and I have vivid memories of visiting this museum when I was 4. For that reason, it gets 4 stars. Maybe they need a larger space, but then the price would go up...what can you do!? read more

I agree with the person who wanted to rate this place less than zero. I wanted to give negative points. We drove a one hour round trip to bring our little one to their 'Bubble Bonanza' day. Special attraction free with admission! And what did the Children's Discovery Museum think qualified as 'Bubble Bonanza'? Two trays of dishwashing liquid in the parking lot with five identical plastic rings that didn't even work. We lost interest after failing to make more than one bubble in about five minutes. Getting our money back was inadequate compensation for the time we wasted on their false advertising. read more

I live in the area AND had a pass from my library entitling us to half off. My mom and I brought my 3 1/2 year old and 10 month old. Although crowded when we first arrived (and a sign noted as much, indicating that due to overcrowding visitors would be issued #s and admitted accordingly), it slowed down around lunch/nap time so it wasn't too bad during our visit. I agree with the other reviews describing the museum as lame, underwhelming, overpriced, etc. But one thing that hasn't been mentioned is just how truly filthy the place is. I am far from a squeemish germ-o-phobe and think kids SHOULD get dirty. But this was just gross. The entire place is carpeted and you can smell the musty-ness as soon as you walk into the first train-themed room. My toddler was moderately amused by the various rooms but made it through pretty quickly. My semi-mobile 10 month old got a bit impatient in the carrier and there was a room on the 2nd floor geared to really little ones. She played in there but I cringed most of the time as she touched various surfaces (the tired, ragged stuffed animals were totally off limits, though - they are not fit for even donating to goodwill) . Just look at the edges of anything and you can see the filth (walls, carpets, larged toys, etc.) Thankfully they did have hand sanitizer dispensers and we made full use of them. I wouldn't even recommend this place to local families at half off. Sad, but true. read more

Although this offers many examples of scientific principles that also entertain the kids I would have to agree that the place is in need of much maintenance. Sad that a place like this is being neglected. The owners need to put some of the money back into this place. read more

Small museum but lots of hands on activities for the under 3 set. Our 22 month old had a great time on our last two visits. We go early at 9am and leave by 10:30 and it hasn't been too crowded. Construction on Route 2 West (our path there) is a BIG drag right now and likely will be for months to come so worth planning extra time if you head in the same direction. read more

It's not even worth of $1...If you read the reviews & still go,you will repent....it's that bad.Atleast the science museum is OK,but discovery museum is awful .It feels like they have collected thing from yard sale & displayed in that one house type building. read more

We started coming here when my son was just 10 months old and he's almost two now. They went through a huge renovation and the first time we came was opening weekend. The place is busy all winter long on the weekends, I haven't come on a week day or during other seasons. I don't mind how busy it is because I want my son to have the social interaction. We have a membership to the Dover, NH children's museum so we pay half price admission. If we got another membership we might make this our home museum. The first floor has a water station but all the kids get soaked so we tend to avoid this. There is also a machine that blows scarves through tubes and shoots them in the air (a toddler favorite). The other main exhibit usually changes. The first year it was different STEAM building blocks. This year they have tracks which kids can release golf balls down. Golf balls are pretty dangerous not for the obvious reasons but because toddlers are obsessed with balls and you'll often have children refusing to share but the parents (most) are pretty good at getting their kids to share and take turns. The second floor starts with a baby room better than I have seen at most museums. The babies can crawl around in a safe area and there is a mini play gym that toddlers learning to walk love to explore. I believe the room says 0-3 yrs (my son loves it at 2) but I think they should limit the room to 18 months for the safety of the other kids. There is a train room but since the tracks aren't nailed down it's not our favorite spot. Laying down the tracks on a flat surface is fun and great for older toddlers but it's just a project for babies. I would love to put together the tracks myself and figure out the right configuration but keep in mind you have 5 kids at the station so nothing will get accomplished. They have an adorable diner section and older toddlers love to play house here. My son will just stand in aw watching the big kids. The rest of the floor is all very steam Related and is great for ages 4-8 and I'd even want to play with the different gadgets and pipes they have here. They have a craft section and they are constantly hosting different crafts. The only thing I haven't experienced is story time but maybe they have it during the week. Oh yeah, there is a fun tree house and out door play scape so this place would be great in warmer weather too. Unfortunately like most children's museums they are lacking in places to have lunch (only in the lobby) so we tend to just head home when we're hungry ..maybe that's on purpose. read more

The museum may be good for children under 3 years for an admission fee of not more than $3.00. Any one with children over 3 years should not go. It is a waste of your money and time. read more

This museum is wonderful for very young children, educational and experiential. It's too crowded on the weekend and a little pricy unless one is a member. read more

The museum seems a little run down. I've gone there for over 20 years and the bubble maker needed liquid and front of water play felt slimy

Coming from England, this was nothing like we had seen before. we absolutely loved how it had a homey feel - nothing like the manufactured chuck e cheeses!! it is the kind've place I would have loved as a little one. Yes, maybe a bit pricey - but a truly special place!!! read more

My 15 month old loved this place. We could have spent a week here, he loved it so much. Each room is themed and so creative! They also do storytimes and activities. It helped us get out of the house during a cold stretch in the winter. Also, for those who are weary of germs... it seemed clean enough for getting as much use as it does. read more

The Children's Discovery Museum is a fabulous time for a young kid! There are so many hands on exhibits, my son is exhausted after an hour. The place can get crowded when school groups visit - I always call prior to visiting. read more

I have been taking friends and relatives to these creative museums since my first born was 6 months old, he is 23 now. While he and his little brother were toddlers, we had a membership, and traveled from Boston often. My boys loved every activity in this little Victorian house. During a routine visit we did every activity 3 to 4 times. As a Pre-School Teacher it was a favorite field trip destination for my class. Brilliant activities, I saw the place through my children's eyes! read more

I have been here a few time with my kids. I have to admit I was a bit taken a back to see the generally negative reviews. I think the secret to this place is going when it's not busy. I have only ever been on Sunday mornings when they open. It's perfect then. Usually only a few other families. I can understand how the toddler building would be a complete disaster with too many people. But without a crowd it's very cute and my kids have always loved it. Best for ages 3 -5. The science building is completely different from the toddler building so if the toddler building isn't your cup of tea still be sure to go to the science building. From a hands on perspective I think it's better than many of the bigger science museums I've been too. Both my 5 and 9 year old loved it, but especially my 9 year old daughter. In addition to the traditional science themed activities they also have a craft room where kids can use all sorts of paper and recycled materials to make their own crafts. My kids could spend all day there. The same room also has a woodworking section with actual tools the kids can use. read more