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ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

3.8 (98 reviews)
Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Services - ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

Community Service/Non-Profit

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ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain Photos

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Maya C.

I didn't think I'd enjoy myself in a children's museum as much as my friend's young daughter would, but this is actually a nice museum! Who said that it's not for adults? Did I smile when I banged on the air drum to move the bead curtain? Yes I did. Did I watch the dripping water appear to slow down in midair? Yup. Did I play with her daughter to move the fake terrain around and make it rain in the valleys by moving my fingers apart? You betcha. Did I learn about steam devils with some amazement? Sure did. They also have a play area for the kiddies and I couldn't help but to walk around and check out the murals and paintings on the walls. They're so beautifully done and they show the beauty in diversity in Vermont. That, the animal tanks, and the Native exhibit kinda puts my hometown museum to shame I hate to admit. Definitely a good place to check out.

View from upstairs - see the statue?
Sue C.

This is about the day we went to a children's museum...without kids... and had a really great time! Between us, we are well over 100 years old - hey, don't judge, we indulge our inner children, and you should too, every once in a while. We were visiting Vermont and found ourselves by a park/marina on a beautiful day. We saw the building housing a museum and went inside to take a tour. The rep at the desk charged the entry fee, after asking if it was "just two adults", which I thought was odd, but ok, maybe they do things differently in Vermont - like asking if you want a receipt, which they do everywhere, including grocery stores. We didn't have a lot of time before they closed, so we asked her for advice about where to start. She immediately had a thought about how to see the museum in the right order to see the coolest things first and everything else before they closed. Right after we started touring the displays, it dawned on me that each area is geared for kids - uh oh. She appeared a moment later and I told her that I just figured out why she asked if it was just 2 adults. This is a KID'S museum! We told her we were having fun anyway, and she said she had a feeling that we would because we seemed like fun, and she was glad. She said some people come with kids, but they don't get into the experience and she thinks they're dead inside. We laughed at that, and then grabbed hands before entering the exhibit where you use your breath to makes big chimes ring. The museum had thought-provoking exhibits that helped sort out self-perceptions and the world around us. It had fun interactive exhibits - one reminded me of Silly Sand that I played with as a kid. Everyone can learn while we play. I took too-many-pictures of turtles, played the drums, simulated rain erosion, wrote notes to myself, my husband and the world, and generally had a great time. Here's a bonus that we adults really appreciated - there is a deck off the upper floor that overlooks the bay, and if you go there, you too might see the statue that we didn't see on the ground because this building blocked our view. We took pics of the statue and pics of us with the bay in the background. One of those pics became THE pic of our trip to Vermont. You never know where you'll find joy - now that I know how much fun we can have at children's museums, I'll want to check them out. Hey, maybe this'll be our thing, wherever we go we'll check them out. SUPER huge thanks to the wonderful person who welcomed us, rang us up, and checked in on us during our tour. You made our day!

Fish
Steve A.

Good place to take children to learn about science and that kind of stuff is about how to sum up this museum in Burlington. It won't take a long time to get around for most. The ECHO Leahy Center is where to go if wanting to check out geological and lake stuff. Maybe geared more for children to be honest. You can still have fun as an adult though. Among the best things about this museum is it's next to the lake of course. It's as expected, because it has lots of biological exhibits. There's quite a few fish in here. On the first floor is an exhibition area. This has special live shows. Also there's the area with the tanks filled with fish. There's also other critters like tree frogs and more. Across is a room about inventions like bicycles. Upstairs has exhibits about things like the weather. Learn about the water in the lake and more. There's also a replication of lake steam. For sure it's great for teaching children about science and anything. It's open daily in the mornings and afternoons mostly. There's quite a lot to see in this small space so give yourself enough time to see whatever.

Christina R.

Ok, I did some research before coming to Burlington and saw that ECHO was a big attraction, according to the internets, so I put it in the back of my mind for an activity to do if it was too cold or raining or something like that. Well, after a walk along the park, we were feeling an ice cream and noticed that the truck selling said ice cream was supporting the center. Even though it was already 345pm, and they close at 5, we decided to come in and check the place out. We were worried about having enough time to check the whole place out but we shouldn't have been. It's a super small place but for what it lacks in size, it makes up for in interactive exhibits and meaningful displays. I would honestly say that this place is more meant for children. I would categorize it as a children's museum. However, my boyfriend and I have no problem being children again so we definitely made the most of it. There are many an animal here to represent the natural fauna of the lake and I loved that. There was a lot about conservation and I also appreciated that. I can see why it may seem a bit underwhelming to people who are used to the bigger science museums that cater to all ages but if you have an open mind and a young heart, you'll love this place.

Rose M.

Nice children's museum on Lake Champlain. Our 2 toddlers had a blast here. It was a little busy on the weekend but still enjoyable. There is a large interactive play area with an indoor slide, water activities, and hand on experiences. The kids could of stayed in this area all day. They have a small movie theater that plays nature films. We saw the dinosaur one. It was in 3D. They have paid parking. Admission: Adults $18. Children up to 2 are free. Give yourself a few hours to enjoy.

Jane D.

This little science museum packs an outsized punch!! Although a fraction of the size of our hometown favorites -- we're a hop and a skip away from NYC's American Museum of Natural History, a short drive from the Liberty Science Center in NJ -- ECHO Leahy has no trouble holding its own. To our happy surprise, ECHO Leahy even offers reciprocal entry to LSC members. There's a strong focus on hands-on exhibits, which do a great job of engaging everyone from toddlers to ten-year-olds. On our visit, the young man staffing the engineering lab on the third floor was funny, patient, and smart, an excellent educator who grounded a hands-on engineering challenge (build a zip line for turtles!) in scientific method / engineering process. Our six-year old enjoyed for a good half hour; our ten-year old would've spent the entire day in that room tinkering. There is a brief, but very interesting section on indigenous nations who lived in the area prior to European settlement, including explanations of how different types of native trees were used for different purposes. There are fun exhibits featuring animals native to -- as well as invasive of -- Lake Champlain; exhibits about weather conditions often seen on Lake Champlain; exhibits on sound; water and imaginative play areas for very young children; a hands-on exhibit about different kinds of transportation, etc... There's no cafeteria on site, though the (excellent!) gift shop / front desk sells a good variety of high-quality, locally-made, pre-packaged snacks and there's a small eating area towards the front. You'll want two to four hours to really give this museum its proper due, so plan accordingly. The views of Lake Champlain from the third floor decks: priceless.

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Excellent science museum. Kids had a great time. Good for 2 hours probably. Ages 1-teen.

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Ask the Community - ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

Review Highlights - ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

! The turtles, fish, frogs, snakes, and other things at ECHO are derived directly from the Lake Champlain area

Mentioned in 13 reviews

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ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain - museums - Updated May 2026

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