We visited the children's museum recently. The space is decent and quite spacious, but overall, we…read moredidn't find it particularly engaging. My son did enjoy the train area and spent most of his time there, which was a nice part of the visit. The ticket price is affordable, but for us, it wasn't quite worth the trip, especially since it's not close to our home. We were hoping for more interactive or creative exhibits. It would be great if they could add more decorations or make the space feel more lively and engaging. It's an okay spot if you're nearby or have a train-loving child, but we probably won't be returning.

The Sacramento Children's Museum is a fun kids museum for littles age 2-8. They have a big area for…read moreimaginative play, including a little grocery store and campsite. There's a little craft spot. The back area has a cool new building block section and the craft kits. The museum is small and on rainy days and weekends, they reach capacity and limit entry. It can be very chaotic inside when packed, so we don't stay for too long. The staff try their best to keep things organized and are always really kind to the kids. Look out for when it's free museum weekend because they are one of options!

Just had my daughter's birthday party here! We were able to (last minute!!) rent out the entire…read moremusem and it was so fun and affordable. We had plenty of time to celebrate, set up our own decorations, and let the kids play for a few hours. Highly recommend.

This place is so sweet. Took my sweet lady here after a day trip to Davis for a school thing. She…read morehad the best time and volunteer staff were so lovely. Been hoping for an excuse to go back!

Had a good visit with grandchildren, seem to be extremely crowded, multiple schools visiting at the…read moresame time.

I visited the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity with my family shortly after they opened, and it…read morewas definitely an interesting experience. When you arrive, you can purchase tickets right at the front desk, but I recommend checking their website ahead of time for the latest updates, hours, and any special exhibits. The museum itself is very education‑focused, with a lot of reading involved, but the exhibits are interactive enough to keep both adults and kids engaged. You'll find sections dedicated to the brain, how the human body functions, nature, emissions, and how the mind processes information. There's a strong emphasis on learning, so if you enjoy science‑based exhibits and hands‑on exploration, you'll appreciate the variety. The second level is more hands‑on and geared toward building, experimenting, and exploring different components. It's a great area for kids who like to touch, build, and try things out rather than just observe. One thing visitors should be aware of: parking is not free. The signage is extremely discreet, and we didn't notice any clear signs when we arrived. Unfortunately, after our visit we discovered a $75 parking ticket on our car. It's important to note that the parking lot is owned and managed by the City of Sacramento, not the museum itself. Still, we really wish there had been better signage and clearer communication about parking requirements to avoid surprises like this. Overall, the museum is worth visiting once, especially if you're curious about science and enjoy interactive learning. For us, it felt like a "one and done" experience, but it's a unique addition to Sacramento and a fun outing for families who enjoy educational activities.

We stopped by the World of Wonders Science Museum for their birthday celebration and honestly had…read moresuch a great time. WOW has always been a favorite for our family, but this event really brought the whole community together. The museum was full of energy with kids running from activity to activity, experimenting, building, and just having fun learning without even realizing it. The raffle baskets were fantastic and way bigger than I expected. You could tell local businesses and supporters really showed up for this event. There were vendors set up, tons of hands on activities throughout the museum, and yes, free popcorn which automatically makes any kid event a win. What I love most about WOW is that it never feels overwhelming or overly structured. Kids are encouraged to explore, touch everything, and be curious. You can easily spend a few hours here and still not see it all. It is such an important space for downtown Lodi and a great reminder of how valuable places like this are for families. Fun, educational, and genuinely community-driven. We had a blast celebrating with the WOW museum!

I was taking my cousins to the theatre and decided to have a day in lodi, luckily i found the…read moremuseum on google and we got there about an hour before closing. Upon coming in, the front desk was very kind and helpful. The museum itself isn't too big nor too small, but has a lot of interesting exhibitions and activities for the kids to do along with a gift shop. My little cousins had a lot of fun and learned about frequency wave lengths, electricity, and some brain ticklers, amongst other things. I hope this little museum can one day offer more exhibitions for the littles, but we had an amazing time nonetheless!

The ride itself was really fun, and the conductors were super knowledgeable about the local history…read moreof the railroad. They were easy to talk to, and really friendly. The price wasn't too bad, and they have many pricing options for both regular visitors (both adults and children) and members. My family chose the Coach option, and that wasn't too expensive for 4 people (all adults). Overall, we had a great experience.

This school year, my kids have been reading about the building of the railroad in the Sierra Nevada…read moremountains in this book called "Dragon's Gate" by Laurence Yep, which is a book that tells the story of Otter, a young boy in 1860s China who travels to America to work on the transcontinental railroad. Incidentally, Dragon's Gate won the 1994 Newbery Honor and the 1994 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. The wife and I read it along with them, and it was really eye-opening and historically educational, and it reminded me of our several visits to the California State Railroad Museum in the past and what a gem the RR museum is and how lucky we are to have it here in Sacramento. We've visited a few times before, most recently I think we came on a Free Museum Weekend. The RR museum has a lot to offer, there are many full sized locomotives, railroad trains, and cabooses. We saw the Union Pacific Railroad, the Southern Pacific, the Santa Fe, the Sacramento Northern, and then we walked through Dining Car No. 1474 with all the artifacts inside of what it would look like back in the day, with all the fancy china dishes and cups, plus fine silverware and all the upscale furniture since traveling by train was expensive in the old days (still kind of pricey nowadays). There was also a very cool and honorable display/exhibit about the history of the railroad in California and the contribution of Chinese-American railroad workers, many of whom gave their lives to build the transcontinental railroad. There was some Gold Rush history exhibits/displays also. So that's just the first floor. Upstairs there are more exhibits, but of model trains of all kinds and even several play areas for little kids to have all kinds of railroad related hands-on fun. All in all, this is still a cool museum and definitely a must-visit if you've not stopped by and it's still fun to come visit even if you've been here before as you'll surely discover something you missed last time, or learn something new that they've added.

Got it--here's a sharper, more satirical version that still lands well as a review:…read more We visited the Sonoma Children's Museum and quickly learned it's less "children's museum" and more "rule enforcement training facility." At the water play area, my child took off his shoes (you know... at a water feature), and we were immediately told he could only use his hands--not his feet. I explained this to him, he was listening, all good... or so I thought. A few minutes later, the same staff member circled back like we were committing a repeat offense, and then a supervisor came rushing out like there was an actual emergency. In front of everyone, she asked my son, "Where is your parent?"--which felt unnecessarily dramatic and honestly a bit humiliating for a kid who was doing his best to follow directions. Then came the lecture. I got a full, very intense Public reprimand and rundown about hand, foot, and mouth disease, delivered with the urgency of a public health crisis... over a kid standing near water without shoes on. Look, I understand hygiene and safety. But the energy here was wildly disproportionate. It felt less like a place for kids to explore and more like a place where adults hover, monitor, and correct every move. If your idea of a fun outing involves being policed over minor things, you'll love it. If you're hoping for a relaxed, kid-friendly environment... maybe adjust expectations.

Super cute museum! My son is 7 and autistic. They have headphones available if you need them. We…read morealways bring ours but LOVE that they offer this accommodation for kids who have sensory sensitivities. The outdoor and indoor areas of the museum are sooo packed with lots for kids to explore, learn, play, and engage. One of my son's favorite activities was the outdoor water play area. There's also bikes to ride, two classrooms for art and block play, a huge outdoor area for snacks and climbing around, a mud garden / kitchen, and also an indoor area that is more typical of a children's museum but so well kept and clean. My son loved the train tracks inside, the space section, the fruit tubes, and over-all it was a lovely location and I'd happily go back.

Located next to the Martha Riley Library, the Roseville Utility Exploration Center is a community…read moreeducation center that's free to visit anytime it's open. I think that's pretty cool. We took our kids here since we like fun educational activities and free is always the right price. We went on a Saturday and it was not too busy. The staff is friendly who greeted us, then we just wandered around a bit. They have interactive utility exhibits about how the City of Roseville provides utility services to their residents. They have their own power plants and substations, etc. to generate their own energy, so their residents pay less than even SMUD customers, I was kind of jealous about that. At least I'm not paying PG&E electricity, but maybe I should've looked into living in Roseville. Anyhow, they also have their own sewage and water facilities of course, and their services are focused on saving water and sustainability and being resource conscious and eco-friendly, which all make sense. My kids enjoyed the interactive activities about using less electricity and water, but what they really liked was the Utility Truck Experience where they got to go on a Recycling truck and pretend play. It was pretty cool. There are also tons of education displays on shopping smart to get things that last and not disposable items that end up in the landfill. In addition to permanent exhibits, they also offer kids educational classes. My kids took a few over the years, one of them was on urban planning and it was quite interesting for them to learn how to design and layout infrastructure for a pretend city that makes sense for where to put the power plant, the landfill, the sewage system, etc. relative to locations of homes, roads, nature places like rivers and lakes, and public places like parks, schools, and fire stations, etc. All in all, RUEC (as they call it) is a really nice little museum that kids and adults alike where we can learn a lot about utilities and resource conservation, it's great that it's open 6 days a week and it's free and everyone's welcome, not just Roseville residents, and they even offer free educational classes (w/advance RSVP) for kids. Worth checking out if you've not been.

It is a small area but tons of things to do and learn! Plus, they always open up early on…read moreWednesdays to give way to patrons who went to library storytime. We love Utility Exploration Center.

This is spot is perfect for meetups, play dates, school trips and so much more. Paid a small fee to…read moreget in but after that we had such a blast. They do offer several types of memberships too. It's like a mini Exploratorium with less science and more toys and activities for the little ones. Great for all ages. Arts and crafts, building blocks, story time, some science, miniature places to visit, huge hand washing station and so much more. Highly recommend having some sanitizer , or wipes on standby as there are all types of kids and age groups playing . There is a huge wash station when you walk in but kids are gonna be kids you know. Definitely want to come back and have a huge play date and utilize more stuff.

Fun museum, lots of activities, everything seemed very clean. And only $10 per person, you cant…read morebeat that. I gave it 3 stars because the lack of padding on/near stairs on some of the vehicles they had. I noticed the firetruck had padding on the floor around it. Unfortunately my toddler ended up falling out of the bus and hit the concrete floor head first. He left with a knot because there wasn't any padding on the floor near the steps where he had fell. My niece ended up falling out of the ambulance, luckily she did not get hurt but the ambulance lacked cushion padding around the steps as well.

Drive past it so you know where to go, but park in a "C lot" on la rue. A stroller may be necessary…read moreto get from parking lot to entrance. "A" parking is for faculty and staff until 5pm. 35260 for a hint on the parkmobile app. You'll prob need parking for 1 hour. Cut through the parking lots and building walkways to get to Bohart. Museum (I think "open lab" is a more apt name) is on the ground floor, wander til you locate the door. Entrance is free. Have an idea about what bugs you would like to request to see. They have a small case for live/preserved bugs that you can hold, but if you come without ideas you might find it a little underwhelming with young ones. Ideal for kids who can safely hold a bug or glass jar without dropping or shaking. The staff is kind and knowledgeable. The room is small, you may like a mask on hand. They have a gift shop area and they have bug nets you can borrow.

Bugs are cool! Betcha didn't know that the seventh largest worldwide collection of them in No…read more America is nearby at UC Davis. They also boast the second largest mosquito collection -- shhh, don't tell Bill Gates! This was my second visit, this time with kids on a field trip. The collection is vast -- so extensive that they have installed rolling bookcases to house the specimens. Our 45 minute tour led us through some of the cases and then on to live specimens which included a giant millipede, hissing cockroaches, a scorpion, black widow, tarantula, walking sticks, and a leaf bug. Our group of little bookworms with ants in their pants was enchanted! The museum is open to visitors from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Wise people call first before they go to ensure the museum is available. While there is a small charge for tour led groups, the museum is free for general admission. But don't be a stink bug; put some money in the donation box.

Adj: Educationally Engaging and Eye-Opening Experience…read more How sad to find out that this museum closed. We visited last year on Sacramento's Free Museum Weekend and it was truly a fascinating and eye-opening experience. With fire in general and wildfire being such a concern in our great State of California, it was a very educational experience for our young ones as well as for ourselves to come visit this little museum. It was actually pretty big, there were so many historic fire engines, trucks, automobiles. They were so cool looking, but all performed amazing life-saving functions in their heyday. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by knowledgeable docents who had personal ties to fire-fighting. One of them was a retired firefighter and captain. Another was the wife of a firefighter, still others were related to someone who was a firefighter. This meant the fire museum had personal and significant meaning to each docent. Amongst the more fascinating parts of the museum were the fire pumps. Back then it was hard work (maybe even harder than today) to fight fires b/c it was a lot of muscle power required! Another part that was super interesting to me were the fire alarms call boxes. They were so many different ones, the docent told us that some retire firefighters including himself keep a few in their backyards as decorations. The station had these huge dispatch centers (fire alarm rooms) w/operators in them to receive alarms/calls and then the reports were dispatched to the closest station(s) Finally, the uniforms and other equipment used were also on display and they were also really interesting since they represent such a significant part of Sacramento's history.

Well, it's a bummer this place closed. Was going to maybe take the kids here again since it was fun…read morethe last time around. Can always learn something new when we revisit. This tucked away museum is a mine of information, an eye opener to how fire response has changed in the US over the years. From when firefighting was a very local activity, in the 1800s, to the complex call boxes and GPS locating responses of our modern era. We were shown a systematic upgrading system to fire emergencies and equipment throughout history. Displayed was even the first horse drawn fire engine and earliest fire hydrants. The history covered by the museum is perfect for homeschooling students, any adults or kids, and history buffs alike. Many of the retired technologies like pull boxes and alarms were on display. Walking through this museum was taking a journey back into America's past to see how fire fighting used to work, to give everyone an appreciation for the safety systems we have today.