Disappointed at the staff member who walked from her front desk to the back of the play area bench to ask a white lady i with her 5 month old son f everything was okay while a black woman with her 18 month old child were sharing a simple conversation of how nice to raise children. My family used to visit this museum and even attended summer camp but this was ridiculous. Why? to the museum, put up your signs if you do not want to serve all families, it is so much more easier for everyone. Please do not apologize or respond to this review you sent your message already. read more

We had a blast here with my 5 year old and 2 year old! Initially, I thought it looked a little small, but the space just kept going and winding around to other areas to explore. My older son loved the scarf tubes b/c you could change the direction by opening and closing valves. Both kids loved the little town. The building facades were super cute. Each building had a mailbox out front where you could post letters. The post office had bins to sort mail and bags to use to become a mail carrier. The grocery store was stocked amazingly well and kept pretty clean despite tiny hands going in there creating chaos. The outdoor space was vast and filled with things to entertain kids of all different ages. There were tricycles to ride around a track, diggers to sit on, playhouses to facilitate pretend play and musical instruments. There was also a large climbing area with slides and little hidey holes. The price was pretty good considering you get a lot of bang for your buck and you are not restricted with how long you can stay. read more

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Adorable place for toddlers up to age 8. My granddaughter loved all the sensory experiences . Can't wait to take her back next visit.

This place is great! Super clean, well thought out. My kid is in a cast right now and there were still plenty of things for her to do. Have snacks and toys for purchase too. read more

Came here for a day trip with my kids. This place is great. It's similar to Please Touch Museum but not quite as big. We came during a weekday and it was still pretty busy, I imagine this place would get mobbed on a weekend. This place is more farm themed which is a nice touch being out in Lancaster. My 3.5 and 1.5 year olds had a blast. Another nice thing they have here that PTM doesn't have is an outdoor play area. PTM has more to do but we go there a lot and this was nice to do something different. I would definitely come again. read more

I appreciate being able to have borrowed the library pass for Hands-On House Lancaster (HoHL), b/c I would not have been as pleased had I driven over an hour & had to pay $12 for my 2-10yo child + $10.50 for myself. As I walked into the museum from the huge (free) parking lot, I saw that HoHL has an outdoor space that is not offered at my go-to local Please Touch Museum (PTM) in Philly. This is a really nice touch, although I can't review that part b/c I visited in February when it was closed. You enter through the gift shop, where they sell tickets at the store's register. This was frustrating with a toddler, who is going to grab at everything. This is the main in/out, so they get you coming and going. Some kid is going to knock an avalanche of stuff off those shelves someday. The staff member who "greeted" me was not friendly. She immediately told me "GO WASH YOUR HANDS! And then come to me for tickets." Uh, I get that this is the COVID era, but it was super rudely/angrily shouted across the room. Also, I'd just done sanitary wipes for me & my son when we left the car. Touching the bathroom door & all the surfaces therein, was a lot dirtier than our already-sanitized virgin hands coming in from the cold. I just pulled out another sanitary wipe & re-wiped. I showed the woman my library pass, & she just gestured like "go on by" even though no one else was in the room. It was our first visit, & there was no offering of a map, or brief explanation of what was where, nor even the kindness of a "welcome." After we'd walked by, she did grouchily add, "We close early today!" at my back. This is a pretty small museum compared to what I'm used to at PTM. For 63% of the admission price (for my kid), it was not 63% of what I get downtown. This is why I'm glad I got in free with library pass. That said, all the exhibits were well done, my son had a ball, & it definitely felt professional, adequately clean, & safe. HoHL is heavily farm-themed. Lancaster in general, really plays up the Amish Farm ambiance, & it is not lost inside their kid museum. We first went through a farm market area, then to a place to pick/harvest various fruit/veg, with tractor to ride (sitting in place), & a barn where you look after (pretend) animals, & hoist things to the loft. That is at least 45-50% of the floor space. There is a tinker toy area, some light-up boards, & other geometric/technical types of activities in the center of the museum (which we did not play b/c they were for older ages & my son wasn't into them). At the rear of the museum is a construction area, with a loft where kids apply building materials to build a house, & under that are emergency service worker costumes & accessories. Adjacent to that is a crane, & along the big back wall is a system of tubes with air suction going on, & kids can put scarves into it to watch them randomly fly through the tube network & out the top disposal area. The vacuum tubes were so fun, & my son played at this a while w/ another little girl. The crane, too, attracted my son, & we cranked that & played a long time with the play bricks it uses. The house building, & some of the geometric/tech games seemed to need parental explanation & participation (at least at my child's age range), which has pros & cons. I like that there are activities fitting for various ages, but I felt similar concepts could have been conveyed in simpler terms, that would make play more intuitive for kids of all ages. PTM does a great job of making all exhibits accessible to a variety of ages, & I really appreciate that there. At the same time, kids may grow out of exhibits they've known since babyhood, just by boredom or shedding of "babyish" memories, so I get why age barriers are also useful. I appreciated the ample seating for caretakers around the museum. Another comparison to PTM was that I see corporate sponsorship all over that museum, & I saw little at HoHL. It could be there, but less visible, or it could be local businesses & their info perhaps more discreet? Both PTM and HoHL are orgs, so I'd hope sponsors would want to be a part of things. HoHL only lists "Local Partners" on their website, which is a list of other orgs/museums in the area. HoHL did not have a grocery store, which is normally sponsored by a local grocery chain. I was really surprised not to see Turkey Hill, Herr's, Hershey's, etc plastered all over the place. That is a huge missed connection for local corp sponsors as well as HoHL! The museum was great for a couple hours of solid play, & definitely serves a needed spot in the community. I would hesitate to try to visit during top tourism season, but the outdoor exhibit will be open then! Hope they'll keep expanding the museum, preferably with donations from corporate sponsors, who have the ability to pay for great quality exhibits. Hope to watch this place grow & evolve over time! read more

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Returned after a few years. There are lots of changes. The role play costumes stage is gone. Added new activities such as sandwich station, dino STEM room, plastic pipe building etc. Staff are friendly. Reservation online is recommended but not required. Very little visitors wear masks. My 6 and 9 yrs old got 2.5 hours play out of it. read more

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I came here today with my 3.5 year old son. Overall the price for what they offered was about right. This is a smaller please touch place but it has some cool things. However, we have been to a few others that were definitely better. Overall it was a fun experience but I think kids over 5 probably wouldn't enjoy it too much. The outside was closed due to rain, so I have no commentary on that section. read more

First visit with my 2 year old today. We would have had a MUCH better time had there not been a field trip of approximately 40 children that arrived at the same time we did. It was insanely over crowded and I think they should do field trips at a time when the general public isn't there - or figure out some better way to organize it. To pay over 30 dollars to be in that zoo, seemed very unfair. Had the field trip not have been there, we would have enjoyed it. Also, the front desk staff were oddly rude and kind of disorganized. And when we were about to pay with the girl who was checking out, a woman who I guess was her superior came over and berated the woman for ringing us up wrong - except she hadn't. I felt bad for the poor woman that she has to work like that. read more

We have been here several times as a group, however, over the last five or more years, it has been very difficult to make reservations to visit. This year we attempted to book for a small group.(16) and was told that we couldn't because another group was going to be there. We switched to a different day, received a written confirmation and three days prior we called to confirm only to be told that we did not have a confirmation because they recently changed their hours to being closed on Mondays. We are one and a half hours away from Hands On House and many of our parents made special arrangements to join us on this field trip for the second time. Imagine if we had driven all tgat way with our 'confirmation'? We enjoy this venue as it is much like our own school curriculum. However, we will never make arrangements to come here again. Over the last 10 years, making a reservation has been nothing shy of difficult! The staff and their reservation system is very disorganized. We attempt to come every year and always run into a problem. Farewell Hands on House! read more

The Customer Service and Personality of the staff is quite lacking. When I see this dismissive rude behavior from staff I wonder what type of treatment they get to be sp miserable. Definitely something management should look into. A smile doesn't cost a thing. Yes it's that bad they are miserable and rude. As for the activities it's okay but there are so many other places that are more fun and inviting and educational. read more

This place is amazing! We spent about 3 hours in here playing! I love how there is employees in each room maintaining the cleanliness in each room with all the toys by sanitizing and organizing everything! Worth the money and we traveled from bucks county! Well worth the drive ! read more

We had a good time here with our two kids(2&4). The older one seemed to have a better time and spent lots of time playing in the assembly line area. It was a fun day, but probably a one time visit for us. read more

Hands-on House - Museums Near Me - Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Fun place that packs a lot in without making it feel too closed in. Fun things to do with a great outdoor play area.

We had an ok day at the Hands On House. My older kids (7-10) struggled to play because it was mostly toddlers and they play differently, of course. It's also kind of overpriced, in my opinion. There is zero phone service inside, and no public WiFi. It's cute inside, and has some great, well executed ideas and designs. The amount of strollers inside made moving about difficult and cluttered the play spaces. I think their target age is probably 1-6 rather than up to 10... it's hard for bigger kids to play with toddlers grabbing things from them and throwing everything. I think we would've enjoyed it more if my kids were younger! The garden/outdoor play area looked cute, but was closed due to rain. read more

We are visiting from out of town... we were looking for a chance to get out of the rain. The reservation system did not seem to work well as it was a giant cluster at the front door with employees sending families in a bunch of different directions. The various activities were a mess with toys everywhere and scattered where they don't belong. No other parents seemed to have any interest in watching their kids, helping clean up, and no sanitizing going on from the employees. They were Every time we tried to use a sanitizer dispenser, they were all empty. Fortunately, we didn't pay full price. read more

Always a great time at Hands On House. The place looks a lot different from when I was a kid, but taking out child here brought back so many good memories. Clean and friendly staff are always a bonus. read more

First time going on vacation as parents. Keeping our 16 month old is tough so I searched things to do. I am so happy I found the Hands-on House! The staff was very friendly from when we first walked in. Our son had a great time just playing and walking wherever he wanted to go. They have a great selection of exploring and centers for all children. It was an awesome experience! read more

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I wouldn't really call this a muesum, it's more like a children's fun house. Has different areas of interest including, everything not included, face painting station, farm house, and outdoor area. Today they had sidewalk chalk which was cool. Negatives are cost and some areas should be a little bigger for parents to fit. One activity was very popular which made it a little hectic when it came to sharing or taking turns. All in all I think this place is great. We most likely will return. read more

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This is a fantastic place if you have young kids. First, it's the perfect size for a kid- they can see it all in their visit depending on their mood. Second, they have a variety of activities from Face paint to Dress Up to Role Play. Also the price is incredibly reasonable. Kids under 2 are free and it's under $10/per person. Their year-long membership is a steal. -Visit 5+ times and it pays itself! My daughter loves it here. We go almost once a week, and the staff all know her. They ALWAYS happily greet her and she looks forward to seeing them all. They always make us feel comfortable there and like old friends. It's a wonderful nonprofit and I recommend them to anyone looking for a place to take their kids! As for myself, I like the variety they offer for the kids. No two kids are alike, and I love that they offer things for them to explore. read more

I highly recommend taking your littles to this place. They also have a nice outdoor playground to use too. If you've ever been to the Please Touch Museum In Philly then you'll know what to expect. The smaller size of this place and location mean that there will be less people. They have 5 exhibits for the kids - a farm-like section, a dress up costume area, a supermarket shopping area (which I thought was funny they have fake figs as part of the fruit that kids can buy... but how many kids even know what real figs look like??), and a hands on factory section. You could easily spend two hours in here and pass the afternoon. They seem to keep everything pretty clean and the toys are not too old. So enjoy! read more

The Hands On House at the Landis Valley museum is an absolute gem in Manheim, PA. For a reasonable fee ($9.50 a person; kids under 2 get in free), you can take your children into a world of make believe and adventure with an incredible assortment of activities and games. There's a nature area (with tons of activities), a farm area with a play apple orchard , a grocery store with working checkout scanners, a post office, a costume area (complete with a pirate ship and stage for acting), and a mechanics lab where kids can assemble a device which ends in a recycle pile for other kids to start all over. Outside, there are also several climbable structures and a sand area. Large musical bells and pipe drums highlight the many musical activities available for kids inside and outside. From my experience, it was busy, but not crowded. There were more than enough activities for little ones that it didn't feel like kids were waiting in lines or feeling cheated because someone took the toy they wanted. There are so many photo opportunities throughout this place it was funny to see the packs of parents with their cameras running around after their kids. It was a very positive atmosphere; everyone was respectful and the kids loved every room. We easily spent 2 hours there with my 16 month old son and five year old niece, but once my son is older I can easily see this place being an entire afternoon's worth of playtime. I highly recommend the Hands on House to anyone! read more

Ok. I understand we went to this museum during winter break so I knew it was gonna be crowded.... but it was a zoo!!!!! I brought our 7 year old and she was utterly bored. This place is nice but small. I think the target age group is 1.5 to 4/5 year olds. Any older, and expect to be bored. No real science type of experiments. Just playing "store" "mail" "hourly industrial employee". Bizarre! We left in 15 minutes. I think the outside was more interesting than inside. We were told that in a few months they'll be expanding, but since we're not local we won't see it. read more

Hands on House is a place filled with unusual, semi-educational play opportunities for little kids. The relatively high admission fee ($7, and you have to pay for both the child and the adult) gets you access to some pretty cool stuff. One of our favorites was the grocery store; if your kid is up to it, they take a shopping list and go around the store and find every thing they need, including weighing lobsters from the tank and checking out at the cash register -- or they can do what my nine month old did, suck on a plastic banana the whole time. Another favorite is the factory which actually makes the mind-numbing drudgery of factory life seem pretty fun for a little while. I'm completely ignorant on the stages of child development, but I can tell you that most of this stuff is too complicated for a nine month old to really interact with. I also observed an 18 month old and a 3 year old, and they were doing a bit better, but really old barely 'got' what was going on. My guess is that this place is best for 3-6 year olds. If you live in the area, you should probably consider a membership, which will save you money after only a few visits. read more

Love this place! Even though it's kinda a drive for us to come this way, but it's worth it. The kids love it. They can spend hours there to check the place out. The theme change as the weather change. Lots of activity for the children's. They also have outside play place when weather permitted. Definitely have to check out this place if in the area read more

My second time here my daughter very love this place staff very nice super clean we will back soon read more

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Ok, so I ran the 5K charity race for this place even before I had ever been in the museum...weird. Right after the race me and the family decided to check it out and I was so glad I could help this museum out. Its pretty small but really packed with some really inventive hands on exhibits for kids. You could spend hours here and then come back for more! I think my 3 yr. old nephew really liked the grocery store, I liked the wood blocks and my 9 month old daughter went to town on the farm toys. If you are in the area to visit Amish country and need to entertain a kiddo, this is a must stop. read more

BY FAR MY KIDS FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD TO GO!!!... I have 3 kids [9, 5 & 4] and on vacation we decided to fit this place in because it sounded like it would be really nice for them. THEY HAD A BLAST to say the least. We even became members [we live on Long Island] just so they could come back a few more times before we went home and then hopefully upon coming back to PA for a visit. It started with car racing, face painting and fishing...counting the corn riding the tractor and making sure those eggs got to the market on time then my two youngest made a bee-line for the Market, their favorite part by far. If I said they were there for at least a 1/2 hr that would be severely understating it. Every place we go to now for them to play at is compared to this Children's Museum. After finally dragging them out of the market it was onto the "Theater/Adventure" area where many songs and shows were put on and they sailed the 7 sea's as pirates. My oldest got great use out of the science/factory area having quite a good time making doomaflagies and whoosawhatsits..."Washing" and "buffing" was a lot of fun for all of them. Then of course back to the market for another go around before we had to go. The woman at the front desk was quite nice and even recommended a restaurant for us to try out down the rd that turned out to be great. THANK YOU HAND'S ON HOUSE FOR MAKING MY KIDS TRIP SO MUCH FUN!!! read more

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Meh. I wanted to like this place. I've been to something like it before, so I did have something to compare it to. This was much smaller than I thought and had less things to do. Looking at other pictures in different reviews, it seems they are changing exhibits. There is no assembly line, it's now a big construction area. The hen house was totally missing eggs, and the supermarket is much smaller now than in the pictures. There was also no post office. They had a table of wind up toys where you can challenge your friend to see who could make it to the finish line first, but half the toys didn't work. The coolest part of this place was a big wall full of tubes. It has vacuums in it that sends the plush balls all over the place. The kids had a great time putting the balls in, guessing where they we're going to come out, and trying to catch the falling balls with the provided butterfly net. My child spent the most time here and outside in the playground. The playground is very cute and does have a couple different areas. It seems safe with most of the area being fenced off, but I did notice a ditch in the one area where a kid could wander off to. There is no WiFi and terrible cell service which is fine when you're in (shouldn't be on your phone anyway except to take pictures) but was a pain when I went to open our tickets from Groupon. Thankfully the staff somehow looked up our reservations and let us in. My daughter (age 6) liked it, but I don't think we'll be coming back to visit again. Covid visit - They advertise that only 8 and up have to wear masks. I'm sure it's so the children can maybe enjoy their visit more, but I'm not sure why 8 since everywhere else in the world seems to be ages 2/3 and up. The workers checked temperature, asked us to wash hands before we started, and asked us to stay together as a family and try to stay 6 feet. They also have a sign up online to limit the people. I think they are trying to do a good thing. Unfortunately, visitors were not following anything. I saw many children with no mask (which they were allowed) but then one girl (about 8) was wiping her nose and then going back to touching the cash register as if nothing happened. Snot central. Parents/guardians definitely not staying with or watching their children. read more

Shocked at the high reviews. It was less than mediocre... But I'm guessing this place has not purchased or replaced anything since they first opened. To charge $9.95 per child, yet have broken and outdated toys and things on display, I was very disappointed. The first thing that caught my 3yo son's attention was a semi put-together/build car and track. The car has 3 pieces and you put it on top of the hill/track and pull a lever for it to go. None of the pieces fit nor stayed together. It'd fall apart before the car made it down the hill. The grocery store was cute but how difficult would it be to put barcodes on each item so they can scan it rather than have a few laminated sheets of barcodes. My son had fun shopping but was bored with the scanning which should be the best part. He tried scanning each item as he sees the cashier do that when I grocery shop. The last room had pieces where you could make paths for a ball to fall down through but the pieces were mostly missing or wouldn't stay on the wall and... there were no balls to be found. Shame on you Hands on House. This place could be a very fun learning experience. It probably was once a nice place but is at least 10 years behind. read more

Was a great time for my two year old. Only complaint was that they pushed us out of an area to install something- not sure why that couldn't have been done after hours- but all good! The section opened back up before we left! read more

We stopped in late afternoon on a Saturday. Due to snow and winter time, the outside activities were closed. Our 4 year old enjoyed playing for nearly 2 hours. A few of the items did seam a little old and worn, however not a big deal to kids. The general appearance was better than expected considering we arrived in the afternoon. I plan to go back during spring or summer to check out the outside activities. read more

Hands-on House - Construction site with items to haul and move using conveyor, ramps and various trucks. - Museums Near Me - Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Aaah this place is PHENOMENAL! I'll start with the bad: adults have to pay to get in too. But the good completely outweighs the bad and that's why I'm still giving it 5 stars. It has so much to do and I could see my preschooler staying there (happy and content), for hours. There is a room right by the entrance that's probably every kid's dream playroom. I'm talking water table, painting, play-doh, building blocks, and more. Then you explore all the other rooms (dress up, play grocery store, manufacturing plant, farm, face painting, snowman dressing, etc.). And even better, the playground outside. It has a huge sand pit that doesn't look like a sand box. Grassy areas to just hang out in, benches to sit on, things to climb on, music-making structures to bang on. I wish my hometown had one of these establishments. SO fun! read more

We have enjoyed going for our youngest child for a couple of years but there are definitely a few things to know and be aware of if you are going to participate in their "classes"--- for one, we were told "Parents are not allowed" in the classes. When I asked for further information the "teacher" was extremely patronizing. When I brought up the question of child safety, I was told that no one had ever asked or been concerned with that. I explained that anytime you leave a child alone in a room with an adult and parents are told they are "not allowed" there should be a concern about child safety. I was told I could take my child out of the class or stand by a tiny window to look in. After I looked online in the descriptions I did notice it states that parents do not attend so it is my fault for not seeing it when I booked the class, but I also think parents should never be "not allowed" to check on their kids. Period. In addition to the lack of interest in child safety, it is extremely pricey for the small museum it is and to be honest, even my 5 year old is pretty bored with it now. Be careful to read all the fine print and unless you are rolling in dough, its not really worth getting the year membership. read more

We had a great time here! I was a little concerned because my children are out of it's ideal age range, in both directions. My sons are 17 months and 12 years. They both had a fun time. There were things my 17 month old couldnt reach or understand completely but he made his own fun. My 12 year old enjoyed it more than we expected, mainly the bird making and scanning items in the store. He also liked the workshop. This is a great place for parents to join in the fun. I was so glad the parents were helping to keep everythiong cleaned up, especially the grocery store! The grocery store was impressive! The activities and the play food were so nicely done! I loved playing in there as much as the kids! I didn't give 5 stars becauase the outside Discovery Meadow needs some attention. It was overgrown and has so much potential! read more

I give it a five star because its a fun place to go They have all kind of stations like................... Face painting Dress up Grocery shopping Ales barnyard Factory And all of these stations are very educational they give very fun things to do And .......the only admition is 7.00 well o hope thus gave you a idea to take your children there read more

Loved this place. The staff was very friendly, price is reasonable and my two year olds loved it. I wish we lived closer, we would be there all the time. read more

This place is AMAZING!!! We took our 2 year old there and, for someone who typically has a 2 minute attention span, she could have been perfectly happy there all day. We finally had to tear her away from one section, only to walk around the corner to an equally exciting and attention-drawing next section. The staff was very friendly, the place was clean and the atmosphere enriching, fun and educational for the kiddos! Update: I moved back to the area and we got a year pass and took full advantage of it because, after a year and countless visits, neither child ever tired of coming here. read more

Great museum for kids, lots of interesting exhibits, and the outdoor play area was neat too. The grocery store was the best...fully stocked shelves and then the kids can literally scan their items to see the total price. It definitely has a local flavor with an exhibit on sorting eggs, an assembly line, and a tractor. read more

Very nice place, especially for children younger than 8. The staff is very friendly, and the outside playground a fine alternative to playing indoors. read more