The Seattle Children's Museum is a great spot for little kids, but getting there the first time is…read morea bit of a maze. It's on the bottom floor of the Armory building -- make sure you take the main elevator in the center of the food court, not the side elevators, or you'll end up wandering around confused. Once you're inside, though, it's fantastic. There are tons of activities and play areas, and plenty of seating scattered throughout so parents can actually sit down while the kids explore. My 18-month-old had an absolute blast, and even two hours wasn't enough time to cover everything at her pace before nap time. The changing rooms and stations are clean and well-maintained, and there are designated snacking areas too. My biggest complaint -- and the reason I don't get a membership -- is the parking situation. It's a mess. There are lots of different parking lots around Seattle Center, but they're expensive, and most involve a long walk if you're hauling strollers and kids. If they ever fix that, this place would be perfect. It does get busy, especially on rainy days but it's so big and spacious that it didn't feel too crowded on a Tuesday morning.

Frannie was fantabulous! We walked in to tour facility and ended up experiencing the place for 3…read morehours flat..gio was helpful too, recco for kids under 10! Fascinating art, science & what not fun frolic STEM activities & motion/sensory play:) win-win for grown ups as well!

We brought our 2-yr-old here and she absolutely had a blast. We ended up buying the 1 year…read moremembership so we can keep coming back to play. They do offer a small gift shop with various educational toys, activities and snacks, but they encourage parents to bring snacks. It's wheelchair friendly, but they do ask that you leave your stroller in the covered designated area, or in your car. We just brought our diaper bag and snacks, but visited the car a few times for snack breaks, which you're more than ok to do, as they allow you to come and go as you need to.

There are about seven or eight sections for kids to play and explore, plus an outdoor area. It was…read morevery interactive and stimulating for my 17-month-old, and I appreciated that everything was well-maintained and very clean. The downsides are the limited parking and crowding. There are only about ten parking spots at the building, and nothing else within two blocks. You can't park at the library next door--there was a very over-zealous parking attendant questioning people who tried--and there's no street parking either. That's a real inconvenience in the rain with young children. I went on a Tuesday morning, and it was still very packed. It doesn't seem like they limit entry, and it felt overwhelming with so many kids. We did catch a storytime session, but it was hard to see or hear anything past the first row since the microphones weren't working. Overall, it was an okay experience --fun for little ones but very crowded and a bit pricey for a half-day activity.

Children's Museum for free! Yep! They ask for donation and I was happy to donate! The staff are…read morecourteous and helpful and even caution the unruly kids running around! Water play area is definitely the most high activity zone. My kid almost spent an hour playing in that area. The air flow duct with scarves is another fun area for the kid. Among all the other museums I have visited, the painting, arts & crafts area is quite unique to this museum. The wooden boards and the net at the end of the museum is another adventure for all kids and not available in other museums. This was the first time I saw my kid feeling the courage to climb over the ropes and explore. The paid parking area near the museum has good number of spots but the signs can be confusing as it says "only reserved" and you tend to wonder if you will get ticketed. Park Mobile app location 50271 is good and confirmed by museum folks! Or there is street parking too!

This isn't a very large children's museum, but my 5 and 8 year old had a ton of fun playing. It's…read moreso nice that it is pay what you can so that anyone can come. We were impressed by the cleanliness. Though, I didn't look closely, nothing jumped out as being gross. If you're in the area, it's worth a stop, but I wouldn't go too far out of the way for it.

I don't often find myself in Olympia but when I do and I have the family in tow, then this is it!…read moreThis is the family friendly, rain or shine you're going to want to visit. The Museum is quite large with both indoor and outdoor space. There's a cafe area with food and drinks. I was quite impressed about the amount of activities to do from crafts, to science projects to all sorts of ways to flex your creative muscles. This was quite the experience and bonus points for all the seating for adults. I can't wait to come pack!

A must-go for all families with littles. Hours of exploration and hands-on entertainment. Our…read moredaughter especially enjoyed the bubbles and water exhibits. What could be better than endless play stations for them and zero cleanup for us?! Would go again and again.

This would be a good place to stop in during a rainy day on a trip to let a little one stretch…read moretheir legs, though I never understand why some of these places charge for the adults. Best for kids 6 and under. Two levels with several play areas. Kept clean. Too clean. Several of the employees were milling around the areas putting away toys literally as quick as kids could play with them- I saw them putting away toys while actively being played with by kids multiple times in our short visit. The staff wasn't friendly at all to kids and they made a feeling of "don't touch anything" even though it's a play place targeted to young kids. Was nice for a visit, but won't be back.

Too small, and the staff is not friendly. Not worth the money, restroom is not clean and no seat…read morecover. Will never come back again.

Wonderful place! Learn and grow experience…read more Staff is very nice. Kids and adults liked it as did I. Steve

There is so much to do at the Children's Museum that there is never a dull moment. Flying a plane,…read morelooking for dinosaur bones, driving a bus, learning physics, playing on the playground outside, learning about the oceans and bay, sorting packages. Honestly hours of fun and entertainment. Everything is kept in good working order and there is something for everyone. A great place to let the kid's imagination go crazy! Lots of places to climb and run around to get all the energy out. My son slept so good after his visit. There were a LOT of people, and it is usually pretty busy. If you get a family pass it is a great deal, especially if you are going to go often (honestly there is so much to do you could go every week and do something new)! It is a bit on the pricy side, but the value is definitely worth it. Only gave it 4 stars due to the cost, but again, worth it in my opinion, but still on the expensive side.

Highly recommended!! We had such a fun time. Be prepared to…read moretake a lot of photos. Staff are around to assist with ideas too. Perfect date night or night out with your friends. You're definitely gonna spend over an hour if you're like us. If you knew in town or a local like us, it's a good way to get out and try - see something new :-)

We came here on a Saturday night and it was nearly empty. It's $40 per ticket, which is absolutely…read morenot worth it. Fun to swing by after dinner, but too short for it to be a single event. Pros: -helpful staff around to help take photos or answer questions -parking garage close by -plenty of tickets available -kid friendly with step stools to stand on Cons: -very expensive -mostly illusions using mirrors, so it's the same type of exhibit every time (looks like there's five of you in a room, looks like four of you sitting down, looks like a lot of you down a hallway) -doesn't last long

This free discovery center across from the Children's Museum was a lot of fun, and educational…read more They have a scavenger hunt for the kids to do to help them learn more about water, and they get a prize once they finish it. They have a small free lot for parking which is nice. Staff was very friendly and helpful when the kids needed a hint about one of the questions on the scavenger hunt.

This place makes a great stop off if you happen to be next door at the Children's Museum or at some…read moreother location nearby. It might be better for older, science oriented kids, but adults will likely find it interesting as well. It's free and all they ask you do is provide some info about how many people are in your party and the zip code you are visiting from. It's a good rainy day activity and can provide some educational moments. There is an interactive scavenger hunt which involves doing 8 tasks and ends with the ability to choose a prize. The maze pen we won is pretty cool. My 10 year old nephew was easily able to complete all the tasks and seemed to enjoy doing it. Some things were like video games, which he seemed to like and maybe it will give him some ideas about career possibilities for the future. It was a good learning opportunity about the importance of saving water and learning about what happens to all the water we waste, etc. I wish I lived in Olympia and was able to trace where the water goes when I flush the toilet. It was nice that they ask you to share what you learn when you go to redeem your prize. I'm not sure if my 8 year old niece would have found it as interesting, but there are places to sit and some kitchen toys to play with if not. It looks like they also have some crafts available. Check it out if you are in the area.

Excellent museum with two separate building separate by the 6 lanes highway and connecting by a…read morepedestrian bridge. Other than two buildings they have life size plane at the cover pavilion. The plane under pavilion are the passenger and old fighter planes. That includes the air force one. The first building on west is mainly space program. You can see the evolve space program from Apollo, space shuttle to private sponsors space vehicle. The second building is the collection of all kind of plane. I like the most is the black bird with Marc 3.2 speed. They even have the flying car. The education center and special exhibits are at this building. You can see the radar for the SeaTac and the entire United States.

The museum itself is gem and worth a visit. However we…read moreencountered an unpleasant and likely racist woman at the ticket counter on April 1st. There were only 2 people at the counter. She was on our right and refused to make eye contact and even turned her head away when I looked at her. Another white couple cut in front of us and was helped by the other woman After staring at the other woman on the right for a good 30 sec she turned here head. She reluctantly helped us. Later we discovered she didn't give us some handouts others were given for the Artemis 2 Launch party. This woman shouldn't be working there.

Really incredible place to get access to any of a myriad of machines that the average person would…read moreotherwise have a hard time getting access to (laser cutters, CNC machines, 3D printers) - and the new ceramics studio is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than any of the surrounding studios in Seattle. The members and staff have been very friendly and welcoming - definitely recommend.

My brother paid $125 for a month membership so I could get some familiarity with 3D printing…read more Attended new member orientation on one of my days off. After that, no instructors were available to teach on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Uncertified members are not allowed to use 3D printers unsupervised. Certifications are only done on Sundays (one of my work days). Jeremy Hanson replied that for a $50 fee, an instructor could come in on one of my days off from work. On the last day of my work week, I had to isolate due to Covid Omicron. When my doctor cleared me to return to work, I followed up with Jeremy but got no response to either of 2 e-mails I sent. I also contacted contact@seattlemakers.org and got no response. I can't say I'd recommend this place to anyone.