I took my toddler here for the first time on a playdate with his friends. Since they were following covid protocols, they sold timed tickets. Despite this, it was quite easy to book tickets close to the date. There are two sections, one for tots and one for kids. Honestly the kids section was more fascinating for my toddler and his friends. Each group gets their own toolbox kit that can be used at the various stations. They painted digital graffiti on a wall, created stop-action movies with legos, built a robot from recyclables, designed different creatures from a DNA game and so much more! The museum staff does a great job with keeping things sanitized after each group visits a station. The tot section was like a small indoor playground to expend energy and have a blast! My son enjoyed his time here, a great spot to go during the scorching summers! Would love to come back again!! read more

Great place to take the family! More things to do with small children. We love this place. My 1 year old had a blast read more

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I have been taking my son and niece here since ages 1 - now 4, and they've always loved how much there is to do and play with. Lots of art activities and areas to play in. Always a fun experience when the dinosaur painting station is set up outside read more

We took our 8 and 5 year old grandkids there. Both had a really good time. Multiple hands on activities that staff keep organized and clean multiple times a day. read more

We have had an annual pass to the idea museum for my 2 year old and we have loved it. There are lots of fun interactive things for him on the artville side. However I don't love the exhibits for the older kids, they seem really simple or boring. But for young toddlers it's perfect read more

What do you even say about a place so magical it literally leaves you speeches? Their dramatic play area is incredible! The museum section is innovative, interesting, engaging, and varied! You gotta check it out! read more

Tool my little one here and she loved it!The admission price was about 10.00. There are two sides, 2 is specifically for young children with lots of hands on play and activities. Arts and crafts and themed play such as a Vets office, a performance theater, play Cafe and more! Lots of Arizona history exhibits, especially for Mesa. Take socks for the interactive side! read more

My yoga instructor quoted Albert Einstein in class today and it really resonated with me: "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." This got me thinking about the incredible imagination my son has... (and hopefully my daughter will have as well); I plan on encouraging both of their imaginations as they grow up by doing things like visiting the IDEA Museum! I first heard about the IDEA Museum from a mommy friend a few months ago. I didn't know at the time that this was formerly the Arizona Museum for Youth. They changed the name and had a grand reopening in February of this year. We probably would have gone to check it out sooner if they were located closer to us and/or had earlier hours on Sundays. (They don't open until 12:00 on Sundays). Both my kids nap daily at 1pm, so that doesn't work so well! But on Saturday, with no major plans for the day, we woke up and I decided that we'd all head to the IDEA Museum. They open at 9 on Saturdays and we arrived closer to 9:30. From the moment we walked up, I knew the kids would love it... It's a colorful building with a private parking lot and some fun, interactive musical instruments on the way in. The $8 per person over one daily fee is worth it... there is so much to do for the kids! We didn't get through it all, but my 1 and 2 year olds loved the play area, the light bright wall, the building blocks, the performance theater area, the puppets, the kitchen, and the books throughout. We also visited the current travel exhibit, which was really fun and educational. The IDEA Museum's mission is "to encourage visitors to experience their world differently through art, creativity and imagination." I'd say they are succeeding at their mission for sure - we loved our visit and plan on returning; it really was a fabulous family activity. I just wish they opened earlier on Sundays! read more

IDEA Museum - Huge light bright wall... The kids (and adults) love it! - Children's Museums Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

**Bring socks** Went here with my 2 1/2 year old today for the first time. Everyone over age 1 costs $8. For the activities offered, this is a fair admission cost. There are two areas, one on either side of the admission counter-The Hub area offers so many craft stations(painting, stamps, recycled creations, etc), although it can be challenging for the little ones to know where to start without any helpers nearby for instruction (as I have experienced at three other museums). A child 4 and up would likely fair better on this side and let their creative juices flow. The coolest part was this little Lego and super hero section behind/to the right of the igloo. You can pose the action figures and make your own movie. In the Artville section (where socks are required for all to enter) is a ton of fun for small kiddos. There is a "caged" off section for babies and crawlers, a train you can climb in and watch train tracks on a screen, a reading room, building room, kitchen area (with tons of toys) and in the middle tons of squishy blocks to build and climb on. Artville is clearly the more popular section created for 0-4 year olds (it was PACKED at 9:30 am on a Friday). I can't even imagine the chaos on weekends.It would be helpful if the person letting people in at the gate could only let a certain number of people in at a time to make the section manageable. Wish that some of the unnecessary space in the other area could be shared with Artville because there was no space to move, sit, etc. It would be great to have benches around the walls for parents(so we are out of the way) and a few workers in the mix to clean and mediate turns for sitting in train, entering kitchen and so on. Everything was so busy that parents were stealing the kids chairs and sitting in the way while their child used an entire area or sat in the train for almost an hour. I agree with another reviewer who said that there are some children who are too old for the section pushing around the little kiddos. There was a 6-year-old boy who was following my son, taking any kitchen item he was playing with and knocking him down. What was his mom doing? Texting. Awesome. So many parents chatted with their friends while their children were unruly, stealing toys or bullying. Lame parenting is not the museum's fault, obviously, but just be prepared for the chaos and many inconsiderate people. It certainly altered our experience. Learned on Yelp about the story time but it would have been nice to have been told about today's events upon entry, especially when they knew it was our first time there. Overall, my kiddo had an okay experience. If your child does not have an aggressive personality, they may be overwhelmed like mine. However, good practice for school (and schoolyard bullies :-)). We will likely be back only during free events. read more

IDEA Museum - In the craft area - Children's Museums Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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We love coming to the i.d.e.a. museum with my 2 year old. We got the membership, it's such a great deal for the price! It's perfect for any time of the year, especially AZ summers. My daughter loves doing the crafts and playing! read more

For the most part, this place is awesome. I would give it 1 million stars if it weren't for poor management. When it's not that busy, everything is fine. At times when it's really busy, like Saturday before naptime, there are not enough staff to manage the children, so there are older children knocking over the little children, parents on their phones and not paying attention, as their children destroy the art of other children, destroy property and in general, break safety rules. read more

I took my granddaughter here a week or two ago and I just wish I would have know about it sooner as we would have been coming all along! What a great place! They have so much to do and we both had such a good time. There are two different sides and you could spend hours on each side alone. There are things to build, crafts to create, a play kitchen, a play vet office, a giant Lite Bright set, little blocks and big blocks, a library with books, a train to play in, science stuff to learn about, and the list goes on! When it was time for us to leave neither one of us wanted to go! You do have to wear socks on the one side but if you do not bring any they sell them for $1.50. I highly recommend it! read more

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Fun and family oriented. Very clean. Good prices. My toddlers love it! They have lots of crafts and activities for older toddlers/younger kids. And a play place for infants and young toddlers. read more

The idea museum is split into two sides, with the right being the 0-4 and the rest for everyone. It has a more of a museum feel in comparison to the childrens museum. So let's talk about it's positives: Tons of stuff to do and art items. The price wise it's cheaper. My toddler definitely likes the toddler area as it's more random stuff in one spot. It's all on one floor. The left side has tons of seats for everyone. The negatives: Would I choose this over the Phoenix childrens museum? honestly. No. Whilst it's got its positives, it's much smaller and less options. the right is massively lacking in adult seating. If you have an early walker, I would miss based on the sock requirement. (They do sell extras at the front) Overall, would I choose this over its competitor? No, we love the outdoor option, of which idea does not. If I had not seen the childrens museum before this, I would have loved it. However, We spent most of our trip comparing it to its competitor. Was it great for us as a one off? Definitely yes. Would we be back? Probably, but not for a very long time. . read more

We enjoyed our time at the IDEA museum. It was well maintained and the staff was friendly. However comparatively to the amount of options at the Phoenix Children's Museum this was lacking. The no shoes area was the favorite but became very crowded. If they better developed the areas I think it would be more successful. The recycle/trash game on the big screen did not work and was frustrating. In theory the idea of a huge interactive tablet was awesome but it wasn't successful. My son enjoys building and the hard hat area was cute but also lacking in options. We will likely return however the $9.00 price per person seems quite high for the lack of options and how crowded it can become. read more

Great spot. Cool indoor kids play area. Good for infants up to about ten years old. Lots of different activities. Reasonable pricing. Bring socks!! read more

Brought my child for 4th of July crafting. We have visited many museums so she did come with certain expectations. This isn't a very big museum so she felt a bit underwhelmed. She was hoping for it to be more hands on which it was but more on the crafts side. I think it might be cool for smaller children (mine is 8 going on 9). The entrance fee is only $9/person which is not bad at all and even though she doesn't wish to return, I do feel like she enjoyed herself for a good hour or so. It was worth the experience but the musical instruments at the entrance were probably the best part, for us. read more

Not a fan. Took my 4 yr old thinking it would be a cool science-y place to go to beat the heat and it was cheap. We stayed for only 30 mins. It's very bare inside. Only 2 areas to explore. The soft play area requires socks so had to buy some there of course for the 5 mins we walked thru the area. The other side had not much else besides containers of coloring stuff, Lincoln logs and building blocks - my son was not impressed. And apparently the one exhibit was changing so it was closed but of course you still pay full price. I really think this place is good for maybe 3 and under. My $20 to get in would have been well spent burning energy elsewhere. read more

Do you have an imagination? Do you like to be creative? This is the museum for you! I had the opportunity of having a field trip here for my students. We loved it. Student are able to use their imagination to create stories and build things. Right now they have an exhibit which has to do with space. Children are able to put on space suits, visit Area 51 and make shooting stars. Everything is very hands on and children can learn. The other part of the museum, children can make houses out of recycled material, dress up like construction workers (hard hat and tool belts) and build things and become engineers. Every part of this museum allows children to explore and be kids. As a teacher it was wonderful to have my students be allowed to make crafts and use virtual reality technology. When children do not want to leave you know this is an awesome museum. They also offer an area for toddlers to explore. Socks are required plus you can have birthday parties here. The staff is so kind and willing to help you. Please support this local museum. You won't be disappointed. read more

I started bringing my son here when he was around two. We don't live in the general area so we visit maybe 2 or 3 times a year-if we lived close by I would definitely buy us a membership! My son enjoys artville for 4 and under (especially the train!) and also enjoys the special exhibits the museum sets up on the other side of the museum - it changes every so often (2-3 times a year?). We have gone when they had a desert exhibit and when they had a game exhibit - the game exhibit was AWESOME and I wish it was a normal part of the museum. Another fun part of the exhibits are the many themed stamps kids can get at each station. It's a fun place and I like going when to check out the new temporary exhibits they set up. read more

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Although the museum claims to target ages 0-12 I would not recommend this for anyone over 4. The best part is artville which is for 4 and under. Plenty a of fun imaginative play set ups in that section including vet clinic, puppet theater, store, soft building blocks and more. Still a small space but a good set up. The section for the older kids was underwhelming with several electronic areas which never worked when we tried them. The best part of this section was the recyclable art. While it was fun for the kids it is easily done at home with glue, scissors, scrap paper, cut up pieces of cardboard/paper, etc used to make your own creation. There was a cool looking room with dark curtains and lighting for a camping theme. It had a couple picnic tables and a pillow log with outdoor sounds and buttons which I assume were to control the sounds. Again the buttons seemed to be malfunctioning as they didn't do anything. There wasn't anything else in this room so imagination would have to be used or it's a quick walk in and out! Since my child is almost 5 I doubt I will be returning. If the target age on their website were 4 and younger I would have given a higher rating as it was a good place for that age range. Also note that adults have to pay the entry fee! I was disappointed in this since most other children play places don't charge for adults. read more

IDEA Museum - Children's Museums Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Wonderful place for kids. My 17 months old enjoyed herself thoroughly. Will try to come back here again. Spent good 3 hours here. Their last Free First Sunday is June 2015. So do plan to visit if you haven't already. read more

A very fun STEM-inspired children's museum. Our kids (6,3) spent three hours and could have stayed longer. Nearby parking is easy and free and the museum is centrally located (and very close to the natural history museum). Our favorite exhibits? An open construction area where kids can add onto a growing community of cardboard homes, businesses and parks. Kids can use ribbons, stickers, straws, sponges and a variety of other materials to add their own creations. A dress model and fabric for kids to design their own outfits. A robot making station where kids can make a robot out of recycled materials. A younger kids area with lots of foam blocks for stacking and climbing upon. read more

IDEA Museum - Genetic code writing game. My 3yo loved it. - Children's Museums Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

This place is such an amazing place for young toddlers to explore in mesa. We have fun especially in the summer time when its so Hot outside and we cant go to the park. Its not a very big museum but my son always has a good time exploring and playing when we go there. They change their 3rd exhibit out every few months so check their site to see what they have going on each time! read more

Loved it! I took my kids while the walkout, they are toddlers, and they were crazy about everything! I do agree it's a small museum and at so point with so many people it gets crowded and you REALLY need to watch your kids...I think that's the feeling when they offer Free admission days...I wish they had a capacity limit per room-area. They explored the train, that has a video inside and you can watch and pretend you are driving, so simple...but my kids kept going back to play here like 4 times....also they have a "pretend to play "areas where the kids can be in a restaurant, play with the food and inside of the kitchen, also there's a library a theater with puppets some clothes to dress up and some musical ins to perform, so nice! Also you can pretend to be veterinarian, dress as them, heal puppies and check their x-rays. read more

I've lived in Mesa for quite awhile, and often driven by, but never stopped at the IDEA Museum. I finally decided to take my 4 year old the other day and ended up buying a membership. We stayed 3 hours and it flew by. I like that it's somewhere we can stop for a couple hours and let him do some fun crafts, while using up some energy. He loved all the building things and craft stations, even if he couldn't stay still for longer than a few minutes because he was so excited! Insider tip- go right when they open before it gets super busy! read more

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Decided to go here with a friend and both of our three-year-old sons. The day before I went online and reserved times and printed out the tickets, since it says to do so online. When I got there you didn't have to have the printed tickets just your last name. No biggie. We went at 9am to avoid crowds. Immediately our sons took off to a magnetic board in which they were putting the shape magnets on the board pretty hard but whatever they are toddlers. An older gentleman came over and asked my son to not slam the shapes, cool I get it. I decided to go towards the robots that move through an iPad, the gentleman basically followed us over to the exhibit then said to my son no don't grab the ball. At this point I was just annoyed. Even my friend was like I feel as though he is following us around to make sure the boys don't mess up anything. It got to the point where I just wanted to leave so we went into the toddler area for the boys to burn some energy. We were there for only an hour and then left. If you're thinking about going here don't bring children three and under in my opinion! This is a great place for older children especially with all of the cool arts and crafts they have. read more

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My wife and I went to Idea, we liked it a lot. Definitely go with your kids. My son loved it. I think he would like it better if he was a little older, but we enjoyed seeing him play with the toys. I would recommend going. The only thing I didn't like was it cost nine dollars per person, even for adults to go even though the facility is not for adults... but it's worth a shot. Not sure if I would go again unless I had a discount on Groupon or something. read more

We love the idea museum, staff is friendly and the place is clean! Our favorite place to spend an hour or all day! Enjoy that they change there main museum theme every months. read more

It is small but is gave us a nice family outing that everyone enjoyed including our toddler who is autistic. We used the museums for all program and paid just $2 per person. Highly recommend if your trying to beat the heat and not your wallet read more

This museum was right next door to the natural history museum.. we thought it would be nice to bring my boyfriends nephew here to give him something else to do... it was a little cheaper ($8) compared to the ($12 to the natural history museum) ... but we weren't impressed at all.. yes kids are able to do artwork and keep whatever they make but there's not a lot of variety on what they can make.. I think anyways... I think they should either charge only for children bc they are the main ones participating in the arts and crafts or at least be cheaper for adults.. or if they are under 3 it should be cheaper (if your children are older then 1, you pay $8).. read more

This is only the second children's museum I have been too. This one relies heavily on video screens and hanging artwork. The other I visited had a huge variety of hands on things for kids to try. The nephews liked it, so that is what counts. read more

Really lame unfortunately. We have a 3 year old and a 6 year old that are very curious and love to explore. There is so little at this museum that they were both quickly bored. It may be more entertaining for a ten to twelve year old but even they will quickly see al there is to be seen. read more

I really didn't think this place was so great. It was kindof like things that would be in a preschool, in one big place. Big squishy building blocks, a play kitchen, paper crafts. We're here for a short time, and I was debating which area children's museum to take my 3 and 4 year old boys to. We were close to this one so I picked here. It's ok, maybe for wee little kids, that aren't in preschool yet. The current exhibit installation was about travel. It was cheap, $7 per person over the age of 1, but I'd rather pay a little more and have more to do. My house is filled with toys and paper scraps and junk to make macaroni necklaces, I was expecting this to have something that would spark their little minds more. read more

What a nightmare! We came to see Daniel Tiger like many others and were disappointed to find out that they were not letting anyone else see him. We were two hours early! We still got into the the museum and got to do a bunch of other activities. However, this place was a mess and poorly managed. Also, make sure your employees are not playing on there cell phone when they should be working. It looks bad and would help with the clutter. The activities were well designed and there seemed to be plenty of materials for everyone. I do not envy the cleaning crew. read more

Love this place! I've been here 3x in the past 5 days! My 3.5yr old and 2yr old love it! At first I couldn't understand the price being $8 for adults but realistically to maintain a place like this, you have to charge everyone. With all the deals out there (groupon, memberships, pogo pass, etc) asking $8 for adults isn't a lot. We purchased the membership for 4 and I think it's well worth it! It's a great place to visit on a rainy day, hot day, mosquito days, any day! It's clean, safe, and full of a variety of things to do for young children! I like the variety because it's not like we have this much variety at home! read more

Great price, enclosed play area , lots of crafts available, cute themes. This is a perfect place to visit when you do t want to visit a huge museum but want to bE able to let your kids play a bit without having to be rIght behind them so they don't get lost. They have a cafe area which is great too. read more

Great for toddlers! There's a whole area designated for younger kids with an art room, foam blocks, pretend library, cafe, Farmers market and vet. Also a room with legos, gears and a giant light bright. read more

Love this place for my kids 6 & under! If you have younger kids totally worth the visit & if you live close by you might want to consider a membership! So worth, especially during the hot summer months!! read more

IDEA Museum - Children's Museums Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Love taking our kids here that we got a membership. So much to do without having to chase them everywhere. The younger area for tots is great, sometimes they get the older kids that really shouldn't be in there but understandable. Tons of arts and craft opportunities for the kids like our oldest, truly enjoys. Sometimes they do run out of supplies at the tables though. Great place to take the kids and stay out of the heat, just avoid going on any free days because it gets packed! read more