We've been to science museums, kids' museums, and kids' science museums all over the world (London, Munich, Chicago, New York, Boston, Tokyo, to name just a few). I am as surprised as anyone to report that the best one of these for kids (while still being fun for adults!) that we've ever seen is in a town I'd never heard of before visiting, north of Prague in the Czech paradise area.
There's stuff to do that's just good ol' fun playing (with a little science or technology mixed in). Water tables, a stage to sing on, a miniature grocery store where kids can role play. There are places to climb, places to drive little cars, fun with mirrors and optical illusions. There's a little bar where children can pretend to pour you a Pilsner Urquell. But then there's an entire floor (nearly empty when we were there!) full of well-designed wooden mechanical puzzles and challenges to test your knowledge of Newtonian physics. They tell me it was designed for little kids and I'm sure that's true, my kids loved it. But even with a masters education in engineering I still found some of them challenging to figure out! Just good stuff for the whole family.
It isn't too crowded. It will keep the littlest kids entertained through at least young elementary age kids, and to be honest I found myself having fun as well rather than just sitting on a bench checking my phone. read more