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Marbles Kids Museum

4.5 (303 reviews)
Open 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Updated a few days ago

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Jordan C.

In town for the State Fair, we had a few free days in Raleigh. With some free time, we decided to take the kids to Marbles. Both our younger middle schooler and kindergartener were happy with the visit. Both found fun things and although the younger ones have a little bit more available the older kids can still find a lot to entertain them. We went on a Friday afternoon so the crowds were very light which I'm sure helped the experience being so awesome for us. Both kids favorite experiences were the painting area and the sports sections.

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Jennifer H.

Marbles Kids Museum in a Nutshell: A vibrant wonderland for little ones (toddlers to 3rd grade)! Downstairs = epic play kitchen, splash zone, pirate ship, submarine, & chill low-sensory room. Upstairs = sports galore, artsy fun, and even animated art! Crowd favorite? The exploding piggy bank in the money zone--pure kid joy!

Fred S.

Marbles is a large kids museum in downtown Raleigh with a truly massive variety of activities for kids. Some of the top attractions were an electrical exhibit area, musical instruments, water tables, and sports equipment. There are activities for kids from 1 to about 10. We spent nearly two hours playing and marbles and still didn't get to every attraction. It is the biggest and probably best kids museum I've seen. The price for two adults and a kid was under 40$ and they have some discounts available for first responders etc. if you're in the area with kids this is a must do in Raleigh.

April R.

I took all 4 grandkids, ages 10-months to 17. All 4 of them had a great time. There is so much to do and for such a wide age-range.

Marbles Kids Museum
Steph T.

Came here on a weekday with my five year old niece and she had a blasty blast! We were visiting from out of town and wanted to give her some time to run around. This place was great for that! She could run and play and touch everything! Just what she needed. Very interactive playgrounds and spaces. My only complaint was that the A/C was broken in the Moneypalooza room and it was so hot my group had to rotate turns staying with my niece and breathing fresh cool air outside the door.

Holly K.

Updating my review as Marbles has continued to remain awesome as my soon gets older. First off it is very affordable to visit for the day, especially compared to some other spots in the area. I still love all the variety you could go on a Saturday and go back on Sunday and do completely different things. The new updated water play area is a great addition. My son still loves spending time at the train table (although kids keep accidentally stealing trains), our next biggest hit is the electricity room upstairs. The lego wall is a big hit as is their painting wall. The technology in their travel drawing room still impresses me everytime too. When the weather cooperates the garden in the back is great as is the front music/sand area. We go on the weekend and either try for street parking or park in the city deck right across the street.

Falan E.

Marbles 21 Adult event review: I appreciated the Wizarding Wizzard event for what it offered. There were plenty of adult version games to participate in or just be a spectator on the sidelines. A nice change of pace for something different. I can honestly say I had the most fun playing DIY Beer Pong. You will not be disappointed in the experience and games. My only suggestion is to eat your dinner before you leave home. The Marbles21 event doesn't cater to good food options. As a museum (primarily a kid's domain) transformed to cater to adults for the event. The food options weren't great. There was an excessive amount of junk food which is to be expected for this type of space/event. Marbles should invest in insulated coverage for the pizza until ready to serve. The staff was selling cold slices of pizza. Food should not be sitting out for over two hours because it's subject to bacteria growth after that. I do feel bringing in outside food should be allowed. There wasn't any real cocktails. There were low-calorie beer/spritzer options and wine. Overall, this was a good time and it met my expectations for what I paid to receive on this visit. The experience aligned.

Aimee N.

This is a really fun place to bring the kids! It is very, very big and very clean! They have so many things to do including outside and inside things. The staff are very nice and I was really impressed with how many different items they have. Each room is a different theme and it kept me busy as an adult!

Elexis D.

Definitely a cool children's museum to visit. Lots of stuff to do with you preschool & Elementary age kids. Two floors of fun! The only thing that disappointed me was my 12 year old still loves children's museums and most of the activities were directed towards younger kids. We go to children's museums all over the area and this is the only one we've been to that doesn't.

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1 year ago

Great place to take kids of all ages it's even fun for adults. It's best to buy tickets online for a quick check in.

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1 year ago

We always have fun visiting here. They continually update the place and keep it clean.

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Excellent spot for the kids and the kids at heart. Lots of learning opportunities. So glad this was on the list of places to go.

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Ask the Community - Marbles Kids Museum

Would a twelve year old boy be too old to enjoy Marbles?

I think a lot of it is geared towards younger children, but there are quite a few activities that a 12 year old would like. There is a huge lego wall, a wood shop building station, you can build and race cars down a track, as well as some sports… Read more

Are there age limits per exhibit/room?

Only areas reserved for toddlers

Is it free on monday?

Marbles charges admission every day of the week. On mondays, marbles does not allow groups such as school groups to come.

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Review Highlights - Marbles Kids Museum

My kids (3 and 5 yo) wanted to stay a lot longer, particularly in the KidGrid, Moneypalooza, Ideaworks and Power2Play.

Mentioned in 10 reviews

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The NC Museum of Natural Sciences was the perfect way to spend a very cold, wet, afternoon in…read moreRaleigh. It was a few miles from our AirBNB, so while we had to drive, there's a large parking lot right across the street. I'm not sure if parking is normally free, but it was on this particular Saturday. No one was monitoring the gate or could figure out how to pay, so we didn't. I *think* the sign said it was normally $5 on days they do charge or monitor. VERY reasonable. The museum itself is FREE unless you want to see an IMAX movie, which is reasonably priced. If you're into dinosaurs, plants, geology, or natural science in general, you'll enjoy yourself here, but the museum definitely adds a local flare and incorporates NC history and geography. While the museum is kid-friendly, it is not kid-focused. It is family focused and for all ages. My husband and I are child-free and had a great time. Of course, we are nerds and had science classes together in college. I do think this is a great museum for kids who are school aged and able to read well and ask questions. It is probably not the best option for toddlers or preschoolers when it comes to museums. The museum hosts birthday parties, and a group was there for that- what a fun idea! If you visit, plan to spend a morning or afternoon here- it definitely takes a few hours to see everything but not the full day.

I've lived in NC for almost 4 years and this was the first time I visited NCMNS! My friend had won…read more4 tickets to the whale exhibit and invited my husband and me to join. We met at 10am right when they opened. We easily found street parking and since it was on a Sunday, it was free to park. The museum is huge! I was so surprised by how large and open it was. All of the staff were friendly and knowledgeable here. We interacted with an employee in the whale exhibit and he was fantastic. The museum is incredibly clean and well maintained. There's so much to see and do. You can easily spend over 2 hours here. I especially loved the geology section, taxidermy/skulls room, and my favorite...the dueling dinosaurs!! It was SO incredible watching paleontologists work on this massive fossil. This part of the museum absolutely made it to be a wonderful experience. This is a great museum and it's free! I donated a little to the museum and also made a few purchases, one being a magnet and another being a beautiful $75 sulfite mineral. This was definitely worth our time and I'm so happy we finally visited!

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North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences - Exterior of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, focused on the SECU Daily Planet, with the NEC to the left and NRC to the right.

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North Carolina Museum of Art - Michael Richards used his body as this mold for the art. He died when working at his studio at the World Trade Center on September 11th.

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During my weekend visit in Raleigh, I could not waste the opportunity to go to the museum. I don't…read moreever get tired of looking at their fine art collection and exhibits. Numerous people with their friends and family came out this past weekend to also enjoy the greenway and outdoor art. There's also a café and small museum shop inside. We had a great time.

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4.1(21 reviews)
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The City of Raleigh Museum has become a great museum. I was looking through my previous pictures…read moreand just seeing how it has transformed over the years. Some exhibits are temporary but it feels all connected now. Admission is free but they do ask for a $5 donation. With COVID the interactive exhibits are closed. There is a guide book you can get at the front desk. There is plenty to read without the interactive aspects. The museum is doing a great job with COVID procedures. There is hand sanitizer when you enter. They do take your name and temperature and ask the routine questions about feeling ill and if you have traveled in the past two weeks. They even have masks if you forgot yours as they are required. Currently, the exhibits are the City of Raleigh history over 200 years; Dwane Powell's political cartoons; Women of Change (about the 19th Amendment); Dorothea Dix history of the hospital and it becoming a park; and another about Raleigh musicians. I was lucky enough to meet Dwane Powell on an earlier visit to the museum in 2018 so glad they have kept his work on display after his passing. The tributes added my other comics was a nice touch. I highly recommend visiting this gem of a museum.

The museum was interesting especially the exhibit with the typewriter and the old IBM computer and…read morehow they were related to the history of Raleigh. The museum had some artifacts from the Roe v. Wade overturn protests too. The museum was small and didn't take too much time to go through which makes the museum a good option to spend time when you're time-strapped.

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I stumbled upon this gem of a history lesson by accident while walking to downtown from our Airbnb…read more Catherine gave my son and I a great tour and history of Raleigh. I'm a history buff and she was able to keep me interested in an area of the country I know little of. Always fun to learn local history. It's free and enjoyable.

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Marbles Kids Museum - childrensmuseums - Updated May 2026

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