The Boston Children’s Museum spans three floors in a brick building in downtown Boston. I found it smaller than expected, but still large enough to get lost. The cafeteria, coat rack, and New Balance climbing structure are all located on the first floor. There is also a rotating pop-up play area that changes themes. The day we went was sock-skating. There’s a small natural science discovery center downstairs, as well as kid-powered physics. The second floor houses most of the developed permanent exhibits. The third floor is museum offices, and four additional large exhibits. There are play kitchens on every floor and in every third exhibit, so if you’re going for a play kitchen of any variety, just pick a floor and you’ll find one. There is a gigantic elevator that runs through the center of the museum, and plenty of stroller parking throughout.

City parking is almost always a hot mess. We both went to the school in the city, and still feel some sort of way every time we need to determine parking for anything. This particular day, we parked in an open-air parking lot around the corner from the museum and paid $35.20 for our spot from 9 to 6. The spots were very tight, and it was quite challenging to get in and out of our vehicle (which is a super cool Toyota Sienna with sliding doors). At the same address, there is also a proper parking garage, if that is more your speed.

The “You, Me, We” exhibit is located on the upper floor of the museum and is set up to represent a small town. It has the largest play kitchen I’ve ever seen, a vegetable garden, post office, hopscotch, and some other spaces that didn’t quite register in my brain. It also has a really cool ice cream truck that my youngest spent an incredible amount of time playing in. I feel like my younger two enjoyed this exhibit the most.

My oldest, however, was most intrigued by the New Balance climbing structure in the entrance of the museum. Our traveling party this particular day consisted of the following ages: 7 (in April), 4.5, 4, 2.5, and 2. Between the four parents, none of us felt comfortable with our younger kids in the climbing structure – it was total bedlam, and there was no easy “escape” or way for the parents to get in there in a hurry. My oldest decided to exit rapidly after she was kicked in the face, if that tells you anything.

“Peep’s World.” I have never seen a water table as large as the one in Peep’s World. It was truly incredible. I wish my children would’ve spent more time here, because it was also quiet! Located on the second floor, it seemed to be overlooked by most people early in the day. Maybe they were trying to avoid wet clothes until they were ready to go home, I’m not sure. The picture here doesn’t do it justice. There are two water tables, each at least 30 feet long.

In addition to the ginormous water table, there’s also a fun forest to walk through and experiment with light and shadows. My littles absolutely loved this opportunity.

“Construction Zone.” This exhibit is located next to “You, Me, We.” My husband says he picked this exhibit because there “was a lot to do.” I think he picked this exhibit because he’s an engineer and building stuff is most comfortable for him. Also probably because our littlest had a blast here. I found this exhibit completely overwhelming because it seemed all the children in there were on Level 12/10. Whatever the case, I am truly perplexed at this pick because he is a next-level germophobe and there were lots of things to *touch* in here.

FOOD

There are a few options for eating at the Boston Children’s Museum. The first is bring your own food and eat in the cafeteria. That is almost always my preferred option, as I can ensure that my children have something they will definitely eat, and we can eat whenever they’re ready.

The second option is grabbing a bite at the Stonewall Kitchen. We did opt to grab something there for the sake of this blog – all the children chose hot dogs and they were gigantic! I had really wanted to try either the macaroni and cheese or the clam chowder, but things went south in a hurry and it didn’t happen. There isn’t a lot to pick from at the Stonewall Kitchen, but it has enough to hold you over in an emergency.

Whatever you decide, you can either eat outside in the Milk Bottle Plaza or inside at the seating adjacent to the Stonewall kitchen. Just make sure to get your hand stamped before you leave the museum area or the attendants will be very grumpy with you.

While nursing is encouraged anywhere and a dedicated nursing room exists inside the PlaySpace (0-3) area, nursing in the Boston Children’s Museum is going to be challenging. It’s loud and very distracting. Luckily, there are benches everywhere. It’s clear the designers realized parents need a place to sit. I would recommend popping into Peep’s World and sitting on the benches or in the “forest” and nursing while your other kids are otherwise engaged. I specifically recommend “Peep’s World” because the water table is huge, soothing, and you can see most of the exhibit from the benches.

BATHROOMS

The bathrooms at Boston Children’s Museum are dated, but appeared sufficiently clean. The bathroom configurations are male, female and family. In the family bathrooms, there are smaller toilets to accommodate smaller bums and shorter sinks to accommodate shorter humans. There are changing tables in all the bathrooms. While the changing tables seemed okay, I do recommend bringing something to lay down beneath your human and some disinfectant wipes. It’s Boston, after all, and city germs are the real deal.