Sacramento children's museum

We visited the Sacramento Children's Museum recently with some family.  It's an interesting place.  Having worked at the Duke Energy Children's Museum in Cincinnati gives me a different perspective when I visit these types of places.

It's not exactly in Sacramento, but in Rancho Cordova.  Parking was relatively easy on the weekend.  It shares the parking lot with City Hall.  There is a tiny shopping area at the entrance, but not a full gift shop and no cafe.  But it isn't far from a number of restaurants if you do need food.

The price itself was reasonable.  They offer military and other discounts and are with ASTC, which means it won't hurt to ask about a discount if you have a membership to a museum.  Another great thing is that kids under 1 are free.

Once past the front desk, Tobias and Genevieve went straight to the train table.  It's a great height for them although they couldn't reach the boats well.  They weren't there long before they were called to the side where there was a large tower of foam blocks for Tobias to try to knock over and a giant light bright to distract Genevieve.  She wasn't quite sure what to do with the pegs, but was fascinated by it.

When she pulled herself away from the wall, she ignored the small sand area as it was slightly hidden and the play house.  Instead she went straight to the tubes on the wall which used air to create vacuums and propel scarves or foam balls about.  She loves these types of activities.  It was a little tough for her to move the pieces herself but she kept trying.  She experimented in rolling balls on the ramp as well.



On the other side of that wall, they created a sensory experience by hanging pool noodles from the ceiling.  Genevieve enjoyed traveling through the area but it didn't last long.  My main concern with this area was that it is difficult to watch your child through the hallway, which means you are either going through with them, which means they are missing out on experiencing this independently and you are getting hit with pool noodles, or you are going back and forth to keep your eyes on both sides.  Not as much of an issue with older kids when you can stay back further, but since this was new for Genevieve we wanted to keep a closer eye.


While she played there, Tobias went to the baby area with daddy.  It's a safe crawling place but he quickly bored.

Meanwhile, Genevieve headed to the art room.  She didn't really join in with the activities at the table but delighted in being able to paint the window.  They do a pretty good job of cleaning up space for new kids without making the area to wet.

Finally came the highlight of Tobias's day.  In the back corner, they have a water area.  There are several different tables at different levels and with different designs.  Tobias spent most of his time at a table by a Duplo wall.  The Duplo were meant to play in the water and on the wall, and the table was the right height.  The other tables had flowing water, to play with currents, control flow with pipes, and experiment with fountains.  Genevieve tried these out.  They have a few jackets to keep clothing dry, but I would definitely recommend extra clothes for little ones.

Genevieve tried those other tables out but left to play in the town before Tobias was done in the water.  She ended her day on the stage, admiring the fact she was also on TV.