We are actually Marbles Kids Museum Members so we go A LOT. Most people in the area are pretty familiar with Marbles, but if you’re new let me give you all the details!
Marbles Kids Museum isn’t your normal museum. It’s basically a giant kids play area with exhibits that range from a play kitchen, train table, ambulance, fire truck, veterinarian, school, farm, pirate ship, water table, sandbox, putt putt golf, money management, art, and engineering. At Marbles Kids Museum, kids are encouraged to use their marbles – learning new things through imagination, discovery and play.
Lobby and Gift Shop
As you enter the museum you will be greeted by the restrooms and the reception desk. Here’s where you can buy your ticket, check in for a birthday party, or check in as a member. Right inside the entrance is the gift shop, which we try to avoid as much as possible! It has lots of fun toys and games for kids, but I think the prices are a little more expensive than you can find elsewhere. They also sell snacks if you’re in a pinch, or you could walk over to the cafe in the IMAX theater for a full meal.
Downstairs Exhibits
Toddler Hollow
Around the corner is where the fun begins! There’s Toddler Hollow, a forest-themed area specifically for the young ones. Right next door to that is a separate nursing room with a changing table for the littlest visitors. Inside the open space in the lobby there are usually rotating activities setup from community members. We have seen everything from outdoor toys, to science activities, to musical instruments!
Transportation
The main play area is actually enclosed with a half-wall for safety. I’m glad it’s there, but it’s still easy to lose your kid in the crowd. Inside the wall you’ll find a pretend fire truck, helicopter, boat, bus, and ambulance. They’ve got all your transportation modes covered!
You’ll also find the train table, acting stage, veterinarian, school, and farm area in there. The kids can use their imagination to pretend to be teachers, veterinarians, doctors, and farmers.
Soft Play for Babies
There’s also a separate enclosed soft play area for babies. I love that there’s a fish tank at eye level that always amazes my babies! I have spent a lot of time in that baby area over the past few years!
Grocery Store and Kitchen
One of my kid’s favorites is the grocery store with a pretend kitchen. They always try to grab a shopping cart and fill it full of food. Then they take it to the kitchen and whip up something tasty! One negative is that there are only so many shopping carts, so a lot of times they are all taken.
Camping Room
Once you’re done with that area you can cross over and check out the camping-themed room. I love that it has incorporated local mountain tops into the decor and allows the kids to pretend camp and play in the river! We always have to go for a “boat” ride while we’re there!
Water Play
From there, move up a few steps (there’s also a ramp for strollers) to the water play area. They have water tables set up inside and provide protective aprons to help prevent the kids from getting soaked. Mine still usually figure out how to get wet, but it at least helps a little.
Underwater Room and Submarine
There’s also an “underwater” room with stuffed animals and a pretend submarine. Inside the submarine you can pretend to be a scientist with beakers and droppers to conduct your experiments.
*NEW* Shapes Room
Across from that is a room that used to just be a party room, but has recently been transformed into a few different exhibits. At first it was a polar port, but the last time we went it was a room all about shapes. There were lots of different blocks and activities the kids could use to make shapes. I was there with my 1 year old for a long time while he built towers and knocked them down.
The Pirate Ship
Next up is a giant 3 story pirate ship that the kids LOVE to climb and explore. This isn’t super friendly for the young ones because it’s pretty narrow and has ladders to get to the top floors. I don’t trust my really young ones on the ladders, and it can get a little crazy with kids trying to get up and down. I usually let my husband go up with my kids aged 3 and older, while I do something else with the babies.
Gardening
Across from the pirate ship they recently put in a pretend gardening room. You can “plant” seeds in pots and put flowers in with play dirt. It’s perfect because it’s right next to the REAL garden, which is right outside. Sometimes staff are out there helping the kids plant real flowers and then they can go inside and try it themselves with the pretend garden!
Musical Courtyard and Sandbox
After that we usually head back to the musical courtyard where they just recently put in a giant sandbox instead of the fountain that was there before. My kids could play in that sandbox for hours if we let them! The sandbox also makes a large guitar that plays music as you walk past.
Mini Golf Course
They also recently opened a new room just past the courtyard, which has changed a few times since opening. At first, it was a building room with giant waffle blocks that the kids could build with. The last time we went it had been transformed into a “make your own” putt-putt mini golf course. The obstacles were movable so you could set up your course and then play putt-putt together as a family!
Upstairs Exhibits
Art and Tools
This exhibit has been remodeled since we took pictures, but the same exhibits are still available!
There is a huge art section that provides watercolors to paint with and other stations for designing your own clothing and mosaics. There’s also a tool section where your child can practice using real tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and saws on pieces of wood. The saws scare me a little bit, but if you supervise closely you should be okay since they’re pretty dull. At least, I haven’t heard of a kid getting cut there so hopefully, it’s fine. 😬 There’s also an area you can make your own matchbox cars and then race them down a track!
Money Management
Our favorite exhibit, and the one we spend the longest at, is the money management exhibit. It’s setup so the “money” is green balls that you must shoot up into the piggy bank for savings. Once the giant pig fills with balls it dumps out like you’ve one the jackpot! There are always tons of kids working together to fill the pig just for that one moment of pure joy when it dumps everywhere!
Exercise and Ice Hockey
There’s also an exercise-focused exhibit next to the indoor ice hockey rink. You can shoot hoops and do a bit of gymnastics.
How Electricity Works
Past that is the electricity exhibit that shows how electricity works by moving light across the space to represent energy. It can be pretty fascinating for the younger ones!
Stemosphere
Don’t forget to swing by the STEM section, celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. You can spend your time building electric circuits, coding a maze, finding the pattern in music, solving puzzles, and engineering flying objects and sturdy bridges. My kids just showed some interest in this spot the last time we visited. I’m not sure if it was because I have a kindergartener now, or the space just wasn’t as crowded as usual!
Daily Admission or Membership
Admission is pretty reasonable at $5 per person, but I hate that you also have to pay for adults. The museum is open late on Thursdays and you can get in for $3 per person from 3pm-7pm. But probably the best deal is to become Marbles Kids Museum members. For around $125 you can get unlimited visits for your entire family into the museum for a whole year! The membership pays for itself after just a few visits! We have asked for our membership as a Christmas present from the grandparents for the past few years, and they love knowing that it’s a gift that keeps on giving!
Special Events
Marbles Kids Museum also has tons of fun special events throughout the year. Some of their holiday events like the Kickoff to Kindergarten, Spooky Kooky Halloween Party, and an Evening with Elves are some of the most popular! See the full list here.
IMAX Theater
And don’t forget the IMAX theater! It’s the largest in the region and in addition to documentaries and nature videos they also show hit movies on the big screen! We saw Toy Story 4 there the day it came out! Tickets are separate from admission and cost extra. You can buy tickets here. There’s a full service cafe onsite so you can play at the museum, eat lunch, and catch a movie all in one spot!
There’s honestly so much more at Marbles Kids Museum that I haven’t listed, so it’s definitely worth a visit! Afterwards, walk over to Moore Square or Read With Me! Children’s Bookstore to continue the day of fun!
Pandemic Policies
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you must now reserve your entrance time at Marbles in advance and show your ticket at the door. You can do this on their website, and if you are a museum member you must login to get your free entrance rate. Members can enter the museum an hour early at 9am and then it opens to the general public at 10am. Face masks are required at all times for all adults and children aged 5 and up.