The New Children’s Museum

This is a great place to take the kids. They many activities and obstacles for the children. We enjoyed ourselves. It did get a bit overcrowded but that may have been due to the holiday weekend. The only downside is that the Air Conditioner was not working or they don't have an HVAC system. We went for labor weekend and it was very hot and humid. No A/C or good ventilation really sucks in a 3 story building.

We visited this museum while visiting San Diego and were not disappointed. Like any other children's museum, the exhibits are highly interactive (even for babies). From varying shapes, colors, tactile experience, sounds and levels of agility - there was something for everyone. Each exhibit thoroughly explained details about the artist and its intended purpose/what it is geared to teach. My 8 month old had a great time in every space - even just being around the older kids as they were able to climb more of the structures than her. We fully intend to make this a must-do any time we are in the area. If you have a fellow baby, I highly recommend arriving first thing to enjoy the "big kid" structures before it gets too packed before heading back to the infant-intended spaces. Our favorite exhibit had to be the disco room with the DJ table. The colors, shimmering textures and interactive table really grasped our full attention.

Tip: parking is $20 and you can park until 4pm. Its underground and allows you to walk around downtown SD too because the museum allows for reentry as long as you keep your ticket for the day. Overall: great place for kids to explore and support local artists. We made a day trip to SD. Left Irvine at 10am on a weekday and got to the .museum by 11:30. Explored a bit and exited to grab lunch outside the museum. Post lunch we were back at the museum and left by 3:30 before it close and beat rush hr traffic

There are many fun activities for children ages 0-7… while the older 8-up had a harder time staying interested due to the lack of stimulation for advanced cognitive thought. I wouldn’t suggest the web hammock for the younger kids as I witnessed several become panicked once they realized they couldn’t get out on their own and the openings were too small for the adults. There are plenty of hand sanitizer podiums so if you forget to bring your own it’s not a problem. The only thing I noticed was everything that could be interactive was VERY used, worn, abused… that being said it didn’t take away from the experience as a whole. We spent 2.5 hours and they (kids) were very tired and that’s a win for me! It was a nice quiet ride home 😊

Guys, this is absolutely not a kids museum. There are no pictures listed that accurately represent how this place actually looks - It’s supposed to be a kind of cool, modern and fun experience, but it’s done in a really really creepy way. Like a scary and creepy carnival. If this was some kind of trippy Halloween experience for adults I can get behind it. But the fact that NONE of what’s there now is anywhere to be found here, and that they can call this content for children, is unacceptable. TL;DR; not a kids museum at all, stay away.

My family went for my sons first birthday. We thought this would be a good museum experience with some interaction. It was the opposite. This place is like a boogie Chuck E. Cheese indoor park. Basically every “exhibit” was a place for play and not a lot of learning. The staff were so robotic and bland. Our stroller was messed with so make sure you watch your stroller people like to go through other people’s things. The elevator is super small which is crazy because people have strollers which take up a lot of space. All in all we will never go there again.

This museum was so wonderful. I had to practically drag my child out of here at closing time. We loved the pottery and all the climbing exhibits. The food at the cafe was typical. If I hadn't taken public transportation I would have packed a lunch next. They were giving away free Nature's Bakery brownies which my little one loved, of course. Afterward we went to the nearby park, which was also amazing.

WOW! With 3 kids and 9 grandkids, we’ve been to a few children’s museums, and this one is tops with 3 floors of endless places to explore. Kids over 1yr cost $20, adults cost $20-$25. It’s mostly a climbing/crawling/sliding/finding/exploring type of place with a great variety of rooms & areas. Terrific/friendly staff. Give yourself at least 3 hours. The cafe is reasonably priced with mostly kids food. Parking is limited, so expect to pay for downtown street/meter parking. We learned that handicapped tagged vehicles can park almost anywhere for free.