Our visit to the Stepping Stones Museum for Children started as a car nap. We had spent the morning out and about, and the kids fell asleep on our way home. We drove around, and finally settled on an afternoon at Stepping Stones.
Adult Admission to Stepping Stones is $15. Children under the age of 1 are free, and older children are also $15. If you’d like me to get back on my soap box, I will… but you can also read about my feelings on this matter here.
Stepping Stones has a policy that all children must be accompanied by an adult, and all adults must be accompanied by a child. Not to repeat myself, but at $15 a person, it certainly isn’t a cheap outing.
The plus side is that Stepping Stones Museum for Children is a member of the Association of Children’s Museums Reciprocity Network (See our Resources Page for more information).
Senior admission (over 62) is $10. Members, and active duty military personnel and their families (within the same household) are free. The museum does offer free parking.
First up was a visit to Tot Town. This area is filled with infant and toddler sized fun. Puzzles, books, dress-up, stairs, a slide, musical instruments… So much to play with! As you can imagine, our littles were drawn to the books, but they dabbled in the puzzles, and other sections, as well.
We’ve been to a few museums by now, and this toddler area is one of the best we’ve seen. It was larger than many of the others, and the kids were all playing nicely together. We could have spent quite a bit of time in there, but we were excited to see the rest of the museum!
Logically, the next stop was the Energy Lab. We’ve heard varying strategies for tackling the Energy Lab. Kids can explore energy of all kinds, from solar, to wind, to water, and more. Yes, Water. There are lab coats available to provide some protection for the little scientists as they experiment within the Water Lab. Some parents believe you should visit the water play area in any museum last. That way you can jump in the car, and go home, and not have to walk around soaking wet. Others support the notion that you should visit first, and bring a change of clothes.
We haven’t joined a team, yet. In this case, we hit the water room early on in our visit. It was located right next to Tot Town, and was the first room we came across. To say our kids got wet would be a massive understatement. We were garnering many looks from other patrons. No attempt was made to keep our kids dry. They were here to play, learn, and explore. We allow them to do so. The good news is just like kids and clothes can be washed- they can also be dried.
After they were thoroughly drenched, we had a snack, before heading out to the Celebration Courtyard. The duo loved the Big Blue Blocks. They seek those out everywhere we go. They also enjoyed climbing on and through the structures they found. It was a great way to burn off some energy!
Once we were back inside, the two kiddos discovered the ColorCoaster, a 27 foot sculpture designed by George Rhoads. The kinetic sculpture is powered by multiple balls which roll, fly, and spin through the display. They spent quite a while entranced by this coaster. I can’t lie- TT Dad and I were pretty focused as well!
Right next to this giant sculpture are Build It!, and Express Yourself. Build It! was a huge hit for our kids. They were just starting to get into their trucks and cars phase, but they also love building with blocks. When you add in the library of books in this area, it was almost as if they had found their own little utopia.
My overall opinion of this museum is conflicted. We had a blast, and I am always a fan of a museum found in the reciprocal network. I’m not sure if this can convince me that their pricing is acceptable.
Perhaps a membership would solve my inner conflict!