Know what you get, when you take an impromptu road trip with two kids? You’re probably thinking, DISASTER, right? Well let me tell you otherwise. It amounted to a day of lots of fun, laughter and plenty of photos, to prove it.
Just last week, I packed up the car & the Pollitos, drove down to Philly to the Please Touch Museum for quality time. I’ve been wanting to take them there for sometime & figured it was good a day as any to go. And I’m sure glad we did.
We arrived a little after 10am and spent hours exploring and playing. Ryan was mostly fascinated by the construction zone and McDonald’s downstairs. I had to peel Ms. Ravyn away from the duckies at the River Adventures, twice! Since then, she brings up the duckies at least once a day.
We’ve been to our share of children’s museums & zoos, and Please Touch Museum is my favorite by far. And here’s why:
10. The staff was extremely helpful and courteous. I’m convinced it takes a certain type of person to deal with other peoples’children. Especially when there’s a boat load of them & they’re boiling over with excitement and energy. I especially liked that the staff made sure to keep the older kids out of toddler geared exhibits.
9. The building that the museum is housed is absolutely beautiful. Memorial Hall was built to be an art gallery for the Centennial in 1876. These days you can take a centennial tour at the museum.
8. The Kids Store lent itself more to an educational toy store and had a great selection of toys and books. We scooped up a copy of Mo Willems, The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?
7. They offer a multitude of daily activities. Between their Playhouse Theater, Story Time at the Castle and regular exhibits, there is plenty to do for kids of all ages. And that includes us, parents.
6. The creativity of it all. I loved how they used recycled toys and other kid friendly objects to emulate the arm and torch of the Statute of Liberty.
5. It’s a spacious museum. Even with 3 schools on field trips and us regular visitors, there was more than adequate space for me to get around with a toddler “pushing” her stroller and my son to explore.
4. Variety of stations to explore and play with. The whole place is designed entirely with kids in mind. Lots of fun displays and activities for my kids’ age ranges.
3. You can bring your own lunch or you can purchase hot foods, salads, snacks & drinks from their concession stand. Offering this option won me over. Some museums force you to purchase their food, making an already costly outing even more so. I had already packed the kids their snacks, PB&Js and drinks. But they were starving; I guess it was all the playing, so we shared pizza.
2. This place is Clean. Clean. Clean. And for this mama bear, who walks around with an arsenal of antibacterial hand sanitizer plus wipes, and finds the need to scrub her kids down after public play, this is a was a VERY good thing.
And my top reason for loving the Please Touch Museum. Drum roll please…..
1. The Pollitos had an absolutely FANT-ABULOUS time. They were challenged, intrigued and exhausted at the end of their time there. Ravyn even snored on her way home from pure exhaustion.
There you have it, the reasons why I’m totally digging Please Touch Museum. If we lived closer, I would definitely consider an annual membership. If you ever make it to Philly with your kidlets, I would certainly recommend taking them there.
My only gripe was that the family restroom on the first floor didn’t have a changing table, making it quite challenging for me change Ms. Ravyn’s diaper. I don’t know about you, but I love the concept of family restrooms. They’re especially great when I’m traveling along with both kids. But other than that, the place gets an A from moi.
Have you taken your kiddos to any cool places lately?
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