Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

Decided to make the trek from Cleveland when I saw that Daniel Tiger was doing a meet and greet to mark the opening of the new Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood exhibit, and we were all very glad we did. My 1 and 3 year olds had a blast at the museum, and all the adults in our group found at least a few things each that we were super excited to see and try. We will definitely be back!

One of the best children’s museum. 3 levels of interactive learning. There is a studio for all kinds of artistry. There’s painting, silk screen, pottery, drawing, clay. There’s an entire floor of water exhibits. Bring swimsuits for kids. There’s a «garage» area with climbing, mechanics, vehicles. The exhibit we saw most recently was a tape tunnel but there’s a rotating exhibit every few months. Huge lite brite for kids to play with.

This museum is captivating, thrilling and wonderful. My 9, 7 and 2 year olds loved spending time here and are anxious to go back. I highly recommend bringing a change of clothes or a bathing suit so the kids can really experience all the waterplay floor has to offer.

Awesome place for families! The exhibits are fantastic. The garage room is so awesome, gets the kids engaged. The tape maze is super cool. The food is okay too, but they allow you to bring your own lunch which not many places do anymore. The third floor has the water works, a lot of kids wear bathing suits because they can get soaked.

How much do we love this museum? At least once a year we make the 3.5 hour drive and stay in a hotel just to visit it!
My boys (7 & 8) love it and have loved it since they were much younger. Now that they’re older, though, it’s MUCH more fun. They actually can make cool things now — use circuits, sew, paint, silkscreen, weave — you get the idea. And they get the broader concepts behind the exhibits (gravity, engineering, etc.).
The staff here are excellent and always willing to help show us how something works or to get the kids involved in whatever they’re doing.
Bottom line: this place is great for kids of all ages, but I’m really seeing the fun now that the kids are a little older!

this place is big and Bella our little one loved every minute of our visit!

I’ve been to a lot of Children’s Museums in my day, mostly as a child, and a handful of times as an adult. (An adult who does not have children, by the way.) Being that I moved to Pittsburgh when I was a teenager, I would probably have turned my nose up at a kid’s museum even if anyone had tried to bring me there. Thankfully, when I got around to it as a grown-​up, I was able to appreciate it with a child-​like wonder. The first time was actually at a Unilocal event – the Big Top party in April 2015. Fabulous event, by the way, but that’s for another review. I returned again later this summer with my bestie and her twin toddlers. Can I just tell you how cute the Eric Carle exhibit is?! The kids were very familiar with the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and took to it right away. My favorite part was putting the butterfly wings on my friend’s little girl, which she immediately ran with. Literally. In general, I appreciate the fact that there are so many hands-​on activities here, that even young children can participate in. It’s spacious and accessible for families who are using wheels of some sort – be that strollers or wheelchairs – and I noticed that there’s a designated area for mothers to nurse. Also, the cafeteria? Not bad! This is a really nice children’s museum, and I definitely recommend it for the young and young at heart.

One of the coolest places to take your children in the city! There is SO much to do and they routinely have new exhibits for your little ones to check out. May I recommend doing the arts and crafts room first, that way everything you do is dried and ready to take home by the time you visit all of the floors (there are 3). I’ve learned from experience ;)

Wonderful museum for kids. My children have a great time every time! Worth it to get membership because the one day pass is really expensive.

This museum is amazing! As a parent, I thought everything was so fun, even for me! We took our one year old and I was worried that there would not be much for him to do. But I was wrong. There were many things for him to put his little hands on and explore. There was even a while floor specifically geared towards toddlers. Awesome!

My 19-​month old had a blast today at the Children’s Museum. We LOVED the water room on the top floor and could have spent all day there. The new Eric Carle exhibit was so fun, too! I love that he can explore more now that he’s older. When I took him last time he was about 12-​months old and was a bit too small to enjoy it.
I also really like the on-​site café. Reasonable prices for eating out and quality choices. I’m glad there are more than chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese!
And we love the photo booth in the café that prints 2 photo strips!

Our 3 year old absolutely loves the children’s museum! We visit frequently. Bring a change of clothes/​shoes for the waterplay area! The food is a bit pricy and not too great, but you can bring your own food. I wish they had a bench in the restrooms on the 3^rd floor to help get the little ones changed easier!

Took my five and seven year old nephews here last summer and they had a blast. This is the best children’s museum I have ever been to. Not only did the kids love it, but so did the adults. Everything is very hands on, so it’s not your typical experience of just walking around and looking at exhibits.

I’ve been to children’s museums in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle and now Pittsburgh. I love how they all seem to embrace to norms and environment in which they’re located. I was really impressed with the amount of space in the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum. There is ample space and staff to accommodate lots of busy children and their parents. The exhibits are really unique… Very different than other museums. I really, really love the homage to Mr. Rogers! The water play on the third floor is amazing. The perfect way to spend a rainy or snowy day! I’m sure this museum will be our way to spend a few hours on our way to the airport next time we are in PA!

My family and I visited the museum today. We spent $ 100 on admission & parking for 4 adults and 3 kids. I was disappointed that their website boasts that it’s for kids of all ages, and yet, my kids, ages 9, 11 and 13 were bored. Most all of the activities were physically set up for small children: water tables, art tables, as well as buttons, controls, etc were too low for my kids to enjoy without feeling like they were «babyish». If they are going to advertise for all ages, I feel they need to make sure they have things that interest every age, not just 2 to 6 year olds. Also, I was disappointed that there were no signs explaining the science behind the exhibits. How could they say they do school field trips when there is no explanation of what is being learned? We will not be back. We feel like our money was wasted.

Awesome adventure for the entire family! We have visited several times with extended family, which includes kids ranging from 1 – 13. Everyone found something engaging or projects to work on. Almost every experience is hands on and interactive. It’s very open ended, so as an adult I find it amazing to watch and see what kids will do. They seem to engage differently with things each time we visit as they learn or experience various exhibit components. So glad we have the membership to play year round.
A regular «go-​to», especially during those winter months or rainy days. The change in programming and exhibits really keeps each visit fresh. If you live in or near Pittsburgh and have kids, I honestly don’t know why you wouldn’t be a member here. Definitely one of the cooler experiences for the entire family.
The art from the Studio and projects created in the Makeshop are a favorite. With my 2yo and 4 months old baby, we usually make a separate trip down just for the Waterplay exhibit. The Garage exhibit is a must for my daughter every time we go.
If you live nearby, invest in a membership. If you’re passing through, plan to spend all day and bring a change of clothes for the kiddos. They will get wet in the Waterplay area.
With teeny tots, best visit time is during the week and we follow on facebook to avoid large group visitation days, etc. If you go in the afternoon, it feels like you have the place to yourself!
Event calendar on the website is always up to date and a big help when planning a visit.
Have fun!

Unfortunately we only got to spend a couple of hours on Black Friday here but we had a blast. The art room on the first floor is so cool It was my daughter’s first art project and we got to take it home. We rushed past some of the other exhibits/​displays/​activities but we got to play with lights and sand before going to the bunce zone. My daughter had a blast throwing the ball around and playing with the magnetic track next door. We will definitely schedule in for a longer day next time.

I love this museum! I’ve gone several times with friends and their children. There are so many fun things for kids to go, and so much to explore, even if you are an adult.
Kids seem to love the art stations where there are always a variety of crafts and items to create/​construct. I love how they are always changing exhibits to stay current and keep things fun and creative for the regulars.
My favorite thing about this museum is the «funhouse» slide area. My nephew loves this slide and loves the anti-​gravity feel when he is inside. It’s too fun!

I moved from Columbus, OH to Pittsburgh and was elated to find out that my COSI membership in Columbus was still usable at the Children’s Museum. While C-bus’s children’s museum is mainly about science, Pittsburgh’s has art and what not going on.
My son loves this place and has finally discovered the art room. He’s not super creative but he likes the fact that he can pop on an apron and paint. He even threw a clay cup and silk screened some paper cut outs.
They have other workshop space where you can sew or build lil motors. The changing tough art exhibits are neat too.
On the downside, if an exhibit opens try to see it early. Simply because kids tear shit up. We went on the opening day of Clifford and by the final week props were missing and there were kid bite marks on Clifford’s bones o.0.

Wow, what an awesome place! My little sister & I took her daughter (my niece) to the children’s museum this last Saturday and we all had a blast. My sister & I kept asking eachother why we never came here as kids, haha.
Everything has pretty much been mentioned in the reviews, but there is a new exhibit in the area that changes that has a ton of inflated balls to kick, throw or run through! The lights are dimmed, theres a disco ball and just kids running everywhere having fun. It opened ⁹⁄₁₃ i believe.
Parking wasn’t a hassle or costly at all. The cool guy walking around playing the banjo was very entertaining. Actually, all of the staff here are nice. We really enjoyed the art room as well as the water room. My niece loved the garage and that avalache sand spinning wheel. Oh, and that slide /​tilted room. We’ll be back very very soon!
We already planned her 3^rd birthday that’s coming up, but this would be a great place for birthday parties after I read their birthday brochure.

We are Children’s Museum members, and membership is worth every penny.
Pittsburgh is cold for a long time, and kids need to be active even on cold days. We found a place to spend our weekends where our kid could run around and do things no matter what the weather forecast.
One caveat… as burgeoning academic who is the child of an academic, I must say that the Children’s Museum takes alot of liberty with the word «museum». Unlike Children’s Museums in other cities we have lived or visited, there are NOT many actual LEARNING-​oriented exhibits which I sometimes find disappointing. However, we use the museum to «play», not to «learn», and kids definitely learn through play.
On the other hand, we always find ourselves busy… spreading our time among places like the Art Room (painting, screen printing, drawing), the «Park» (my name for it) Room (basically a huge jungle gym, a car to climb in, etc.), and the Water Room. There are several areas too, e.g., My daughter made me a necklace in the Make Room once.
They also have programming with various live shows and classes.
One visit and your kids will be hooked.
Also, the Aviary is just around the block. Check it out too!

This place is a blast for kids of all ages! All floors are packed full of great fun for kids, and make this place a nice way to spend a lazy Saturday with your turbo-​charged little one — just be sure you are well-​rested before you go!
The only place that was a bit much was the water zone, but that’s to be expected whenever you join a young child and lots of splashy water fun. Our little one looked like she worked on «The Deadliest Catch» after she was done terrorizing the place, but it was well worth it to see her having such a good time; it’s similar to the «other» kids’ museum nearby. They are renovating this exhibit, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves.
Loved the art studio, the garage, and the nursery, where our little one really had a blast running around and playing with all of the activities. Obviously, the section on Mr. Rogers brought back all sorts of warm, fuzzy memories! Admission was completely reasonable, and a membership is totally worth it if you will visit with two adults and one child 3x in one year; you even get reciprocal admission to many science and childrens’ museums nationwide!