Brooklyn Children's Museum356

I attempted to plan my daughterâ??s 5th birthday party at the Brooklyn Childrenâ??s Museum, but my plans were overthrown due to the unpleasant experiences Iâ??ve encountered dealing with the museumâ??s party planning department. From the beginning there was a lack of communication between me and my party planner. He never answered my emails or returned my phone calls. Even though I couldnâ??t get in contact with him, I continued planning the party (I ordered food, favors, etc.). After all, I did pay my $100.00 deposit to lock in the date and time. When I finally got a call back, (after leaving pleading messages on their answering machine followed by â??threatsâ?? to take my business elsewhere), I was told that he was no longer with the museum and that I should expect a better experience going forward. My first conversation with my new party planner, I explained that I ordered food from an outside caterer since the one the museum uses prices were ridiculous and the menu was lacking in creativity. â??Oh, but Ms. _____, that puts you in a whole different category. Youâ??re going to have to speak with our special events department.â?? After being ridiculed for bringing â??outside foodâ?? into â??our museumâ??, by my now special eventâ??s coordinator, I was given a breakdown of all that I couldnâ??t have or do and was told that there would be a party (wine tasting) on the rooftop (drunk people on a roofâ??really??) during the same time as my party. I was told, if anything, I wouldnâ??t have to pay for music for my party because more than likely, the music from the wine tasting, would be loud enough to cover both parties. Also, the space that I was originally promised wouldnâ??t hold the amount of people I was expecting and I would be moved to the café (which goes side by side with the rooftop). When I expressed my concerns of intoxicated adults losing their way to/from the bathroom and finding their way into a 5 year oldâ??s party, I was then told that I would have to move to the theater room (a windowless room with a filthy looking carpet that gives off an odor)â?¦translation, I got booted to the basement. That was the straw that broke the camelâ??s back. Long story short (or maybe not), I wanted to have a party for my 5 year old in a place where she and her friends could have fun, but I also wanted to make accommodations for the adults that were attending. I was prepared to pay for what I wanted with the understanding that it wasnâ??t going to be cheap. I couldnâ??t see myself flipping the bill for that kind of service, not when there are other places to choose from like the Childrenâ??s Museum of Manhattan (cmom.org), New York City Fire Museum (nycfiremuseum.org), New York Hall of Science (nysci.org), etc. Parents bewareâ?¦.

I attempted to plan my daughterâ??s 5th birthday party at the Brooklyn Childrenâ??s Museum, but my plans were overthrown due to the unpleasant experiences Iâ??ve encountered dealing with the museumâ??s party planning department. From the beginning there was a lack of communication between me and my party planner. He never answered my emails or returned my phone calls. Even though I couldnâ??t get in contact with him, I continued planning the party (I ordered food, favors, etc.). After all, I did pay my $100.00 deposit to lock in the date and time. When I finally got a call back, (after leaving pleading messages on their answering machine followed by â??threatsâ?? to take my business elsewhere), I was told that he was no longer with the museum and that I should expect a better experience going forward. My first conversation with my new party planner, I explained that I ordered food from an outside caterer since the one the museum uses prices were ridiculous and the menu was lacking in creativity. â??Oh, but Ms. _____, that puts you in a whole different category. Youâ??re going to have to speak with our special events department.â?? After being ridiculed for bringing â??outside foodâ?? into â??our museumâ??, by my now special eventâ??s coordinator, I was given a breakdown of all that I couldnâ??t have or do and was told that there would be a party (wine tasting) on the rooftop (drunk people on a roofâ??really??) during the same time as my party. I was told, if anything, I wouldnâ??t have to pay for music for my party because more than likely, the music from the wine tasting, would be loud enough to cover both parties. Also, the space that I was originally promised wouldnâ??t hold the amount of people I was expecting and I would be moved to the café (which goes side by side with the rooftop). When I expressed my concerns of intoxicated adults losing their way to/from the bathroom and finding their way into a 5 year oldâ??s party, I was then told that I would have to move to the theater room (a windowless room with a filthy looking carpet that gives off an odor)â?¦translation, I got booted to the basement. That was the straw that broke the camelâ??s back. Long story short (or maybe not), I wanted to have a party for my 5 year old in a place where she and her friends could have fun, but I also wanted to make accommodations for the adults that were attending. I was prepared to pay for what I wanted with the understanding that it wasnâ??t going to be cheap. I couldnâ??t see myself flipping the bill for that kind of service, not when there are other places to choose from like the Childrenâ??s Museum of Manhattan (cmom.org), New York City Fire Museum (nycfiremuseum.org), New York Hall of Science (nysci.org), etc. Parents bewareâ?¦.

The best child friendly museum. I love the renovation with expansion for more exhibits.

The museum also offers members access to little known early childhood resources and is very helpful in helping to develop potential in gifted and talented youth. They also offer fine arts classes at a very reasonable rate (again, little known resources for the parents of developing youth). You can even call their offices and get a host of resources if you are a parent in the dark...

If your toddler loves water like ours does ... the trip is worth it for the water play alone. Kids can roll up their sleeves and play with water running down a ramp. Lots of other things, but that was our highlight. Not the newest place, but it's been around awhile for a reason ... it works. We'll return.

...trip.