Children's Museum of Cleveland3512

The Children's Museum of Cleveland focuses on family learning and early childhood development, and is an absolute delight for children from birth through about eight years of age. (Got out-of-town guests with family? Take them!)

A family craft and activity area offers several programs a day most days the museum is open. Programs focus on art, science, music, or movement. The museum itself is small but packed with interactive fun.

The Big Red Barn is a safe room for infants and toddlers filled with animal puppets, fruits and vegetables, mini-wheel barrows and other farm implements, and a slide coming out of the "barn."

Toddlers and pre-schoolers love the scale-model bus in the permanent Bridges to our Community exhibit. It's also hard to tear them away from Splish! Splash!, featuring an expansive water play table and a multi-tiered raindrop maze they can climb, essentially "acting out" the water cycle.

Older kids enjoy appearing on a TV screen while they predict the weather.

We think that the Children's Museum makes for a more fun (and more economical) outing for little ones than the Great Lakes Science Center. We also recommend families take the kids while they are little, because soon after they complete first grade, kids really outgrow this place.

Parties: Packages include a private room for two hours, and museum admission and parking for all guests. Food and beverages can be brought in; the party room comes equipped with a fridge and freezer. Cost: $175-$200; maximum 20 people. Call 216.791.7114 to book.



Membership: Starts at $50/year for one adult/one child, and includes unlimited visits, guest passes, and discounts on classes, party packages, and store purchases.