KidPaths

50 results for “free museum for toddlers”

Tumbleweed RanchFree

Tumbleweed Ranch

4.6(68)

Ages: Roughly 2 to 10, and the honest framing is that this is a short free stop rather than a destination. Toddlers and preschoolers like the open ground, the antique farm equipment to look at and the fact that nobody is rushing them. Little kids and big kids in the 5 to 10 range get the most out of it, because they can read the signs, take in the old buildings from the outside and understand that families really lived and farmed here in the early 1900s. Tweens and teens generally need the ranch to be hosting an event, like the Ostrich Festival or the Chuck Wagon Cook-off, to find it worth their time. Since most of the historic houses are closed to the public, the visit is about the grounds, so bring the age group that is happy walking around outdoors and looking at things.

Outdoor
Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum

Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum

4.8(1,173)

Ages: Roughly 5 through the teen years, which is a wide and unusually durable range. Age 5 is a natural starting point because that is where paid admission begins, and it is also about when a child can look at a bomber and understand that people actually flew it. Kids in the 6 to 12 band get the most out of it, because the museum lets you climb aboard the bombers and cargo planes rather than roping them off, and standing inside a fuselage is a completely different experience from looking at one. Teens who are into history, engineering or aviation often outlast their parents here, especially in the maintenance hangar where mechanics work on the flying aircraft in view of visitors. Toddlers and babies are the weak fit: hangar floors, moving equipment and steep boarding ladders are not built for them, and there is nothing to occupy a two year old between planes.

Indoor/OutdoorRainy Day