Great Explorations Children's Museum

Great Explorations Children's Museum in St. Petersburg's Historic Old Northeast neighborhood is the Tampa Bay area's dedicated children's museum — a place built from the ground up for the 1-10 age window with hands-on exhibits that prioritize doing over observing.

The role-play exhibits are the heart of the experience. A fully equipped pretend grocery store lets kids scan items, bag purchases, and run the register — the kind of immersive play scenario where the exhibit design is detailed enough that children believe in the fiction completely. A medical station, construction zone with real tools (child-appropriate and supervised), and performance stage with puppet theater round out the role-play options.

These exhibits create the conditions for extended imaginative play — kids who walk in and start playing a scenario often don't want to leave 90 minutes later.

The arts studio provides structured creative activity in a proper art-making environment, not just a corner with crayons. The materials and space communicate that making art is serious business.

An outdoor nature area extends the experience into fresh air for kids who need to regulate energy after intensive indoor play. This outdoor element is weather-dependent but valuable on nice St. Pete days.

Great Explorations participates in the Association of Children's Museums reciprocal membership program — if you hold a membership at a participating children's museum in your home city, you may receive free or discounted admission. Check the ACM website or call ahead to confirm.

Note Sunday hours: the museum opens at noon rather than 10:30am. This is consistently the most-mentioned planning oversight in reviews — don't arrive at 10:30am on a Sunday expecting to walk in.