Children's Museum of Tacoma (201 Good Days in Tacoma: A More Active Children's Museum of Tacoma)
Yesterday we had a chance to visit the newly remodeled Children's Museum of Tacoma. The all-new exhibits focus on active play and nutrition, and appeal to a wider age range than previous installations.
In place of the toddler zone and pet store/hardware store/post office setup, there is now a mini farmer's market, which goes perfectly with the big farmer's market taking place outside on Free Market Thursdays. The kids take to this like they've just been waiting for the opportunity to take over, immediately falling into roles - cashier, customer, produce supplier, with other children they've only just met. I got a kick out of watching barely verbal toddlers manning the cash register, very seriously, with children several years older as customers. The produce is the same wonderfully realistic stuff that used to populate the Cafe Ole exhibit. The old garden has also been relocated to the corner, and elevated to make it accessible and a bit cleaner.
In the back, there's a very nice spacious kitchen set up...
...next to a mini yoga studio, with an instructional video playing in the background
...a climbing wall
...and scooters. The art studio is still there, and still very popular.
On the whole, the museum has been opened up a bit more and has a more airy feel, with lots of interesting nooks and crannies for children to crawl or look through. I suspect the new design is more wheelchair-friendly as well.
With the rain falling today, it wouldn't be a bad time to go give the Children's Museum a try. Admission is half price from 3 to 5 pm, and free every Thursday through August, in conjunction with the Farmer's Market. If you're coming on market day, I recommend taking the bus or parking in the dome district and taking the free Tacoma Link to 9th and Commerce.
Children's Museum of Tacoma
936 Broadway
Tacoma
253-627-6031
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