Children's Museums in South Bend, Indiana

Children's museums in South Bend, Indiana offer children the chance to explore, learn and have fun all at once. The purpose of a children's museum is to educate children through fun, hands on experiences.

The first time I took my child to a museum, he was somewhat traumatized. As he reached out to touch a claw foot bathtub, a loud and intimidating voice came over the speakers demanding that he not touch the exhibits. Considering that the children's portion of the museum was closed that day, I wasn't all that impressed and he wasn't all that anxious to return to a museum. That is, until I took him to a children's museum.

There are a variety of children's museums and a few of them are located right in South Bend, Indiana. They sometimes offer specific themes, like the HealthWorks museum, which focuses on anatomy, dentistry and health y lifestyle choices. These museums not only allow children to touch the exhibits, but encourage them to actually interact with them!

If you think that children don't learn better by interaction and participation, just try teaching your child how to cook by reading the instructions off of a recipe card. Watch as their eyes glaze over and they retreat to the world of imagination inside their own brains. Now try to teach the same recipe by allowing your child to measure and mix the ingredients. I promise that you will have two different sets of results!

A children's museum offers exhibits that can be climbed on, played in and experimented with. The fees are usually nominal and children may even leave the museum with a something to remember it by that they made themselves, like a name plate for their door made out of American Sign Language (ASL) stamp pads and paper.

The Kidsfirst Children's Museum provides a world of history that the children can use to learn from as they have fun with it. They can climb in small canoes and use the tools used by the pioneers. What better way to learn about history than to experience it?

In short, if you're looking for something fun, inexpensive and educational to do for a day with your child, you might want to consider one of the children's museums in South Bend. If you don't live in the South Bend are, then be sure to check into the children's museums in your area. You might be surprised to find that you will have as much fun at the museum as your children will and you don't have to worry about them offending someone by acting like children! For those that live in the South Bend area, check out any of the museums listed below.

Hannah Lindahl Children's Museum (open during the school year)
1402 S. Main St., Mishawaka, IN

Healthworks
615 N. Michigan St., South Bend, IN

Kidsfirst Children's Museum
808 W. Washington St., South Bend, IN