Top 3 Children's Museums in South Florida

South Florida encompasses three counties with many museums for family fun and education. Combing Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, I'll report on what I call the "best of the best" in this area.

Miami Children's Museum

980 MacArthur Causeway

Miami, Florida 33132

305-373-KIDS (5437)

A favorite in Miami-Dade County is a 56,500 square-foot facility with 14 exhibit galleries, a multi-function auditorium, a Parent/Teacher Resource Center, classrooms, Subway restaurant, gift shop and more. This is not your ordinary children's museum; it also offers art and music classes, summer camps, special drop-in programs and parenting seminars as extras to just going to partake in viewing the exhibits.

The current traveling exhibit, called Dino Island, is a prehistoric adventure for the entire family, where you and the kids travel back in time, say 230 million years into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods to see the dinosaurs that roamed the earth. The Miami Children's museum provides ongoing activities that relate to this exhibit such as "dig for dinos", "act like a dinosaur", stamp dino-ramas", "discover fossils", "meet the Paleontologist", and more.

This children's museum also has 14 permanent exhibits to enthrall the children. These are hands-on exhibits that promote positive child development and encourage creativity and self-expression. Children can learn as they play in the Castle of Dreams, a Bank, Health & Wellness Center, Pet Central, Safety Zone, Supermarket, Meet Miami, The Sea and Me, Ocean Odyssey, Everglades Park, You and Me and Teddy Bears Too, Port of Miami, Cruise Ship, All About Art, World Music Studio, and Mt. MiChiMu. There is definitely a day full of fun at this children's museum.

Miami Children's Museum (MCM) is open daily from 10am to 6pm. The admission is $15 per person, $12 for Florida residents, and children under 1 year old visit free.

For more detailed information visit their website at http://www.miamichildrensmuseum.org

Young at Art Children's Museum

11584 State Road 84

Davie, Florida 33325

954-424-0085

The Young at Art Museum offers state-of-the-art studios where children of all ages can learn new techniques and foster their creativity expressing their feelings through art. There is a traveling exhibit, permanent exhibits, classes and workshops for children ages 5 and up. Your child can choose from drawing, painting, photography, clay workshop, mixed media, and even express their writing and storytelling skills.

Their traveling exhibit is K'Nex Thrill Rides that captivates the audience with the opportunities and experiences to explore the art, science, math, and technology behind the roller coaster and thrill rides at amusement parks. It's a hands-on build and play experience.

Permanent exhibits include the Global Village, Earthworks (go green & recycle), Kenny's Closet (psychedelic day-glo black light environment), and the Playspace for Toddlers. In addition, this museum has many drop-in classes and events that are free with a paid admission.

"Conversations from the Hut" is where the resident artist, Chisseko Konddowe, offers all kinds of workshops about Africa. Held inside a makeshift African village, visitors will partake in a drumming circle, Mancala tournaments, Swahili language studies and crafts of this nation.

Young at Art Children's Museum is just not a look-see venue, it has an education department that works with Broward County schools, day camps, summer camp, toddler classes, and more. After visiting this children's museum you and the children will realize that everything we see in our world is a form of art.

The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 12noon till 5pm. General admission is $8 per person, $7 for seniors, and children under 2 years old visit free. They also offer a membership program.

For more information visit their website at: http://www.youngatartmuseum.org

Schoolhouse Children's Museum

129 E. Ocean Avenue

Boynton Beach, Florida 33435

561-742-6780

Children learn through play and this is the mission of this museum. Not only do children learn skills and creativity, they also learn about the history of this area. The museum achieves this by hands-on play and dress-up learning about the pioneer days of Boynton Beach. Kids can hop on the Orange Blossom Express and explore train travel, or learn about farm life by riding a toy tractor or milking a make-believe cow.

Programs for children and families include old-time games, and arts & crafts workshops. There are Pre-K programs where mothers and children ages 2-5 can enjoy make & take sessions, rhythm & rhyme, and tabletop activities. The weekends are full of events for together time family bonding.

Visit this children's museum Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm. They are closed on Sunday and Monday. Admission prices are:

-Children ages 2-17 $3

-Grandparents $4

-Parents $5

Group rates and memberships are available.

Visit their website for more detailed information at: http://schoolhousemuseum.org

There are so many children's museums in the south Florida area and I have only talked about three. Local children's museums are wonderful ways to increase interest and awareness of many things in our world - from history to science to art. Use these venues frequently for family fun and learning.