“In an increasingly complex world, children’s museums provide a place where all kids can learn through play with the caring adults in their lives.”
– Association of Children’s Museums
Play is one of the primary ways that children learn and grow, and through the creative process can develop abilities such as physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play also fosters imagination and can be a critical part of balancing stress in our lives and promoting health and wellness. At The Woodlands Children’s Museum, we offer hands-on interactive exhibits uniquely designed for young learners. Our mission is to create opportunities that educate, empower, and excite children and families through play while inspiring a lifelong sense of wonder and discovery.
Little Ocean Wonders
Our largest gallery in the museum, Little Ocean Wonders is designed specifically for our youngest visitors under age two. Within the exhibit, little ones can practice new movement skills such as crawling, climbing, and standing in a soft play ocean-themed environment. A reading nook allows families to share a story together in the calming presence of our large fish tank.
Pretend Playhouse
The Playhouse encourages children to use their imaginations while practicing life skills. Through pretend play such as sweeping the floor or having a tea party, these activities build both fine and gross motor skills in an environment where children can also work together and make new friends.
Market and Play Cafe
Imitate the role of a shopper, stocker, chef, waiter, customer, cashier and more in this child-size grocery store and café. Children will find a wide assortment of realistic play food in a market place setting, complete with a cash register, grill, food prep station, bar stools and counter, fruit and veggie sorter, and even child-sized shopping carts! Children can engage in creative play while developing fine and gross motor skills, exploring new foods, sorting and counting, and learning cooperation and social skills.
Splish Splash Water Play
Splash around in your rain jacket and boots, and try to find the catch of the day! The Water Play exhibit introduces the physical properties of water and allows your child to make new discoveries about movement, velocity, and force. Which objects will sink or float? How does a fishing pole work? Learn to manipulate water in different ways, apply practical applications, all while having some wet and wild fun!
Dream + Build
Build anything you dream with our big, blue foam blocks! These “loose parts” encourage unstructured, child-directed play where children are the architects, designers, and constructors. One of the largest exhibits at the museum, children can create towers, bridges, caves, castles, and more as they learn to work together. Perfect for a variety ages, the Big Blue Blocks encourage open-ended play while fostering intellectual, social, physical, and emotional development.
Storybook Stage
Books, costumes, and puppets make this a magical area to pretend and play! Imagination is king and you’re the star on our performance stage. Watch for special events that create first-time experiences with character visits, magicians, marionettes, cultural performances, musicians, critter encounters, shadow puppets and more! Weekly Storybook Theater and other activities inspire children to dream big and reach for the stars!
The Muse Art Bar
Create a new project each day with museum staff! Specially curated and culturally diverse art projects are designed to allow children to explore a wide variety of mediums and processes. While engaging in artistic expression and abstract thinking, children can practice fine motor skills such as painting, gluing, stamping, rubbing, folding, weaving, and more. We can’t wait to see what you create!
Scoop and Shovel Dig Pit
Can you find it? Children will delight in this tactile experience by using shovels, scoops, and diggers to explore what’s hidden in the soft foam dig pit. Watch out for dinos and other surprises!
Discovery Tunnel
With lookout windows and pop-up portholes, the Discovery Tunnel offers children a playful path for entering the museum’s exhibits. Located near the entrance, the tunnel engages a child’s natural curiosity by inviting them to see what’s inside, what’s beyond, and what can I discover?
Magnificent Magnets Gear Wall
On our large magnetic wall, children can explore force and motion by linking together colorful gears on one side, and ball chutes on the other side. Each piece has a different job depending on what you need it to do. Does it slow things down or speed things up? Are the gears harder to turn or easier? Why did the ball drop slowly or quickly? Problem-solving, gravitational pull, and cause and effect will engage curious learners.
Light Bright Wall
This interactive light-up wall features vividly colored pegs that can be patterned and positioned into your own artistic masterpiece! Accessible for all ages, this colorful display invites children to explore light and color in a calming sensory experience and improve abstract thinking skills.
Sensory Bins
Sensory bins are a hands-on opportunity for children to explore their world through a variety of textures and senses. Sensory play may calm, focus, and engage children of all ages and abilities. Children can also improve fine motor skills through scooping, grasping, stirring, and pouring with a variety of tools.
All Aboard! Train Tables
The All Aboard! Train Tables are sure to excite your little engineer. Imagine rolling the train cars around town, up and over bridges, through the trees, and around the curves and bends. Children will be able to work together, as well as develop skills such as vocabulary building, imitating noises, prediction, sequencing, counting, & color identification.
What people are saying:
It a wonderful place to take your babies and grandbabies they can have their freedom and run all over the place with out getting hurt there's all kind of Play station that they can go and play in and very friendly people and the babies can play together and have a blast and at the in of the Day they are ready to go home and take a nap Thank you children museum we will definitely return and tell other friends and families
Lots of activities for all kinds of kiddos! Really friendly & patient staff. Thank you for making this a fun adventure for our Littles
This place was a huge hit with my toddler! There is a space for children under two to play, a play-house, pretend-store, sensory bins, a water table where you can fish, and more! They encouraged mask wearing and had hand sanitizer stations, which was a nice touch. Staff is helpful, polite,, and constantly working to clean and organize stations. I highly recommend giving this place a visit!
The Woodlands Children’s Museum
4775 West Panther Creek Drive #280
The Woodlands, TX 77381
281-465-0955
281-465-0956 fax
museum@woodlandschildrensmuseum.org
As a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit our goal is to make memories and create learning opportunities for children in our community. Your donation will help children discover, play, imagine and grow in a safe and nurturing environment. Click to donate.