As you all know I love going on adventures with my family, but when our close friends join in on the fun it makes the experience even better! Last month Chris, Lily, Mason and I ventured to The Strong Museum of Play in Rochester with our close friends and their 2 daughters. It was a fun filled weekend and I want to tell you guys all about it while offering some tips if you are planning on going.
Day trip or weekend trip? Honestly, you could do either. I definitely think you will get more out of the trip if you choose to make a weekend out of it or stay over night. You could spend all day and I mean all day at the museum if you wanted to. There is endless amounts of fun to be had for all. We spent about a good 4-5 hours at the museum and we didn't do one part of it. I think by staying over night you don't feel like you have to rush your trip as much and are able to enjoy your time a bit better. We arrived at the museum around 11:00 am and it was the perfect time because a large crowd was leaving probably because it was lunch time. Whether or not that is always the case I don't know as it was our first time going but it might be a good idea to check out the museum during that time of day to avoid a rush of people.
I would recommend taking kids ages 3+ to the museum. Mason was too young to participate in most of it. It was hard because he is so little and there were a lot of big kids running around the place so it wasn't safe for him to crawl around and explore. There were a few areas that were good for him but to get the real experience I would recommend making the trip when your kids are 3+. I even found the adults had a lot of fun. They had a lot of old school toys and it was fun to reminisce about our childhood and show our kids the toys that we used to play with as kids.
Our favourite exhibit was the Wegmen's Super Kids Market. Our kids played in that exhibit for a while and we had so much fun with them. In this exhibit you get to go in the store, get a shopping cart and pick out 5 items. It looks exactly like a grocery store, but kid sized! After you're done choosing the 5 items you get to go to the checkout and actually check out your items. They all can be scanned and you even get your own receipt just like the grocery store! Lily thought that was so cool. Once you're done checking out your items you have to take them and put them back on the shelf.
Another one of our favourites was the Dancing Wing Butterfly Garden. While this exhibit was a lot smaller than we expected it to be it was still fun to walk around and explore. I think it was a good size considering the rest of the museum is large so it wasn't overwhelming. There were a ton of butterflies and few other surprise animals that we got to see. The kid's had fun exploring and it was quite relaxing walking through the gardens. It was a nice break from the chaos of the museum.
Overall I highly recommend making the trip to visit this museum. I would definitely go back with the kids when Mason is a bit older and able to enjoy it more. Now knowing what to expect I would plan ahead a bit better. Here are some of my tips to make the most out of your trip:
Don't stress about purchasing tickets in advance. There is no advanced line for people who do you are still waiting in the regular line. It's just one more thing you worrying about forgetting to pack.
Spend the extra money and buy the tickets to see the butterfly museum you will want the whole experience.
Bring small change - you have to pay to ride the carousel and a few other activities. We didn't have any change on us so ended up not doing these things.
Wear good walking shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking and will be on your feet the entire time.
Dress your kids in bright clothing! This helped us keep an eye on Lily when she was running among all the other kiddos
Make a day of it! Plan to be at the museum for a majority of the day if you want to get the full experience of each exhibit
Bring lots of snacks - it is pricey to buy food there!
Engage in the fun with your kids. We had a blast playing with the kids and enjoying each exhibit with them. Make the most out of the trip!
If you're staying the weekend get a hotel with a pool! That way if the weather is crummy you have something indoors to do too.
