There is something intrinsically rewarding about letting your child “loose” in a well-constructed children’s museum. By “well-constructed” I mean thoughtfully designed, well-maintained and frequently updated.

If you’re lucky, you have a community nearby that considers a “children’s museum” to be a worthwhile and rewarding interest to support. We have a half dozen of these places within an hour’s drive ~ yet only two of them fit all of those three criteria I mention above, and so we don’t go to the other three any longer.

Nearly all of them were well-designed. On conception, the displays were bright, interactive, childproof and interest-friendly to all ages. Bright primary colors, tot-level tables of plastics and light displays and magnets and craft materials abounded. Huge interactive displays were everywhere - the walls of “pins” where you can make your handprint, bubbles that encompass a child’s body, fantastic water tables with PVC pipes for kids to make fountains and sail small watercraft.

Some of them were well-maintained. The one in my hometown, which I desperately wanted to become my kids’ favorite, fell short because interactive displays didn’t work — month after month, visit after visit. How much teaching/learning or FUN takes place at an electromagnetic display that is “dead” ~ all the time?

One or two were not only carefully designed and well cared for, but also frequently updated. Season after season, half (or more) of the displays were renewed in topic or materials, so every venture there has been a new experience. (As a teacher, I understand the value of repetition, as well as the value of some die-hard basics, like the wind tunnel or water table. However, if all of the displays are the same, you have ~ as a parent ~ maybe 3.5 years of visits there before your kids begin to wonder if there isn’t something more to life.)

This morning, we were pleasantly surprised to find that all three elements were in place at DuPage Children’s Museum. When we arrived about 30 minutes after they opened, the place was busy but not unbearable. Two of us (moms) watched four kids aged 4-8 play in a really large area that had tons of stations or displays, but we rarely had to take more than one or two steps to see the wandering fourth child. Great visibility is a key in places like this, if you really want to encourage kids to “explore” within a (somewhat) enclosed area.

As the day progressed, we were challenged by more and more school field trip and park district camps arriving en masse. It became much harder for our kids to “get a turn” at popular displays. Yet, none of them complained ~ they just moved on to another area, because there was so much to explore!

As we neared the noon hour, the place was literally wall-to-wall with kids and caregivers. It was suffocating, and very little interaction was possible with the displays; each child spent more time navigating the social maze required to get to the displays.

Kudos to those who make decisions and make change happen for Dupage Children’s Museum. Kudos to the employees there, all friendly and approachable and helpful.

If you have such a wonderful children’s museum in your area, please leave a comment about it here. If not, perhaps you’ll consider a daytrip or overnighter to a location near you!