Please Touch Museum

Last week, my family celebrated my daughter's 2nd birthday at the Please Touch Museum.  The Please Touch Museum is located in Memorial Hall in Farimount Park.

My children (ages 2, 5 and 7) all enjoyed the museum.  The museum is broken out into different zones, making it easy for young kids to stay focused and keep their attention.  We started our day in the River Adventures exhibit.  My kids donned smocks and splashed in water tables filled with boats and rubber duckies.  Everything at the Please Touch Museum is kid-sized.  The kids could splash and play independently and "make things work" all by themselves.  It's a great feeling for 2 year old to be independent.  You could see the pride in her face!

Not to miss at the Please Touch Museum is the Dentzel Carousel.  This beautiful carousel was built in Philadelphia in 1908.  There is a seperate admission charge for the carousel.  We were lucky enough to purchase our tickets through a deal on Rue La La, which included carousel rides.  Even if you choose not to ride the carousel, it's nice to see  that something more than 100 years old looks new and fresh and remains in Philadelphia.  The PTM website offers pictures and some history on the restoration of this carousel.

After the carousel, my kids were eager to visit Wonderland.  This area explores the world of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.  My kids enjoyed dressing up for a tea party with the Mad Hatter and painting the roses red.  Just like the Wonderland Alice explored in the story, this area is filled with many optical illusions.

Just outside of Wonderland, we spent some time playing in Fairytale Garden, one of a few play areas designed for families with children under age 3.  Although my 2 year old enjoyed playing throughout the museum, it was nice to have a small, quiet area that was less busy and crowded than other areas.  It was nice to have a few minutes of "down time" without actually sitting out from all the fun.

I was surprised when my kids were interested in the Centennial Exploration exhibit.  Memorial Hall, home to the PTM, was  built in 1876 and served as an Art Gallery for the Centennial Exhibition.  After only being open for 6 months, President Ulysses S. Grant closed the fair.  Most of the buildings were taken down.  Memorial Hall is the only remaining building from the 1876 Centennial.  Anyhow, the Centennial Exploration Exhibit offers a model of the 1876 Exhibition Grounds.  Kids can catch a glimpse of what life was like in Philadelphia in 1876 and see some of the new inventions introduced that year including the telephone and typewriter (neither of which my kids recognized).  If you are interested in the history of the building and architecture of Memorial Hall, they offer "Grown-up Tours" of the building. 

Probably the highlight of the day for my kids was the City Capers exhibit.  This exhibit is actually made up of many small exhibits including a construction zone, a ShopRite supermarket, a hospital, McDonald's, a shoe store and more!  My kids enjoyed doing their own grocery shopping and working the cash register at ShopRite, making chicken nuggets at McDonald's, and taking care of newborn babies in the hospital exhibit.

The ShopRite area seemed to be very popular.  It was probably the most crowded exhibit we encountered, although it was never uncomfortable.  All the kids want to get a cart and shop around, not as many kids want to help put everything back where they found it.  There were a few PTM helpers in this area, constantly cleaning up after the kids.  I'm starting to wish I had a few of those helpers at home!

Our next stop was the Flight Fantasy exhibit.  This exhibit features activities that use your body to make things go.  My kids loved the "human hamster wheel".  Another fun highlight of this exhibit was making and launching rockets. 

Off to the side of the Flight Fantasy exhibit is the Program Room.  This room looks almost like a pre-school classroom.  There are books, blocks, and toys galore.  This is another great place to chill out for a while, while still enjoying the museum.  The Program Room offers art projects, which change monthly.  On a previous visit, the kids worked on easel paintings.  This visit, they made bubble wrap paintings.  Either way, I recommend visiting the Program Room early in your visit.  You can leave your projects to dry and come back for them later in the day, and then enjoy the rest of what the Program Room has to offer.

Our final stop for the day was the Roadside Attractions exhibit.  Here, kids can explore a SEPTA bus, drive a car, work in the body shop and even sit in a monorail. 

We spent a total of about 4 hours at the museum.  I can certainly see spending more time at the Please Touch Museum, but (1) this wasn't our first visit and (2) my kids were exhausted!  The museum is very clean and well-kept, offers plenty of restrooms, and even has an on-site cafe for lunch and snacks.

Although we just went and enjoyed playing together without giving it much thought, there is a LOT of learning going on without even realizing it.  The information on the PTM website explains how kids learn while they play and offers suggestions for parents and teachers.

Please Touch Museum offers a variety of discount programs towards museum admisison.  If you are new to the museum, you might want to try Target First Wednesday's which offer $2 admission from 5-7pm the first Wednesday of each month.  (That's coming up this week!)  This will give you a sneak-peek to the museum and can be a trial-run for your kids.

It's great to spend a fun, family day together.  Where do you like to go on your family outings?