Reviews of Staten Island Children's Museum (Museum)

Jillian Waynes

Cool place for kids

Becky Ci Song

My three year old said “the best museum ever!” after our visit. It is not big but with tons of interactive activities for my child’s age. I like more than the children’s museum of Manhattan as this one is more educational and interestingly interactive at the same time. The live bugs are definitely a plus for a children’s museum. The lawn and the outdoor play space is also nice for someone who lives in Manhattan. My daughter loved the ferry ride as well. It’s a nice but easy getaway for us without having a car. But the cafe was closed on our day of visit because of a birthday party. Be sure to bring some food or call ahead of time in case it happens on your day of visit.

Marina Sigal

Worth every penny! Came all the way from brooklyn to see what all the hype is about. Kids (6 and 3) loved it. We spent 4 hours there and couldn't get the kids to leave. This one has much better offerings for kids then the Brooklyn one and is more compact, so less walking and lots more playing. Will return again very soon

Sanela Tutaris

Love this place. Staff is amazing!

john oliveri

See my review on Snug Harbor all the same great place.

Al Vait

Probably the best in this area.

Jack

My daughter loves this place. She loves the fire truck, the light up wall, and the (unfortunately) loud bell that she can ring outside. It can be a day of fun for younger kids (7 and under) but older kids might be bored of it pretty quickly.

Shalena Lewis

It is just enough museum for the entire family. The kids were tuckered out by the time we got in the car. It was an awesome experience. Looking forward to going again.

Mersades Cruikshank

I love taking my daughter to this place when I visit my family on Staten Island. It has so many things to offer for all age groups. It’s a very reasonable price and you only pay once a day you can leave and come back to play some more. The snack shack in the museum is super reasonable too and the staff though out the whole facility are helpful and friendly. I would recommend going to this place for sure.

Anthony C

My two year old had a great time at the Children's Museum. She didn't want to leave.

Jerry Bossert

It was a very good time on a rainy winter day. My son thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Scott S

Free day yes!But no AC today

Zainab Romain

The kids loved they had fun also grandpa had fun too

Don Johnson

Nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon with your kids/grandkids!

Cameron Paige

We chose to visit this museum based on the excellent (recent!) reviews, and were extremely disappointed. On our visit at the end of December 2018, most of the exhibits were broken or missing too many parts to be still fun, and the whole place felt neglected and not welcoming. My kid loves children's museums, but wanted nothing to do with this one. It took us 15 minutes to check out all the floors, and he didn't want to stay a minute longer.

Bridget Castellano

Fun & learning experience

Kary Peng

It was awesome place for the kids in Staten Island. Not a big place but each floor has different theme. My kids enjoy this place. The other thing I love this place is the gift shop and food’s price is normal

Ira Rudowsky

Grandkids had fun, enjoyed hands on collage work and making up a play to perform on the stage

Danny Smith

A hidden treasure for your family. Provides interactive and learning opportunities. Great place to host an event. Very friendly and supportive staff

c lee

We used to love coming here. The last time we went one of the workers made an anti-Semitic comment to my family. Serious retraining or personnel changes needs to happen there. It is not appropriate to speak down to anyone of any race or religion. We were very disappointed and will not be planning any trips there anytime soon.

Nicole Mizrahi

We could go back here again and again. certain exhibits could use updating but great day activity for children with many multi sensory fun educational activities. definitely entertaining for kids... couldn't get to everything in one day. suitable for multiple ages.

Natty

There are so many fun activities, plus Wednesday are free.

Miriam Fried

Cute, clean, nice place for the younger set. Spent about 2hrs here kids enjoyed.

rash aroskar

It is great place for kids of all ages. Awesome exhibits and things that will keep.childrens busy for hours and will teach things as well. Only concern is many things are broken and pieces missing, I believe visitors are largely responsible for this. As visitors we need to help our children understand that this is shared material and if not handled well we will miss opportunity to lay with it again.

Alexander Liss

An outstanding surprise! Great indoor and outdoor fun for kids

Joseph Mathias

Bring my nieces and nephews here all the time, they love it! The staff are so friendly and helpful (Zack goes above and beyond every time we visit). A few of the things are either missing or don’t work, that’s why I took a star off but aside from that, your kids are definitely going to love it here!

Christine Duenas

One of my children's favorite places at Snug Harbor. Membership is worth the price.

nanette white

Cool people. not crowded. Very Hands-On

Thomas Carnesecchi

A gem inside the Staten Island treasure of Snu Harbor. The Staten Island Children's Museum. Great for just a few hours or for a private party. A good mix of fun and education. While here visit the Japanese Botanical gardens and Tuscan gardens.

Katelyn Meyer

Great place! Super clean, friendly staff, easy parking and not to crowded!! Also the price of 8$ is more than fair. The kids had a great time with lots to do and see. Great for a variety of ages. Also they had a little snack zone with reasonably priced snacks. Bathrooms were also very clean. We ended the day with a picnic in the field.

TheJGOV

Nice place to bring toddlers.

Stormy Hind

Large area with historical buildings that served as the retirement place for the sailers. Place is also called Snug Harbor Cultural Center.

Emilio Ramos

Very nice place and staff. Your kids will have a good time, with plenty of different things to do and play with!

Wilstak Lam

Great museum for children of all ages. Lots of interactive activities for motor skills and brain development. $8 per person but if you come prepared you can spend the whole day there easily.

Aron Ringel

Cool place to let your kids let off the steam and they have a outdoor area which is cool. Love the house construction area and most of the exhibits are pretty interactive. But they have to update every so often so please do

Alan Lanham

What an amazing place! I remember going there as a kid and being able to bring mine now is a treat. The activities keep the kids interested and hands on. Most of all the ship and block are in the basement is a popular spot for my two girls. Everyone who works there is extremely nice and great with kids. This is truly a gem on Staten Island.

Diana Gangal

The best of all children's museums. My kids love this place.

Bellas Review Lounge

We were here for the NYC Winter Lantern Festival recently and it was amazing. The lanterns and lights were beautiful and made for a great photo op. The childrens museum is always fun too!

SLA K

If I could give minus the stars I would give! One old woman at reception, people waiting and waiting, and one idiot shouting outside instead of helping her! In addition, they say open to 5, but already at 4.15 removed people from the bottom floor! Maybe the lady there had bigger plans to do ... At 4.35 people were removed from the top floor! Nice place but the people who work there are nuts

Andrea Navarrete

Everything is clean and organize,also the lady in the front desk was really nice with us.

Pat Powell

The kids had a great time! The staff was very nice and accomodating. I would recommend for birthday parties or just to visit.

Karen Enright

Good place to spend a cold morning with a 4 year old.

Angela Gonzalez

It was really nice and the kids loved it

Venkatesh Kaulgud

Amazing place for children

Tolani Tolani

If you like tranquillity away from the hussle and bussle of New York. This is the place to be with free ferry ride that takes less than 30 minutes either way

Ida Štefanec

Wonderfull place for family's; a lot of activities for kids on 3 floors and outdoor playground; kids can attend science projects and art classes..

Andrew L

It's a fun summer and winter spot for the kids. It's just enough to entertain for an hour or so with out overwhelming. The joint membership for the zoo and children's museum is well worth it, especially for parents with little kids. The exhibits maybe dated but the kids have fun. Remember to be on the lookout for free days and special events.

Oleg

Place is so nice, I recommend it to everyone to attend with children of any age. Personnel is friendly. There are a lot of amenities for children in this huge 3-floor building. All of that is supported by the huge open air area of Snug Harbor for walking and taking any kind of rest. I recommend to take yearly tickets here to avoid paying every time. For yearly ticket, price is so small.

Lifedoc Giz

Great museum for young children above the age of 3. They also cater birthday parties. Elevator access and handicap access available. I would say that this Museum is probably best for children Age 3 up to about 10 or 11. After that you have to look for more serious activities 2 interest of them

Emmy Yan

Lots of stuff to do. Quite entertaining and enjoyable

Yelena N

Great place for children to spend time especially when its cold outside. Great place to donate into. Activities are innovative,and interesting for kids. Just wish they had more but they're renovating right now so maybe someday.

Nilaja Troy

I couldn't survive the summer without this place.

Ajisha Vilson

Beautiful place to be with your child

Bill Geoghegan

Great open spaces for children of all ages. We took our 9 month old granddaughter for 3 visits during her stay with us. There's great programming too. Cooking classes, science classes lots of activities.

Anna DiBona

Awesome place for kids, but exhibits haven't changed in ten years. Maybe more? Kids don't seem to mind that. I guess as a parent I feel bored there, but kids love it. It's clean, well maintained, and has a nice staff.

H M

This place is completely filthy. Broken exhibits and dead bugs to look at in their tanks. Sad.

Uthpala Rajapakse

Awesome place for toddlers! Will keep them entertained for hours!

Laura Parnizari

One of the best places to bring children of all ages. There are so many things to do it's impossible to be bored.

Eamon Crowley

My daughter loved it. Lots of things to do. Friendly staff.

Corin Perdomo

It’s cool fun time for the kids if you want tonkill a few hours.. had a blast in Game Center

Amy Jongeling

Pretty good. Went here two times for two birthday parties. Great place for a birthday party!

Judy Fogel

I think needs to be changed a little more climbing

David Poleshuck

My kids loved it when we moved here. And now my grandkids love it. There is a lot to do!

ELIZABETH Botros

Great children's experience, but smart to also interest adult. Fun day trip.

Vanessa Garcia

I live in Jackson Heights area so it was a bit of a drive to go to State Island Children's Museum but well worth it. Free parking and great museum. Not expensive $8 per person compared to the museum in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx. My kids loved it. Each floor had different stuff and each section had costumes that your children can dress up to. For example the fire truck had fire fighter dress up with the helmth, the animal section had doctor dress up, the construction had costumes. My kids loved it. You can bring your own lunch to eat with your kids at the cafeteria, the vending machine $1 and the gift shop small but $5.50 toys. They also have ice cream and a painting area. We loved it. We were there 5 hrs and my kids were worn out by the time we left. Highly recommend this place. Ok

Ben H

My kids really enjoyed the zoo. I parked on the st. That was free.

Diana Galante

Meh. Good, I guess, but it feels like there really isn't a lot to do there. Garden State Children's Discovery Museum blows it out of the park. Worth the drive!

Darlene Savary

The host for the party was very rude

Soufiane Aitziane

My son had a ton of fun. Free tickets on Martin Luther Jr day.

Mari Evans

My granddaughter loves this place!!

Rachel Kenigsberg

Wonderful place, excellent exhibits and activites from fire truck/house to bugs, life size 'bowling ally' or building and construction. Promotes thinking and creativity.

brian mintz

Great place for all ages, from 2-??,a lot for kids to learn ..

Jeff

we loved the place and different activities for a child. Although different section of the exhibits contained some sex and gender divercity posters. We as a family support the subject and freedom of choice, however couldn't see how it is relevant to those exhibits and why our child who is learning to read and discovering interesting subjects should come across those at this stage. Also the biography of people described seems randomly selected because of their gender and sexual orientation. We thought it would be more applicable to show and describe someone who contributed greatly to the science and progress in different fields instead, considering the nature of the establishment. However i will leave it to the museum team and public to consider as there might be something i oversaw behind this

Theresa Br ier

Was a fun day, some volunteers weren't too informative or engaging.

Gracie The Don

Fantastic museum for kids as well as adults! The have a party room for birthdays. Great staff.

Nicholas Padilla

Great for the little ones

Shan Jiang

Nice place to visit. Cozy and have different activities. Its clean and bonus is ability to visit snug harbor grounds.

Jay ouyang

Nice place. A lot of fun.

yechiel

Kids always have a great time

Sujani Fernando

Very interesting.. good for keep kids busy during the. School holidays ..

Kevin Sills

Great place to visit with friendly people

S P

$6 a person Dated, less then perfect condition. Waste of time for older than ~5 y. BUT if you live near or happen to be there AND you child is 1-5 or you have a bunch of kids - place is great! Child proof, simple (bordering primitive), multiple sections. Child (better children) can spend half hour easy at each: huge dominoes (pillow sized and felt at touch), over sized checkers, tick-tack-tow; padded contraptions where kid engineers falling ping-pong ball route; over sized inter-lockable wooden LEGO (-like) build-able into child size house (or else); realistic, yet padded and simplified firetruck, gear you may try on, pole you swing down, buttons, sounds, lights, *** Arctic zone where you travel behind dogs on a sled, wear snow boots; forest (jangle) with sounds to identify and telescope to spot stuff; submerging with aqualung, communicate with buddies through water wall using (provided) hand gestures, discovering hidden in depth darkness creatures with a spot light (broken: bring flashlight); bugs zone big and creepy (good way), be a bug, wear bug exoskeleton, watch live roaches (huge too), beehive (currently perished, should be easy to re-establish), crawl as an ant, check out prehistoric insects, read books (quite a few there). Along the way you can just lay down or sit and read while your little one jumps around. There is a theatrical section with actual stage, some light and sound effects, costumes, changeable decorations, audience (got to fill out with viewers though). You may spend a day just there, but have to have some imagination and creativity. Although they have some kind of story-telling in their schedule: I assume to create a theatrical kind of story. There are two outdoors sections also (dolphins and boats) All that from the prospective of a 5 y.o. We wondered in with 10 y/o an were bored, yet bowled a round, played checkers, built some Grommet-inspired monstrosity, fooled around at the "theater" Bonus: outside is a big park you can walk all over, several museums (all tiny), botanical garden, maritime exhibition (open Th-Sn), nearby Staten Island ferry (commute and a view), tug boats sneaking around huge tankers, Manhattan view, we run into movie shutting: gangster times, Ford D parked around - surrounding houses and few buildings are mostly old and sometimes interesting; multiple rough looking new yorkers of the same time period (they need not to dress specially: they walk around like that..) We did not like it, but when/if I have a few children 2-5 y.o. and another adult to tender the heard, I will make a day of it. Bring sandwiches and Sherlock Holmes (the book)

Jim McGrath

Great interactive museum for children. Can get crowded at times. Very popular for school trips. Has both indoor and outdoor exhibits. Lots of fun.

Galyna Shulimova

Good place to kids. A lot of activities for kids, lovely small garden and cafe.

Darlene Cordero

its a nice place to bring young kids. to learn and play.

Ceaira Escalante

Such a fun place to spend quality time with mybkids

Moses Friedman

Very special service, suitable for all different ages, my kids liked the most the "build your own town". It's worth the effort, time and money. Kids already requested another.. chance to go out there (they have to finish up their own.. town..)

Shlomo Nussbaum

They have old fire truck and giant games and Lincoln logs

Chris Comparetto

Kids love it! Never too crowded. Can easily spend 3+ hours.

Louisa Sciortino

The kids I was babysitting had a blast. It was hours of entertainment for a very reasonable price on a cold day.

V P

Kids Love it. Kinda small though. Limited rooms. They have a variety of rooms and play areas. Staff is friendly and helpful. Came for a birthday party, definitely not worth it, unless you want to over pay and have other people at your party.

Margerit Habib

My kids are having so much fun

Kyoko Heshiimu

my kids, 2 and 5 love it here. the first floor is filled with life sized games like light bright and chess and connect four etc. Their favorite is the fire truck which they can dress in fire jackets and hat and climb in and click buttons and turn the wheel and turn on lights. They also love going to the 3rd floor ad playing with the building blocka and bug exhibit. very fun for them. plus they can play outside on a slide and pretend to row boats and run around

Fran Heller

Fun, clean and safe place for kids to explore and enjoy.

Stephanie Hoff

Great place for kids to interact and learn about things.

Paula Oliver

Great place to keep the kiddies entertained. They offer art classes on Sunday which is nice. It can get crowded, so be prepared. We have attended birthday parties there and have always been pleased! Ages can be from 1 years up to teens!

Andrea Garguilo

This is a fantastic place for kids, so many things for them to learn and play

Jackie DeGroat

Clean, well-maintained (that is, most of the exhibits still work despite rough usage from children!) and many interesting things to do. Our preschool group loved the firetruck and the game room.

Jack Applebaum

Great place for the kids

Dennis Makowski

A great place to spend the day with the kids.

Virginie Cosentino

SO DISAPPOINTED I came here all the way from BROOKLYN with the two kids I’m babysitting during the Wednesday free hours. Once arrived there at 3:45, a lady tells us that the free hours are not from 3 to 5 but from 5 to 8, despite the fact that the website indicates 3 to 5. They just changed the free hours and it’s an error from them they said. Fine. But we won’t go inside for free until 5 she said. We should have call before coming she said. WHICH KIND OF CHILDREN FACILITIES WILL ASK YOU TO WAIT AN HOUR UNDER 92°F WITH KIDS? NEVER COMING BACK AGAIN!!!!!!

Mikhail Bluvshteyn

One of the best children museum in the five boroughs

Jason Corelli

Cute museum with many different activities for kids of all ages.

Shuwen Li

It is just a giant playroom... NOT a "museum"... very worn out "exhibits", not a lot to see... children won't learn nothing from this place. staff looked very bored and did not care much about anything other than what's going on on her phone I would not recommend anybody visiting this place.

Kids1stNotMoney

Beautiful museum so much for the kids to do

Manuel Flores

Great Museum for children to explore and play. Having a great Children's Museum here in Chicago we were very impressed with what the SICM had to offer and so much more affordable. My family had a great time and loved the outdoor space. I think 3 hours is a good amount of time to spend there. We will visit again on our next trip to NYC

Sreelekshmy Panicker

It was awesome. My kids didnt want to leave at all. They have events conducted every Wednesdays at 7pm. It's called Boogie Woogie Wednesdays. The museum is free from 5pm to 8pm on Wednesdays. They give kids a snack around 6.30pm.

Kaity Huang

There are three floors with an outside playground. Very interactive exhibits. It's small but very doable in one day. The bottom level closes the earliest before the rest of the museum. Top level is very warm, live insects such as tarantulas, butterflies, bees, cockroaches, crayfish, millipedes, etc. Construction zone, play fire engine station, over size board games. There's a lot.

Milton Franklin

Overall a beautiful place to be with excellent coworkers love it

Tugce Ayhan

I used to go to this place years ago with my first daughter. It was not a great place then. Wow, they upgraded everything. The kids were busy for a very long time. The only thing that I was not pleased with was that the cafe closes at 1:45pm which is very early. But so much interactive. All floors are fun. My 10 and 4 years olds both were happy. Though, I think it is for kids younger than 12 years old. There were a lot toddlers.

MrBordd

Always a bit with the kids. Some of the exhibits could use some updating, especially as some are literally falling apart. A victim of its own success.

abe Gezunt

Great place for kids, not do big but plenty to do plus a very nice staff.

Sasha Suarez

Loved this place been going there for the past 9 years since my oldest was a baby and she still enjoys it. My now 2 and 3 year old go at least once a week as well and really enjoy it.

Alaric Wollney

Great place for kids. Most exhibits have been the same for years but are well kept up and it's the kids that change anyway

Eileen Marotte

Great place to learn in a fun environment

Mimmy Kahan

Adorable kids had a blast

Janice Ginsberg

This is a wonderful experience for kids of all ages. Worth an annual membership. Also enjoy the many shows and wonders of the location which is within the snug harbor cultural center. Birthday parties also held here and are lots of fun, reasonable and little work for the host. Highly recommend visiting the SHCC and museum.

Ivy Dye

Awsome place

nnn nnn

Had a great time the kids loved it .

Radoslaw Kabata

Very interesting for kids of all ages, fun and educational, couldn't recommend it enough.

Chaya Moont

Spacious & lots of fun stuff. Even 10 year old had a blast. Cafe closed on Sundays but they have lots of vending machines & sell ice cream at the front. Hot Pokemon site too

Robert Fenn

TOO MUCH FOR ADMISSION AND EXHIBITS ARE NOT WELL KEPT OR SANITARY

Tamara Shapiro

Plenty of fun, interactive activities.

Kitty MacLeod

Our 2 1/2 year old grandson had fun, especially on the fire engine. However, I was disappointed ... a number of exhibits seemed to have missing parts (world map puzzle for one) and there was no cafe! I should have checked beforehand.

Traci Cappiello

Visited for a child's birthday party and was impressed by the staff's enthusiasm. They escort you from exhibit to exhibit and finally to the party room with a smile and efficiency. While it is geared towards children, some elements are super fun for adults, too. Inexpensive.

Ana Irizarry

The children enjoyed it there. Staff were helpful and kind.

Grace

Great place for your kids

Misha Bluvshteyn

The better children museum in NYC.

Anna Kozlowska

My children had a blast! Highly recommend!

Randy Downey

Great for children of all ages

A K

Really cute, just wish there was more to it. Also wish the "cafe" was actually up and running.

Iveth G.

Nice play for kids and adults..

linda blanchette

Great place for the kids to explore and learn!

The Mennealys

Nice place for kids. I thought we would only spend an hour there but we ended up spending 3. The kids loved it.

Carmen Garrido

Way to rush for my preschool class that came all the way from Jersey City. It's over sold! Staff tried to make the best way possible!

Leo's Tech & Lifestyle

Great place to bring little once. Lots of educational fun. E floors of it. And a extra small once have their own safe space to play in the lower level which is padded and has a gate for their safety. Recommend you sign up for a membership which pays for itself in a few visits. This place is open on rainy days, so my child has a place to have fun with other kids and I don't have to worry about her being board. Open Saturdays and Sundays as well as weekdays.

Andrey Lipavsky

Always a great time for kids.

Eric Patterson

Great place for kids and adults

blanca velez

Great place for kids to use their imagination.

Sonali Ambekar

The Winter Lantern festival is hosted to celebrate and cherish the Chinese New Year. Amazing Lights gleam all over the place. Good place for kids and some good night photographs. There are some shows which are announced while you are there. The place is pretty far and pricy. The feel is “Not a good value for money” at the end.

Ted Lochwyn

I participated in an event there today, presented by Staten Island OutLOUD and Cre-a-tion Dance Collective. Staff was very helpful in making everything run smoothly.

shmyla siddiqui

It was a great place to take the kids. Nice area and places to walk around to take pictures. But it was extremely hot inside. The tickets were a bit pricey as well.

Gloria Mak

My 2 year old toddler had a blast! He loves the little construction play site, which is not usually seen in other children's museums. He loves dressing up as a fireman, driving the fire engine too!

Angela Boundy

So friendly and helpful when booking a school trip

Fatema M Tayyib Jamali

Good for under 8 year kids

Nicole Martinez

This place is clean and full of so much for kids to do.

Emma Jean Pierre

Really cool place for the kids, did a tour with the school and the exhibits were fun yet educational

Olivia Bishop

I had to do a project for a class at Wagner College and they gave me a private tour — I wasn’t allowed to explore the museum alone because I was unaccompanied by a child. They cared about their patrons safety and experience. There are over a dozen of themed exhibits that allow children hands-on exploration. I was absolutely floored by the attention to detail and the creativity on each one of the room. I loved it and was jealous that I wasn’t a kid anymore.