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<p>This is a crowd-ranked list of the best museums made for kids across the world. &nbsp;This list of the top children&#39;s museums is based on architectural creativity, interactivity, and just plain fun. If you want a place to take your kid that allows them to engage in their environment and learn how to interact easily with new knowledge concepts and expand their horizons,&nbsp;check out some of the best children&#39;s museums in the world.&nbsp;If you&#39;ve been to most of these places, then re-rank and make your own list of the top children&#39;s museums and rank as you see fit, or, if you see something missing, add a museum for kids.&nbsp;Check out more lists like <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-movies-for-kids" target="_blank">best movies for kids</a>, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/most-annoying-kids-shows-of-all-time/ranker-tv" target="_blank">most annoying kids shows</a>, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-apps-for-parents/dad-of-the-year" target="_blank">best apps for parents</a>, and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-books-for-toddlers" target="_blank">best books for toddlers</a>.</p>


Best Children's Museums in the World | Rankings of Museums for Kids

The Best Children's Museums in the World

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The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis, a nonprofit institution committed to enriching the lives of children, is the largest childrens museum in the world. The more than 400,000-square-foot facility houses 11 major galleries that explore the physical and natural sciences, history, world cultures and the arts. The Childrens Museum is a place to learn and do. Whenever possible, exhibits are hands-on or participatory in nature. The Childrens Museum strives to be one of the vital links in the lives of children as it supports their intellectual curiosity and love of learning. The museum, situated on 14 acres of land in Indianapolis, presents thousands of programs and activities each year.

Boston Children's Museum

Boston Children's Museum is a children's museum in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the education of children. Located on Children's Wharf along the Fort Point Channel, Boston Children's Museum is the second oldest children's museum in the United States. It contains many activities meant to both amuse and educate young children.

American Museum of Natural History

Since its founding in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History has been dedicated to a joint mission of science and public education. AMNH continues to provide a unique platform for communicating the results of current research to the public. 
 
The Museum’s audience is one of the largest and most diverse of any museum in the country. Each year nearly four million people visit onsite, about half of them children. The online audience doubles the onsite attendance, with over four million unique visitors a year to the Museum’s online collections and databases, digital library, exhibition-related Web sites, interactive curricular materials for students and teachers, and other resources based on Museum science, research resources, and collections.

The Museum offers a wide array of educational programs targeted to various audiences—students from preschool through high school, families, educators, and the general public. These programs take place on-site and at schools and community sites throughout the City, as part of the Museum’s continuing efforts to extend its resources beyond its walls.

In 2006, the Museum announced the opening of The Richard Gilder Graduate School and its Ph.D. Program in Comparative Biology.  The Museum is the first American museum granted the authority to award its own Ph.D. degree. The Gilder School offers unique opportunities for students to participate in AMNH’s educational mission as part of their course of study.

Approximately 500,000 children visit the Museum each year through school or camp group visits. These visits are facilitated by education staff or trained teaching volunteers and are enriched by the Teachers’ Guides and Student Field Journals sent to every group before their visit. Many visits are focused on special multi-cultural programming designed to reflect the City’s diversity. In addition, the Museum offers on-site after school, enrichment, and workforce development programs which allow students of a variety of ages and interests to participate in the Museum’s research and education mission.

Professional development programs, a response to the critical need for trained science teachers, are a key element of the Museum’s approach to improving science literacy. The Museum offers a wide range of customized programs for professionals at all levels and works with four CUNY campuses—Lehman, Hunter, Brooklyn and Queens Colleges—to develop courses and institutes for teachers-in-training. Use of the Museum as a teaching resource, exposure to Museum scientists, and techniques for inquiry-based science in the classroom are elements of all programs.

AMNH is also active in wider community outreach. Four Moveable Museums are specially outfitted Winnebagos that travel to schools and community sites throughout the City. More than 150,000 adults take advantage of hundreds of lectures and fieldtrips sponsored by the Department of Education each year and, with their families, attend on-site weekend workshops and cultural events, many of which are associated with Black History Month, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Caribbean Celebration, and other multi-cultural festivals. The Museum’s National Center for Science Literacy and Technology brings Museum science and resources to a national audience through award-winning educational websites, and books and magazines for teachers and students of all ages.

The American Museum of Natural History has a long tradition of using innovative permanent and temporary exhibits to bring the Museum’s scientific research program to the wider public. Consisting of more than 60 staff, including writers, artists, designers, preparators, and model makers, the AMNH Exhibition Department has been responsible for a series of groundbreaking shows, including Darwin, Einstein, Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries, and Gold; and new galleries, such as the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins and the Millstein Hall of Ocean Life. In the Museum’s Hayden...

The Strong National Museum of Play

The National Museum of Play

The National Museum of Play, formerly Strong National Museum of Play, is part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, USA. Established in 1969 and based initially on the personal collection of Rochester, NY native Margaret Woodbury Strong, the museum opened to the public in 1982. Since then it has refined and increased its collections, and expanded twice, in 1997 and 2006. The museum is now one of five Play Partners of The Strong, which is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, and produces the American Journal of Play.

National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world in 161,145 square feet of exhibition floor space. It was established in 1946, as the National Air Museum and opened its main building near L'Enfant Plaza in 1976. In 2014, the museum saw approximately 6.7 million visitors, making it the 5th most visited museum in the world.
Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and spaceflight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics. Almost all space and aircraft on display are originals or backups to the originals. It operates an annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at Dulles International Airport, which opened in 2003 and itself encompasses 760,000 square feet. The museum currently conducts restoration of its collection at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland while steadily moving such restoration and archival activities into its Udvar-Hazy annex facilities as of 2014.

Exploratorium

The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco whose stated mission is to change the way the world learns. It has been described by the New York Times as the most important science museum to have opened since the mid-20th century, an achievement attributed to "the nature of its exhibits, its wide-ranging influence and its sophisticated teacher training program". Characterized as "a mad scientist's penny arcade, a scientific funhouse, and an experimental laboratory all rolled into one", the participatory nature of its exhibits and its self-identification as a center for informal learning has led to it being cited as the prototype for participatory museums around the world.
The Exploratorium was founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer and opened in 1969 at the Palace of Fine Arts, its home until January 2, 2013. On April 17, 2013, the Exploratorium reopened at Piers 15 and 17 on San Francisco's Embarcadero.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. With free admission and open doors 364 days a year, it is the second most visited museum in the world, the most visited natural history museum in the world, and the most visited museum in North America. Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. The main building has an overall area of 1,320,000 square feet with 350,000 square feet of exhibition and public space and houses over 1,000 employees.
The museum's collections total over 126 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts. With 8 million visitors in 2013, it is the most visited of all of the Smithsonian museums and is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists — the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world.

Children's Museum of Houston

The Children’s Museum of Houston is a children's museum in the Museum District in Houston, Texas. The museum is one of 190 children's museums in the United States and 15 children's museums in Texas.

Please Touch Museum

The Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special events, mostly aimed at children seven years old and younger.

California Science Center

The California Science Center is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Billed as the West Coast's largest hands-on science center, the California Science Center is a public-private partnership between the State and the California Science Center Foundation. The museum is also an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program.
Formerly known as the California Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum was remodeled in 1998 as the California Science Center. Currently it consists of the IMAX Theater, the Sketch Foundation Gallery - Air and Space Exhibits, designed by Frank Gehry, and the Science Center itself - including the March 2010 opening of the Ecosystems exhibition wing.
The California Science Center hosts the California State Science Fair annually.
In late 2012, the center received the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
General admission is free although there is a charge for rides and the IMAX Theater. Reservations are required to see Endeavour during peak periods. The museum hosted 2 million visitors in 2012 on the basis of the Endeavour exhibit.

COSI Columbus

COSI is a science museum and research center located in Columbus, Ohio in the United States. Originally opened in 1964, COSI was relocated to a 320,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki along a bend in the Scioto River in 1999. COSI features more than 300 interactive exhibits throughout themed exhibition areas.
As a “center of science and industry”, COSI established embedded partnerships with local organizations. WOSU@COSI maintains a digital media center and offices; OSU maintains a center of research as well as health & medicine laboratories staffed by medical residents; and Columbus Historical Society maintains offices and exhibit space.
COSI also operates the largest outreach education program of any science museum in the United States through COSI in the Classroom, 21st Century Lab field trip experiences, international distance education Interactive Video Conferencing programs, and COSI On Wheels traveling outreach program. As well, COSI originated the Camp-In overnight program for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in 1972 – a concept that is now commonplace in museums nationwide.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The 301-acre Historic Area includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 which made colonial Virginia's capital, as well as Colonial Revival and more recent reconstructions.
Early in the 20th century, the restoration and re-creation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest such projects in the nation, was championed by W. A. R. Goodwin and the patriarch of the Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., along with his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, to celebrate the patriots and the early history of the United States. Today it is a major tourist attraction for the Williamsburg area, and is part of the Historic Triangle of Virginia area, which includes Jamestown and Yorktown, linked by the Colonial Parkway. The site has been used for conferences by world leaders and heads of state, including U.S. Presidents. In 1983, the United States hosted the first World Economic Conference at Colonial Williamsburg. The Historic area is located immediately east of The College of William & Mary.
The motto of Colonial Williamsburg is "That the future may learn from the past". The Historic Area is an interpretation of a Colonial American city, with exhibits including dozens of authentic or re-created colonial houses and relating to American Revolutionary War history. Prominent buildings include the Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol, The Governor's Palace, and Bruton Parish Church. Rather than an effort to preserve antiquity, the combination of restoration and re-creation of the entire colonial town attempts to re-create the atmosphere and the ideals of 18th-century American people and revolutionary leaders. Interpreters work and dress as they did in the era, using colonial grammar and diction.

Museum of Science and Industry

The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Initially endowed by Julius Rosenwald, the Sears, Roebuck and Company president and philanthropist, it was supported by the Commercial Club of Chicago and opened in 1933 during the Century of Progress Exposition.
It is the largest science museum in the western hemisphere. Among its diverse and expansive exhibits, the museum features a full-size replica coal mine, a German submarine captured during World War II, a 3,500-square-foot model railroad, the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train, and the Apollo 8 spacecraft that carried the first humans to orbit the Moon.
Based on 2009 attendance, the Museum of Science and Industry was the second largest cultural attraction in Chicago. David R. Mosena has been President and CEO of the Museum since 1998.

Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier

Chicago Children's Museum

The Chicago Children's Museum is located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1982 by The Junior League of Chicago who were responding to programming cutbacks in the Chicago Public Schools. Originally housed in two hallways of the Chicago Public Library, it soon began to offer trunk shows and traveling exhibits in response to capacity crowds on-site.
The museum moved a number of times over its initial years of existence while it continued to search for a permanent home. In 1995, the Museum thought it found that home when it re-opened as an anchor tenant at Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. The new facility offered 57,000 square feet of exhibition space and included three floors of educational exhibits, public programs and special events. Upon the move to the Pier, the expansion made it the fourth largest children's museum in the United States. The museum serves more than 650,000 people, both at its Navy Pier location and in communities in and around Chicago, each year. While the Museum has an admission charge, it currently provides free admission to children 15 and under each Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and all-day on the first Sunday of each month.

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose is located on Woz Way in downtown San Jose, California. Woz Way is named after Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, whose nickname is "Woz," and who was the single largest private donor during the original capital campaign that funded the museum.
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose has been ranked by Child Magazine as one of the top 10 children’s museums in the United States and ranked by the London Observer as one of the top 5 science centers in the world.
The museum opened its doors in 1990, and over 6 million visitors have attended. The museum builds and displays interactive exhibits that they believe respond to children's diverse educational needs. The 52,000-square-foot purple building was designed by Mexico City-based architect Ricardo Legorreta.
The museum’s signature programs such as BioSITE and Discovery Youth encompass the broad themes of community, connections and creativity. These programs are intended to provide facilitated, focused, and sustained learning. The museum’s goal is to create interactive exhibits that invite self-directed, open-ended explorations.

Discovery Science Foundation & Discovery Cube

Discovery Science Center

The Discovery Cube Orange County, formerly known as the Discovery Science Center and the Taco Bell Discovery Science Center, is a science museum in Santa Ana, California, with more than 100 hands-on science exhibits designed to spark children's natural curiosity. It has become a visual landmark due to its ten-story solar array cube that stands over Interstate 5.

Museum of Science, Boston, MA

Museum of Science

The Museum of Science is a Boston, Massachusetts landmark, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the Museum features a number of live presentations throughout the building every day, along with shows at the Charles Hayden Planetarium and the Mugar Omni Theater, the only domed IMAX screen in New England. The Museum is also an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is home to over 100 animals, many of which have been rescued and rehabilitated from various dangerous situations. The Museum is also one of the city's three bases of operations for Boston's privately operated Duck Tours.

Deutsches Museum

The Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with approximately 1.5 million visitors per year and about 28,000 exhibited objects from 50 fields of science and technology.
The museum was founded on June 28, 1903, at a meeting of the Association of German Engineers as an initiative of Oskar von Miller. Its official name is Deutsches Museum von Meisterwerken der Naturwissenschaft und Technik. It is the largest museum in Munich.

Dinópolis

Port Discovery Children's Museum

Port Discovery

Port Discovery Children's Museum is a children's museum in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor. It is located in the site of Baltimore's historic Fishmarket Building, adjacent to Power Plant Live! on Market Place.
The museum is served by the Baltimore Metro Subway's Shot Tower/Market Place station.

Minnesota Children's Museum

Minnesota Children’s Museum is a non-profit community organization located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. The Museum mission statement is “providing children with a fun, hands-on and stimulating environment to explore and discover” The Museum, in operation since 1981, embraces these core concepts: Early learning is the foundation for lifelong learning. Families are our children’s first teachers. All children deserve a time and place to be children. Diverse perspectives enrich children’s lives. Play is learning

Treehouse Children's Museum, Ogden, UT

Liberty Science Center

Liberty Science Center is an interactive science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.
The center, which first opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major state science museum, has science exhibits, the largest IMAX Dome theater in the United States, numerous educational resources, and the original Hoberman sphere, a silver, computer-driven engineering artwork designed by Chuck Hoberman.

Madison Children's Museum

The Madison Children's Museum is a museum for children in Madison, Wisconsin, that contains exhibits on the arts, sciences, history, culture, health, and civic engagement.

Ateneum Art Museum

Ateneum

Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the museums of the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki at the Rautatientori square opposite Helsinki Central railway station. It has the biggest collections of classical art in Finland. Previously the Ateneum building also housed the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and University of Art and Design Helsinki. The Ateneum building is owned by Senate Properties, the government real estate provider.

This is a crowd-ranked list of the best museums made for kids across the world. &nbsp;This list of the top children's museums is based on architectural ...