Miami Children's Museum
Published On: Oct 25, 2006

If you've ever dreamed of being a kid again, the Miami Children's Museum is the perfect place. It brings out the kid in everyone.

With special exhibits, programs for children, parent resources, educational helps, group tours, and a host of other fun events and activities, the Miami Children's Museum is a treat for the entire family. The 56,500 square foot museum is composed of 12 galleries, classrooms, a resource center for teachers and parents, the Kid Smart gift shop, a 200-seat auditorium, and a Subway restaurant. There's no better place on the planet to learn about arts, culture, community, and communication.

Located on Watson Island, the museum was built in 1983, offers bilingual and interactive exhibits, and seeks to build educational alliances between parents, teachers, and children to encouragement enrichment and entertainment for all ages.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Exhibits include a six-foot piggy bank where children can design dollar bills and learn how to manage money, the health & wellness center, the two-story Castle of Dreams sandcastle, Pet Central, the mock Supermarket, a television studio, Ocean Odyssey, Safety Zone, designed to teach children all about the public safety professions such as police work and fire fighting, Cruise Ship, All About Art, and a whole lot more. The educational opportunities never end and the place is as much fun as a place of learning.

Special programs include math, music, and mixed media classes for the early ages, Creative Island one day camps, group tours, and the parent/teach resource center, which includes a lending library of curriculum, parenting books, and a host of media, Internet stations and other tools available for on-premises use, workshops and other educational series for adult learners, and resource center staff ready and willing to assist and mentor.

All year long the children's museum hosts stories and other fun events such as Wonderful Wednesdays, musical education, Art Talk, tours and mini-tours, fitness activities, film school courses for middle school and high school students, a giant water bottle tour, Clock Doc, concert by such legendary greats as Dave Grover and the Big Bear Band, the Pumpkin Party, a scholastic book fair, and the list just goes on and on. The museum even offers cooking classes.

The museum also offers volunteer opportunities and purchased membership plans. Members can get top priority on admission into the museum, invitations to receptions and special events, priority birthday party bookings, priority registration for classes and camps offered by the museum, a 10% discount on purchases made through the Kid Smart educational gift shop, and other great benefits as well. Volunteers need no special skills or expertise and help with museum events and special exhibits as well as holiday family activities and school events.

The Miami Children's Museum also offers facility rentals for private and corporate parties. Classrooms, auditorium, the promenade, the everglades park outdoor area, tech center, or the entire facility may be rented for special occasions, meetings, and conferences. The museum features three classrooms and a 170-seat auditorium with retractable bleachers. The 2,500 square foot auditorium comes complete with a stage, theatrical lighting, and audiovisual equipment. The technology center is as impressive as anything you'll ever see with 20 multimedia stations, each with personal Internet access. The center also includes two flatbed scanners, digital cameras, drawing pads, and tons of software.

The Miami Children's Museum is great fun for the entire family. Don't miss it.

Miami Children's Museum
980 MacArthur Causeway
Miami, FL 33132