The Iowa Children's Museum in Iowa City

by Erin Huiatt

The kids and I took a trip to Coralville last week, to visit The Iowa Children’s Museum. This has been on our bucket list for awhile and I am so happy we finally had the chance to check it off! This place is amazing and is loaded with all sorts of fun stuff.

First off, it is located IN Coral Ridge Mall! I had no idea. I knew it was around the area, but not actually in the mall. This makes life so much easier, because it is right by the food court, HUGE carousel, ice skating rink, movie theater and of course shopping. A great way to take a break at the museum for lunch, or plan an entire weekend getaway!

Also, if you make it into town on the last Friday of the month, Coral Ridge Mall has Family Free Friday from 5 pm and 8pm. It includes FREE skating, FREE carousel rides for all, FREE kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal, FREE admission to the Iowa Children’s Museum for all, and more!

Everything is hands-on and very interactive. The first area we checked out was the airplane room (that is what the kids called it). There were wooden airplanes the kids could sit in, play with, learn about air, flight and much more.

Monte really enjoyed the airplane simulator!

We next headed into another room which included a rock-climbing wall, slides (Amelia was a HUGE fan), build your own race cars and race them, and lots more.

One of my favorite rooms (which I actually LOVED them all) was the art room! This room seriously blew my mind with all the creativity you could do in there. There were paints, colors, crayons, toilet paper tubes, glue, and so many other random items. This room allows children and parents to get creative AND messy!

The music room was a blast! I loved all the different instruments that were available for the children to play with and experience.

If your child loves to make believe, you can basically live in your own small town at the museum.

You can visit the post office and have an adorable little boy handle your mail

You can visit the town pizzeria for some homemade “pi”. Amelia spent a good portion of the time creating and serving me pizza.

Are you sick? Need an ambulance ride? No worries! There is one available!

You always need to stock up on groceries!

Learn how to harvest your own veggies on the local farm!

Visit the local dentist and hospital.

My FAVORITE! The theater. The theater is loaded with costumes and the set is filled with houses and full of color. Monte could have easily spent a couple of hours in there playing.

Another great feature, as you are walking through the museum are the signs and notes they provide for parents. Not that we do not know what to say or do with our children, but it is a great way to make the most of your experience while you are there.

The Blue Room was a blast full of climbing and building!

We only spent about 4 hours at the Iowa Children’s Museum, but you could easily spend an entire day there! I highly recommend taking the short 2ish hours trip from Des Moines to check it out!