The Cinergy Children’s Museum
The Cinergy Children’s Museum offers an array of hands-on activities and exhibit areas for children of all ages. My toddler daughters and I tend to spend most of our time in the two areas designated for children who are preschool age and younger: Little Sprouts Farm and Kids’ Town. While playing in these locations, children can roll balls down ramps, build with Lego’s, play various musical instruments, shovel and dig in the sand, and even go down a slide. Little Sprouts Farm also includes an Infant Garden, an excellent outlet for mothers of infants who generally have limited options.
Older children certainly are not lacking for activities either. Among the most popular exhibit areas are Energy Zone and Water Works. Energy Zone is filled with hundreds of plastic balls that children can collect into bags, shoot into baskets and propel through several mazes by manually operating various contraptions. At the Water Works station, children are provided with waterproof aprons and can fill buckets with water; pour water into different machines, propelling them to move; or simply splash around … all without getting themselves drenched.
After a hard morning or afternoon of play, most children are hungry and the Cinergy Children’s Museum offers several appealing alternatives in this arena as well. There is a Pizza Hut, sandwich shop and even an ice cream cafe. Many parents, however, prefer to bring their own snacks and meals and eat them at one of the many tables provided by the Museum Center.
Clearly the Cinergy Children’s Museum is an ideal place for children of all ages. But it also can enable parents to converse and interact with one another while their children are busily occupying themselves, thereby making this one of the best family-friendly venues I have ever experienced.
The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM until 5 PM and on Sundays from 11 AM until 6 PM. The cost of admission is $7.25 for adults and $5.25 for children; children under the age of one are free. Parking in the designated lot is convenient but costs $4.50. For Cincinnati residents, a great option is to buy a yearly membership, which costs $60 for a family and can include parking or a Caregiver Pass for additional costs. If you have more questions about the Cinergy Children’s Museum, you can call 1-800-733-2077.
