Review: KidSpace Museum Pasadena

This past weekend we went out to Pasadena to visit the Kidspace Museum.  It's located in the Rose bowl area, situated in a lovely area of Parking Lot I.

While EG had a lot of fun while we visited the museum, I definitely didn't feel like it was worth the high price of admission.  While I'm glad it wasn't a movie, paying $11 for admission to this location didn't exactly seem worth it for the 1.5 hours we spent there.  At least with a movie it would have been about 2 -2.5 hours. 

However, that being said, EG really did have a lot of fun.  She's a total water baby, and the weekend was a hot one.  Right when you walk in they have a few water exhibits, just water fountains out of the floor in a large area.  It was partially shaded, and while waiting for our friends I left EG and Working Dad there to run to the restroom (ah pregnancy!).  I get back and EG is SOAKED through her dress.

Luckily we had packed for a swimming adventure that was postponed earlier in the weekend, so we had EG's bathing suit at the ready!  She was totally soaked in minutes.

And that seemed to be par for the course...there were TONS of kids running around in their bathing suits that day.

But let's back up, because once EG was soaked and our friends arrived we headed out into the sun at the 'Physics Forest'



























This was a whole area full of about 10 - 12 different little activities for the kids.  While they all related to some sort of interesting math and physics problem, none of the notions were really that accessible to our toddlers.  They enjoyed watching the balls move, and running around the bridges, but many of the activities we had to do for them.  We worked 'together' to pull strings, and make bells ring, but definitely not to accessible at this age.

However, it was an interesting space, and the explanations were very interesting.  Probably the place that got the most attention was the 'roller coaster.'  This area (pictured below) had balls you could drop down the different tubes, etc.  There were some parents who had made something very cool, and EG loved being held up to drop her balls and see them go.  She even added a piece to a smaller tube section.

We moved on after a bit, since the thing I was most excited about seeing was the arroyo.  And boy was it worth it.  Honestly, it might have been worth the price of admission all by itself!  (Okay, not really, but it was very, very cool!)

At the top they had a little structure that had 'rain' falling from it.  It simulated the water cycle and the kids absolutely adored it.  Walking under the water and seeing it start and stop was so interesting.  My favorite part was the moving of the creek over the rocks.  EG intially made Working Dad hold her hand as she climbed down, but then I convinced her that she could do it herself using her hands and her feet.  It was tons of fun to watch her, and a really memorable moment, with me remembering all the different creeks/crossings I've climbed in during my young life.

She ran around in her regular diaper, and I definitely wouldn't encourage anyone to drink the water, since there were lots of toddlers.  But we had tons of fun watching her play with people and with the water buckets.  She was having so much fun that we almost failed to notice how cold she was getting.  Being soaking wet made her quite cold, and at the end her teeth were chattering.

We got her dressed and headed out for lunch.

From KidSpace Museum site

From KidSpace Museum website

 What would I do differently?  I would definitely enter the park as early as possible.  With a noonish naptime, we didn't get to play that much.  We entered just before 11am, and with the high cost I wish we had more time there.

We didn't even go inside the building, which houses an ant farm and a climbing tower.  Just to much fun in the sun and the water.

I would also bring our own lunch, since it was naptime when we left and the Rose Bowl is far away from any type of restaurant or dining location EG fell asleep before we got anywhere for food.  We didn't want to wake her up, since she is a sleepy girl, and that meant that she didn't eat lunch until about 2pm.  Not a huge deal, but definitely better to BYOL.

If we lived in the area I would get a family membership.  It's expensive ($189) for a year, but I could definitely see us making the most out of it with $33 per visit for all three of us.

Have you been to Kidspace Museum?  What other children's museums have you been to and liked?