mid-hudson children's museum

It has been about 2 years since I was last at the Museum. It needed a lot of love & updating and it got it! I have 2 girls, 5 and 3, and they both loved it! My 3 year old could have stayed all day long. The new hands on exhibits were perfect for the 2-5 year range. The toddler room now has a big train table with lots of trains and tracks for many kids at once. A new area to climb up and run around, with a tunnel underneath. And some cool features like cool ball roller coaster and these clear air vents that hang from the ceiling and suck in colored scarves. A new fire engine area that is really cool and upstairs has plenty of new, fun, skill building activities. We will be back! I could see this not being exciting for kids over 6 or 7. They would breeze through and be done quickly. Perfect for little ones!

We recently bought a family pass from a coworker after a visit to the Children's Museum. We love it and thought it was well worth the price. It so nice to have a local place to take your child when the weather is not nice(or warm enough) to go outside and let them burn off the energy. It is very clean and staff is very nice. It is not the biggest one we have been to but for the location they make great use of the space. 2 floors and plenty to do to keep them occupied.

We used the museum as a destination halfway between two families and the cousins had a great time. Since they were all between almost two and six years old, it was perfect for them. I wouldn't bother to bring kids older than six. The activities were fun and very age-appropriate. The space is well-lit, clean, and ample. We went on a very cold day and thus all outside areas were closed for the winter, but I would like to go back on a warm day and enjoy the outside activity space. We spent almost five hours there, brought our lunches and ate in the snack space, and since we were five kids and five adults, there was plenty of supervision for each kid. I would go there again with young kids. The children were all well-behaved and it was a nice day's outing. Don't expect great educational value, but it is a good hands-on time for little ones.

My family visits this museum fairly regularly since it is only about 20 minutes from our home. We have a traveling membership that gives us free admission to a number of other museums throughout the country. We like to take advantage of it when traveling. The Mid-Hudson Children's Museum isn't the largest we have been too but it is a reliable stop when our kids need something to do. It is right next to the Walkway over the Hudson and the new elevator allows quick access from the parking lot. If you aren't going to the museum, you have to pay to use the lot. Paid admission gets you free parking. The museum gives you a slip to scan when you leave for the day. The museum has recently upgraded a number of the exhibits and I really like the changes. Nothing extra fancy but I actually enjoy a few now. It had been a bit tired but it has a fresh feel with a few reminders of the past. The new fire truck exhibit is top notch. We will continue to visit for several more years until my kids outgrow it. Keep up the good work.

This museum is wonderful for small children. they have things they can touch and interact with and it makes learning fun. The staff is friendly and inviting. It's bright and right near the river and waterfront park so you can get outside after and enjoy the sunshine and river views. They have many local restaurants within walking distance as well so it's a great day trip with small children. Teens will not be entertained here though it is definitely geared to younger children. They have special activities throughout the year and you can check their events calendar for that information.

Thanks so much for visiting and for sharing your feedback! We've heard from a couple of our guests that GPS navigation can be a little tricky. What tends to work best is programming in: "75 N Water St., Poughkeepsie" (if given the option, be sure to select "Poughkeepsie", not "Town of Poughkeepsie"). Rest assured that we are very concerned if/when we hear guests reporting that our exhibits are broken. We inspect all exhibits each day before we open and after we close - and pull exhibits off the floor if they are not functioning properly so that they can be repaired promptly. We also do rounds throughout the day to inspect, restock and straighten exhibit spaces. Because we are a hands-on and truly interactive museum for young children, we have many loose parts that can be manipulated. While we feel this is a key part of the experience we offer our guests, we do acknowledge that loose pieces do have the tendency to "migrate" as children move from one area to the next during a visit. Sometimes this can be a real headache (like when our plinko wall needs to be opened with power tools up to extract train cars)...sometimes downright humorous and creative (as when we see literally ALL of the vegetables from our market moved upstairs to be props in our dino puppet theater.) Either way, we very much appreciate when guests let a member of our staff know when an exhibit is down or missing pieces so that we can inspect and address the situation immediately.

My two year old loves this place and always has a great time when she's there. She frequently asks to go back. It is also located near the Poughkeepsie train station, on the Poughkeepsie waterfront and near the elevator that connects to the Walkway Over the Hudson. It's in a beautiful area.

We go here frequently only because I have a passport program card giving me access to many children's museums free of charge. I am always disappointed by this place. Pieces to displays are always missing or broken. Some interactive exhibits don't work. I'm hoping it changes for the better soon. Also, the mammoth display is biased toward the old earth theory.

Took grandkids. They had a great time exploring all that there was to do between two floors. We had a picnic outside overlooking the Hudson River! You can spend a long time in here. GPS it, a little hard to find. Lots of shopping and restaurants in the surrounding area.

friendly stuff, clean equipment, variety for kids to play.$8 per person per timeif you live nearby, the membership is only $85 per year and it is a good place for kids to kill energy no matter rain or shine

The Mid-Hudson Children's Museum is best for families with young children ages 0-6 (which is the core audience for small children's museums nationwide). Through our exhibits and educational programs we focus on three areas that are of high importance to our target audience: school readiness, health and wellness, and community-building. We have been actively and intentionally replacing old, worn and broken exhibits (including those mentioned in this review) with new and vibrant ones that are more age-appropriate for young families. If you have little kids, you will love it. I invite you to check us out!

Took our 20 month granddaughter there for the museum's birthday celebration. Very well done - lots of activities for young kids. Well worth the trip.

Took our twin two year olds and had a blast. Spent almost two hours and still didn't get to everything. About four dress up rooms, one room of small building blocks and tubes, one big room with climbing structure, tubes that send scarves flying, large plinko, train table, and big styrofoam building blocks. Plus an upstairs that had a small piece under construction but the rest filled with fun math/science games. All interactive and easy enough for 2+ even if they don't get the concept. Definitely go on a week day, we went midday and it was very slow which meant more room for us! Awesome day and there is a perfect outdoor restaurant on the rivers edge a short walk away.

Took my four children ages 2-10. They all had a great time. Lots to do and very hands on. Not a huge space but for me that worked so I could keep an eye on them at all times. Very clean and friendly atmosphere.

I took my 7year old nephew and it was way too kiddish for him. I think he would have loved it when he was 4.