You absolutely HAVE to take your kids to the new and vastly improved Children’s Museum in Austin, the Thinkery. To start with, no more driving around in circles looking for parking spaces downtown. There is plenty of parking at this Mueller attraction despite their parking garage being still under construction.
In all of my wisdom I brought my children after church on Sunday still in their holiday dress clothes. Before leaving the house, I actually told my daughter, Kinsley, “Of course you can stay in your dress, it’s not like we will be painting or anything!” First thing we see… painting… on big glass windows. They have aprons and it’s washable paint (kind of) but still, not something that’s ideal for their Sunday best! Both my one year old and kindergartner had so much fun that it was totally worth it!
The light room was extraordinary with their giant lite brite walls, colored shadows, prisms and touch color artwork. Like the painting, I had to bodily remove Zane because he was completely entranced and wouldn’t leave the area!
We didn’t get a chance to use the microscopes, create your own cartoon, the lever and gravity room because of the little one, but it just shows they created a place for young and older kids alike. Just in case this is sounding overwhelming, they kept the old craft center and grocery area if you were nostalgic for the familiar activities of the previous children’s museum.
Upstairs was the hit of our first trip to the Thinkery. My kids like nothing better than splashing and playing in water.What a delight! Again, they have aprons, crocs and hand dryers but that can only do so much when my kids practically dive in the table or stand under the water tower.
If that wasn’t enough, you can top off the day with the ropes playground outside! It isn’t really suitable for toddlers but very cool for older kids. We were there in December with the wind whipping and it was quite chilly but it will be perfect for those hot Texas summer days!
Afterwards, you can hop across the street for a lovely picnic at the park and lake or around the corner to the new HEB with their great Mueller cafe! Please please take your children to experience this great new museum for kids. If only they had something devoted to oral hygiene or teeth, then it truly would have been a perfect place. Just kidding, sort of. Seriously, there is so much to learn and play with! I promise, you won’t be disappointed!
Written by Elyse Cronin
