ADMISSION: $7. children 3-17; $8. seniors; $9. adults; members & children 2 & under free (Download $1 off Coupons & Save!) And book groups of at least ten and save even more!) Hours are subject to change. (we're opening earlier due to member & educator requests, thus closing earlier)Each floor is 6,000 square feet with 100’s of hands-on exhibits. We also offer Pre-booked Group Rates: check our Program page.

Museum Hours: Open: - July & August: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9:15am -12:45pm, Saturday 9:15am -1:45pm; Open: - Sept. through June when school is in session - Monday, Thursday from 9:15am -12:45pm and Saturday from 9:15am -1:45pm (& some other days during school breaks & holidays– check online calendar). Open during Holiday Breaks & Winter Breaks extra days. Check our online calendar. To ensure enough time to enjoy your visit, no admissions are allowed one hour before closing time. Kitchen closes one hour prior to that day's closing. We reserve the right to close early on any given day which has no visitors in.

1st Floor: Among Exhibits: Playspace for children under 3 years of age, Exploration Station Shopping Center; Wooden Train for all age children; Robot Room for children six years of age and up; interactive Saturn car, hyperbolic funnel, light and shadow exhibits, funhouse mirrors, plus restrooms and changing tables, eating & drinking areas
2nd Floor: Among Exhibits: LED interactive Musical Play Dance Floor, Iroquois Long House w/Kiosk, interactive History Dioramas, Musical Stage/instruments; interactive dinosaur Dinorama, Paleontology fossil center, Clowns/Dolls, Trading Post, Puppet Theatre, Mars Rover finalist
3rd Floor: Among Exhibits: Living Science Center w/reptiles, insects & fish, Train & Lego activity centers, Arts & Crafts center, Weather Station, Radio Room, Truck Dig, Baseball Display, Computer Games; Touch Screen PC History Games.
4th Floor: Among Exhibits: NASA Lunar Lander / Mars Rover & Rover Contest Finalist / Columbia Shuttle, Hot Wheels Hall, Fire & Police, Interactive Science exhibits, Interactive Space Scale & Flight Timeline, real Airplane to “take a ride in”, Student NASA finalist exhibits, huge interactive HO & Lionel trains!

As we receive no funding from the UW, CDBG, City, County, State, or Federal Govt to support our operations, we rely solely on Admissions, Donations & Sponsors to run our operations. Please help us. Thanks for caring, sharing & helping us make a difference!

The Children's Museum offerings:

Our museum offers a safe, enjoyable, interactive learning environment with 3 floors of interactive exhibits, a 4th floor open one to two times a day, and eating space! Be among the educators and or families who take advantage of an educational field trip visit to the Children's Museum or programs available at the Children's Museum. Kids love and learn. Our mission is to continue the passion for making the only Children's Museum in Central New York one of the best in the country.

What better place to bring...

• your students on a field trip?
• your scouts to earn a badge?
• your daycare children on an outing?
• your family for a great day out?
• your group for a meeting or a tour?

REGISTER for visits via phone or email Director Marlene. One of the oldest Children's Museum's in the country, founded in 1963, we're the only Children's Museum in the country to have been adopted by both NASA & Dept. of Energy's Office of Science!

~ Check hrs/fees/pricing ~ View our directions ~ Email us for more information ~

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Guidelines for School & Day-Care Groups

Welcome to the Children's Museum. Our diverse collection of hands-on exhibits and educational programs is an invaluable resource for school groups in the Central New York area and more than 150,000 visitors a year. Enjoy your visit! To ensure the health and safety of your students and all of our visitors, we ask that you review the following guidelines with students prior to your visit to CM. Supervision of students in the Museum is imperative; unsupervised students or children should not wander around the Museum.

Our guidelines are one (1) responsible adult chaperone for every six (6) students to make the most of your educational experience. This adult/student ratio is particularly important on the upper floors. General - Running is not permitted anywhere in the Children's Museum, nor is swinging on the curtains on our stage area. Portable radios, cassette, or disc players that are audible to other visitors in the Museum are not permitted. Shirts and shoes must be worn at all times while in the Museum, except for children under 5 while they are in PlaySpace. For everyone's safety, do not pet or taunt animals in our Living Science Area. Thank you for reviewing these CM rules with students and chaperones. By observing these guidelines and supervising students, you are also helping to ensure the health and well-being of our ever-growing children's museum for present and future generations.

A Before-You-Visit Review Suggestion - Before you review this list of guidelines with your school group, ask your students to first list ways that the Children's Museum is different from a Park or Zoo. A partial list of rules for appropriate behavior and conduct may emerge from this discussion based on a student's experience and understanding of all that the Children's Museum has to offer. You can then review any remaining rules and guidelines on this sheet that have not been raised by your students.

Traveling by Bus - Buses should drop off students at our front entrance on Main Street, by the Museum Entrance sign. After students disembark, buses may park further down Main Street or in the Parking Lot across from the Museum. Signs for Children's Museum parking are fully visible.

Accessibility for Physically Challenged: We have a ramp right next to the Main entrance for wheelchairs and others who may have trouble navigating the few steps to the Museum's entrance. While we encourage groups to use our beautiful oak stairway to visit the upper floors, we do have an elevator that goes to all floors. Restrooms are available on the first floor. To pix* To top * To text

Museum Cafe':

Food, Snacks, Lunches - For safety reasons, food & beverages are not allowed on the floor or in our exhibit areas. Visitors may eat bag lunches, or snacks from our vending machine, in our 1st floor Museum Café (if a group hasn’t booked it) or on benches in Baggs Square Park next door (weather pending), or on benches on covered Train platform next door.

Some Saturday's we host birthday parties, so 1st Floor Cafe/Birthday room may not be available. If this is the case, individuals may eat on the bench by our back door, or on the bench out by our train, or on the benches in our park.

General - Running is not permitted anywhere in the Children's Museum, nor is swinging on the curtains on our stage area. Portable radios, cassette, or disc players that are audible to other visitors in the Museum are not permitted. Shirts and shoes must be worn at all times while in the Museum, except for the under 5 children while they are in PlaySpace. For everyone's safety, do not pet or taunt animals in our Living Science Area.

Museum Gift Shop

Gift Shop - Our CM Gift Shop is open daily with items priced from $1. to $19. and many at only $3. or $4. Among the gifts are space science related items, our Children's Museum mug and ornament, along with a neat variety of items.

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Meetings and/or Tours:

Welcome to the Children's Museum. Our diverse collection of hands-on exhibits and unique meeting space is an invaluable resource for groups. Book your meeting or visit today!

Accessibility for Physically Challenged: We have a ramp right next to the Main entrance for wheelchairs and others who may have trouble navigating the few steps to the Museum's entrance. While we encourage groups to use our beautiful oak stairway to visit the upper floors, we do have an elevator that goes to all floors. Restrooms are available on the first floor.

For more information, call us at 315-724-6129, or email us so we can check to see if the dates you want are available.

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Museum Hours:
The museum is open most of the year Monday's, Thursday's from 9:15am to 12:45pm and Saturday's from 9:15am to 1:45pm. During November holiday week, Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer we're open Monday's, Tuesday's, Thursday's and Friday's from 9:15am to 12:45pm and Saturday's from 9:15am to 1:45pm.

Admission (at the door):
$7.00 children 3 to 17; $8.00 Seniors & Vets & College Students; $9.00 Adults
Members and children 2 years of age and younger are Free
Admission enables you to view and intereact with all exhibits on all four floors.
Last admission one hour before closing.
NOTE: While we are a not-for-profit, we receive no funding for operations from the City, County, State, or Federal government

Group Rates (pre-booked):
Group Rates - Visit & Tour of 4 floors with a Guide (pre-booked):

$5.25 per person in groups of 10-14 (visit only, all pay the same fee)
$5.00 per person in groups of 15-24 (visit only, 1 chaperone free for every 6 paid)
$4.75 per person in groups of 25-49 (visit only, 1 chaperone free for every 6 paid)
$4.50 per person in groups of 50-74 (visit only, 1 chaperone free for every 6 paid)
$4.25 per person in groups of 75-99 (visit only, 1 chaperone free for every 6 paid)
$4.00 per person in groups of 100 or more (visit only, 1 chaperone free for every 6 paid)
(One teacher or adult chaperone is required for every six students, and will be admitted at no cost.
Additional chaperones pay the visit rate - combine classes to reach reduced numbers).

Group Visit or Tour with Educational Program (pre-booked):
$25. extra for a 25 minute hands-on program in our Living Science Room for group of 15-24 children ($40. for group of 25-49; $60. for group of 50-75 children; $70. for group of 76-100 children)
$25. extra for a 25 minute ‘airplane ride’ for each child in our real airplane in a group of 20-25 ($40. for group of 25-49; $60. for group of 50-75 children; $70. for group of 76-100 children)
If you’re looking for a longer day, these programs require an extra ½ hour in the museum for each, or an extra hour for both activities. Choose both museum programs and fees can be reduced further, depending on numbers. Email Director Marlene if this applies to you.
SPECIAL: a 2 hr tour of the museum’s 4 floors of interactive exhibits; bag lunch in our kitchen; followed by a 1 hr ride on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad to the Utica Marsh & Canal & back. Only $9.95 per person (1 chaperone free for every 6 paid)
Must book with Museum Director Marlene marlenebrown@roadrunner.com who will check on train availability.

LUNCH AVAILABILITY: For safety reasons, food & beverages are not allowed on the floor or in our exhibit areas. Visitors may eat their bag lunches in our 1st floor Museum Kitchen/Bday Room.

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LUNCH AVAILABILITY: For safety reasons, food & beverages are not allowed on the floor or in our exhibit areas. Visitors may eat their bag lunches in our 1st floor Museum Kitchen/Bday Room.

SOME OF THE 100’s OF EXHIBITS in the 60 Pavilions on our Four Floors – 4 major areas per floor:
1st floor – Exploration Space upper level; Exploration Space lower leval; Saturn car; Wooden Train
2nd floor -Iroquois Longhouse & History Diorama; Paleontology Center; Dinorama/Fossils; LED floor;
3rd floor -Living Science Center; Trains & Legos; Live Radio Room; Live Weather/Green Science Room;
4th floor -NASA shuttle/Lunar/Scale; Science exhibits/Airplanes; Fire & Police; Planes & Trains

Time Frame - We book groups for a two hour Visit, which gives your group a half hour on each of our four floors. If you will be bringing a bag lunch, we'll book your group for two and a half to three hours. We'll arrange the schedule for you, and get it to you ahead of time, so you can go over it with your chaperones. Arrival times are between 9:30am & 9:45am, with departures 12:30pm or 12:45pm. (With booked Visits, you get a reduced group rate, and we provide pre & post activities and a guide / map of The Children’s Museum of History, Natural History, Science & Technology) Permanently Chartered by the NYS Board of Regents, the Children’s Museum Curriculum Enrichment Exhibits meet Scout badge requirements and NYS Learning Standards in the Arts, SS, & MST. We have 60 pavilions with 100's of exhibits on our four floors of exhibits, most interactive,

Book your program today by calling 315-724-6129, or email Director Marlene Brown, so we can check to see if the dates you want are avilable.

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Holiday Weeks & School Closing Hours:
The museum is open on the following national holidays:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Winter Break, Spring Break
The museum is closed on the following holidays:
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Check our Online Calendar for special event & holiday schedule, renovation closings, etc.

Other Special programs offered:
Keep checking the website, pick up flyers in the Museum, and continue to enjoy our fun and educational events in a safe learning environment! View the latest news on our New Stuff Page. And find out more on our About Us page.

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The Children's Museum of History, Living History, Science & Technology
311 Main Street, Utica, NY 13501
Tel: 315-724-6129 * Web: www.museum4kids.net

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