Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is a really neat hands-on museum in Bloomsburg, PA, that is sure to delight your young children. The museum is not very large, but it packs in a lot of fun activity areas without being too crowded.
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One of the first things to delight young children is the bird and ‘nest’ area. There are numerous birds and birdhouses and children can push buttons to hear a particular bird’s song. The kids can put on costumes of different birds and climb into the ‘nest’ area around a tree. In keeping with the nature theme, the center of the room has a display of several animals in their habitat, but underneath the display is a tunnel for the kids to crawl through so they can learn what is happening under their feet when they are out in the woods. There is also a display of wildlife along the bank of the Susquehanna River. While you can’t touch the animals in the display itself, the museum has provided furs to touch and craft activities to do along the edge of the display so little hands can be occupied.
The museum has a replica Eastern woodlands longhouse where kids can build a ‘fire’ and sit around it on tree stumps. They can even lay on beds like the Indians would have used. Other areas include a replica cabin with a kitchen and lots of toy food, a coal mine that the kids can walk through and push buttons to hear about working in a mine, and an old fashion school room where kids can don pioneer clothing and sit at old-fashioned desks to do their school lessons. They can also pretend to visit an old-fashioned general store.
Younger children will enjoy digging through the rubber mulch in the dinosaur dig pit to uncover fossils. The pit also has numerous dinosaurs to play with. While children are occupied in the dig pit, their parents can try their hand at sending a ping-pong ball whizzing through the pneumatic machine. All ages will enjoy turning the hand wheels that use the six simple machines to make balls roll through the simple machines exhibit.
In the ancient Egypt area kids can see a mummy replica and even try to make a mummy themselves by wrapping stuffed animals in cloth. Or they could try writing their name in hieroglyphics. In the center stage area there are plenty of costumes for kids to use as they put on their own act. The maker space has different activities such as snap circuits, bristle blocks, magna tiles, and squigz suction toys. The health area has giant teeth that kids can brush, a magnetic skeleton they can assemble, and interactive exhibits to teach children about healthy food choices and the amount of sugar present in some everyday foods.
There is a car track that kids can drive cars on, a model boat with pretend fishing poles they can sit in, a magnetic wall to attach pieces to roll balls along, a space shuttle control panel to push buttons on, puzzles, and a dedicated baby play space.
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10-4, except on holidays. The museum is very affordably priced, with admission only costing $7. They also participate in Museums for All and Blue Star Museums. Free parking is available.
My Takeaway
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is well worth the cost of admission and is a great way to entertain kids 10 and younger. With all the hands-on activities that the museum offers, you could easily spend 2-3 hours here.