The Space Museum and Grissom Center

The exhibits at this museum include hundreds of aerospace artifacts related to space exploration history and an animatronic RoboThespian that once taught visitors at a NASA space center. Items at the museum include everything from the M-5 Mercury spacesuit of Gus Grissom, who was the second American in space, to an International Space Station toilet mockup.

An adjacent building showcases vintage toys, movie and TV artifacts, models and other objects that highlight American culture’s fascination in the 1950s and 1960s with the space race. If the building is locked, visitors should contact museum staff.

The museum is at 118 E. School St., Bonne Terre. The phone number is 573-358-1200. There is free parking on the right side of the museum.

The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. It is open Monday through Thursday only by appointment. Groups can call to set up tours.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and active military, $7 for students and free for children under age 6.

Wonderscope Children’s Museum of Kansas City

The museum has a list of exhibits and corresponding video clips and lists of fun activities to do here. Examples include the following:

Crossroads of Past and Future “Hop aboard a riverboat, railway car, and horse-drawn covered wagon and explore Kansas City’s history of transportation and exploration.”

WaterWorks Children can investigate different forces that influence water flow and consider whether anything surprised them about the way the water moved.

WonderMart Children can find and sort foods from various food groups and consider why certain foods are stored in the refrigerator versus shelves.

The museum, which is at 433 E. Red Bridge Road in Kansas City, is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MLK Day, Presidents’ Day and Veterans Day. It is closed on Easter, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Dec. 26 and, in 2024, Jan. 1, 2 and 3. On Dec. 31, it will close immediately following a New Year’s Eve celebration that is at noon. The phone number is 816-643-6700.

There is free parking in the museum’s parking lot. Admission is $14 for children ages 2 to 15 and $10 for people ages 16 and older. The Museums for All admissions price is $3, with the presentation of EBT, SNAP or WIC card. Active military and reservists and their families receive $2 off admission. Museum admission is free for Pogo Pass holders.

Both children and adults must be part of any visitors’ museum entry, and they must stay together. Food and beverages can only be consumed in the Picnic Zone.

To learn more about field trips, click here. Field trips can either be 90 minutes of free play or a 60-minute structured program plus 30 minutes of free play in exhibits.

Field trips must include at least 10 students and be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. There is no space for field trip groups to have lunch.

The museum offers a relaxation station and sensory backpacks. The sensory backpacks include a noise-canceling headset, a weighted blanket, dark glasses and fidget toys.

Discovery Center of Springfield

Lezah Stenger Foundation Energy Exchange Gallery Visitors can explore energy through activities like hand-cranking a water-bucket conveyor belt and walking in a giant hamster wheel.

HighWire Bicycle Youths who are at least 48 inches tall, (as staff said Jan. 23, 2024), and weigh less than 250 pounds can experience the law of “center of gravity” on a bike that travels on a guide wire. There is a seat harness and a safety net. Tickets are $3 for non-members. Learn more here.

BodyWorks “BodyWorks is an extravaganza of health-related displays that explore the human body, health, and wellness. Sense-sational Hall houses unique exhibits like Big Mouth, Eye Spy, and Brain Central that allow visitors to investigate the workings of the human body through giant-sized anatomic models.”

The museum is at 438 E. St. Louis St., Springfield. The phone number is 417-862-9910. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. An outdoor playground is open after 3 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.

Free parking is available on the east side of the building and on St. Louis Street and McDaniel Street.

Tickets are $10 for children ages 3 to 15 and $15 for older people. They are free for people who have an Association of Science and Technology Centers reciprocal membership.

Visitors who provide documentation can bring guide dogs and animals for assisted therapy. Some wheelchairs may be available.

Creative Director Jennifer Collins said Jan. 23, 2024, that the museum has headphones available upon request and receives specific external training for equitable service delivery for visitors with diverse abilities. The building is ADA-compliant.

As of Dec. 18, 2023, the website said that the museum does not have spaces for guests to eat because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so all food and drink should be consumed before entering the museum.

Field trips can include 30-minute or 45-minute programs, which are $3 per student and $5 per student, respectively, along with the HighWire Bike. More information about field trips is here.

Virtual field trips are also an option for grades two through 10 for groups with at least 15 students. Each student receives a science activity kit that they may keep. The programs include a 10-minute museum tour and a 45- to 50-minute live class. More information is here.

In or near St. Louis

The Magic House St. Louis Children’s Museum

Through May 19, 2024, the museum will feature the Ciao Bambini! exhibit, which highlights Italy’s architecture, art and food.

Other exhibits include the following:

Kids Construction Zone Children can build a firehouse, design architectural plans and drive a construction vehicle.

Emerson STEAM Center “Visitors have the opportunity to experiment, create, calculate, invent and make discoveries as they participate in a variety of activities focused on science, technology, engineering, art and math! The Emerson STEAM Center features a brand-new Science Lab, created with additional support from Spire, the technology-infused Future Play exhibit, the Make-It Workshop, the Art Studio and an extended Math Path.”

Balls in Motion “Design the ultimate ball ramp, send a ball on a rollercoaster ride, use momentum to defy gravity, test your theories and make exciting scientific discoveries just like Newton and Galileo.”

Toddlers have a For Baby & Me exhibit area, and preschoolers may enjoy Wonder Works. Children ages 5 to 11 may enjoy the Children’s Village, which features a pet clinic, a bank, a fishing pond and more. Older children might like the Make-It Workshop, where they can create sculptures out of recycled materials and watch a 3-D printer work.

The museum is at 516 S. Kirkwood Road in St. Louis. The phone number is 314-822-8900. The hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Sunday during the 2023-2024 school year and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Winter holiday hours are here.

Parking is free in the lot behind the museum. During the summer and on weekends, additional parking is available at Nipher Middle School and Concordia Lutheran Church, which are both on Kirkwood Road.

Tickets are $14 for people who are at least 1 year old. The museum is free for active-duty military and their immediate family, with ID, and foster families, with documentation. Free Family Nights are the third Friday of each month, from 5 to 8 p.m. Groups of at least 15 people, with at least one adult chaperone per five children, can receive a special group rate of $7 per person. For more information about summer field trips, click here.

Local area organizations that serve children in need may qualify for a scholarship and local families can receive $3 admission for entrance after 3 p.m.

The museum recommends people pre-order food, here, if they would like to eat at the museum’s Picnic Basket Cafe. Outside food is only allowed at the museum’s outdoor garden pavilion.

Saint Louis Science Center

Dream It. Build It. Visitors can play, experiment and build with 15,000 KEVA building planks, with models of iconic St. Louis buildings for inspiration. Facilitators will provide more information and answer questions. “Children will discover the joy of creating original works of art or cleverly designed Rube Goldberg style ball-runs. Toddlers can build safely alongside older siblings. Parents can build alongside their kids, and grown-ups can reignite their creative spark!”

Mission: Mars Visitors can learn about the science and technology that enabled the U.S. to reach Mars. They can use rovers that look like those that are currently exploring Mars.

GROW “Explore the science behind one of the most important parts of life: our food. Where does it come from? How does it grow? How far does it travel to get to us? And how can each of us ensure that everyone has delicious, nutritious food to eat? You’ll find the answers to these questions and so much more in GROW – the largest U.S. gallery of its kind focused solely on agriculture.”

The museum, which is at 5050 Oakland Ave. in St. Louis, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Monday as well as from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. For 2023, it is closed Dec. 24 and 25. It is open regular hours from Dec. 26 through Dec. 30. The museum hours will be 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 31 and 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 1. Tickets can be reserved by phone, at 314-289-4424, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday or 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Parking at the Oakland Building is $15 for non-members. Bus, RV and trailer parking is available on the eastbound lane of Oakland Avenue and the northbound lane of Macklind Avenue. More information about group visits and field trips is here.

Admission to the museum is free. The phone number is 314-289-4400.

Visitors can borrow wheelchairs and strollers at the Oakland Building and the McDonnell Planetarium and sensory kits at the main lobby’s box office. For more information on accessibility at the museum, click here. Groups with questions about accessibility or special programming should call 314-286-4680. The center is a Project Safe Place; staff are trained to help children get help immediately if they need to.

There are some ticketed add-on activities.

Tickets may be reserved only up to six weeks in advance. There is a $3.50 service fee for online ticket purchase. Calling the reservation line is a $5 service fee. Discounts are available in person for people who present military ID.

Discovery Room Children ages 6 months to 6 years old can enjoy this self-guided, hands-on environment where they can explore science, math and engineering concepts with activities like sensory play, painting on the STEAM easel, observing an aquarium, building and climbing on a rocket ship with a slide. Tickets are $5 for anyone who is at least 1 year old. Military can receive $4 tickets if they buy them at the box office.

OMNIMAX® Theater, IMAX® with Laser “This state-of-the-art theater provides the sharpest images, unmatched sound quality and 40% greater color range than traditional theaters.” Tickets are $10.95 for ages 13 to 59; $8.95 for seniors (age 60 and older) and people ages 2 to 12; and $7.95 for military.

Star Shows at the planetarium Presenters lead a variety of 40- to 45-minute live programs with a ZEISS Universarium Mark IX star projector. Afterward, visitors can explore galleries on two floors of the planetarium that are exclusively available to people who attend a Star Show. Tickets are $6 for ages 13 to 59 and $5 for seniors (age 60 and older) and people ages 2 to 12. Sign language interpreters or Communication Access Realtime Transcription are available with advanced notice. Hearing assist devices are also available.

Myseum

Zoo Vet Center “Put on your vet lab coat, grab a stethoscope and examine the wild zoo animal stufties to make sure they’re in the best of health. Look at real animal x-rays, test reflexes, and even feed the patients.”

Magnetic ball wall “This popular exhibit encourages children to build and experiment as they direct the path of a ball down the face of a wall. Children learn from hands-on experience about angles and the force of gravity.”

Radar slide “Children zoom down the slide with their speed displayed at the bottom. They experiment with various techniques and different types of mat materials to increase their speed.”

A full list of exhibits and descriptions of how they may meet learning goals is here.

Myseum is at 283 in the Lamp and Lantern Village shopping center in Town and Country, which is in West St. Louis County. Parking is free. For more information on the location, click here. The phone number is 636-220-7930.

During the school year, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Easter Sunday, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. It closes at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day, Labor Day, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The museum recommends visitors call ahead to ensure they are open if schools take a snow day.

As of Dec. 18, the museum team is evaluating what hours the institution will be open in summer 2024, a staff member said.

Admission is $10.95 for children ages 2 to 17, $5.95 for adults ages 18 to 59 and $4.95 for seniors. Discounts are available for both active and retired military members and first responders. Visitors can leave and come back the same day without paying twice if they stop at the front desk to get stickers. They can bring lunch in, and the gift shop has some snacks.

Both children and adults must be part of any visitors’ museum entry, and they must stay together. Socks are required. Anyone who forgets socks can buy a pair at the museum.

For more information on self-guided field trips, which can either involve free play or the team-building engineering challenge Rigamajig, click here. Weekdays only. Twelve children are the minimum required for fundraising pricing, and there must be at least one adult per five children.