McKenna Children’s Museum
If you are looking for a wonderful museum to take your kids to, this is it! The spacious layout of the exhibits in this wonderland is ideal for imaginative minds. McKenna Children's Museum, located in New Braunfels, is a short drive from Austin. In just 45 minutes, the kids can be camping or blasting off into space. This museum has 11 different exhibits to explore.
The first exhibit my daughters always begin at, is the bat cave. They love putting on the well-made batwings and chasing their mom around the Hill Country Campgrounds. The museum has recently renovated this exhibit along with the Happy House located in the Lend-A-Hand Ranch exhibit. They brought in new carpeting that reminds you of grass and a blue river meandering through the campgrounds. There is also a well-made wooden camper, grill and tents to complete your experience. The Ranch House has a kitchen, cribs and dress-up area. The porch swing and the longhorn cattle complete this quaint atmosphere.
There is an aquarium that holds turtles and small alligators. If you are lucky, you can be on hand at feeding time and watch the museum staff feed baby mice to the reptiles.
The Wonder Shop Exhibit is an open art studio. They also have a face painting station inside that all the kids adore.
The Grocery Store Exhibit is stocked with shelves of food. You will always find this spot busy with zooming shopping carts and lines at the cashier checkout.
If you need more money after all that shopping, don’t worry, you can make a run to the bank or ATM at the Town Square Exhibit.
The Destination Space Exhibit has a rocket ship that simulates a count-down to blast off. You can walk through a starlit sky and imagine you are floating in space. There are great videos of real astronauts living in space. My kids love the clips of how astronauts wash their hair and use the restroom while aboard the international space station.
The Amazing Airways Exhibit was also recently installed. Children can add balls and scarves to the maze of tubes and watch in awe as their object is projected out from the force of the air.
The Kids Clinic Exhibit features an ambulance and hospital. The sirens and flashing lights emanating from the emergency vehicle alerts patrons of the patients making their way to the hospital. Patients can have x-rays done in the operating room. The hospital also contains a nursery filled with newborn baby dolls wrapped in the iconic hospital blankets and scales to weigh the precious bundles. There are slides to view in a microscope and a life size operation game!
In the center of the museum you can find the Tot Spot Exhibit, reserved for toddlers under 3. There is a lot of space to crawl and explore in a safe, contained environment.
Before leaving, don’t forget to pop outside and examine The Great Outdoors Exhibit. There is a large water feature where the kids can splash and learn about the properties of water. The outdoor space also has a tall climbing structure, musical instruments, animal sculptures and a building area filled with large foam bricks.
Make sure you check out their calendar for special events! The staff will host unique crafts and science projects to complete your visit. As you can see, there is an abundance of activities for children of all ages. I hope you all enjoy the McKenna Children’s Museum as much as my family does.
