the building for kids

We took our 4-year old son and 1-year old there. We had fun, but were disappointed with the quality of the exhibits. They look great at first glance. My son got so excited before he started playing in each one, but after a few minutes he was bored because so many things were either missing from the exhibit or broken. For example:Only one or two of the blower fans in the "Move It" exhibit were strong enough to blow the balls through the tunnels. Well, what fun are all the pulleys and levers if you can't send a ball through the system to test them out?In the "Construction Junction" the crane looks tempting. But, no luck, that didn't work at all.The "Station 99 Fire Truck" looked cool, but very few of the buttons worked.The first floor exhibits: Kwik Trip, diner and doll hospital were a hodge podge. All of the food supplies, dolls, equipment, etc. were scattered about and pretty dirty. We were in this area only an hour after the museum opened on a Tuesday, so I was surprised to find it in such disarray. I did not see any staff members walking around straightening up.The Gulfstream Jet was the biggest hit of the day. Everything in that exhibit actually worked. My son had a blast in the control tower and in the pilot seats.The Water Play area was nice too.Bottom line? If you're looking for somewhere your kids can run around and burn some energy, then this is a good place. The tree house is fun, the baby play area is alright, and the free play "Imagination Playground" was good. They do not sell food, but have a vending machine (and, not surprisingly, that was out of order).

Nice place for kids ages 3-10 or so. Art and craft areas, Pierce fire truck display, Gulfstream airplane display, lots of other things for kids to do for several hours.

An FYI, if you visit M-F and come at 3pm you can save $2 on admission. That is what we decided to do. Glad we did because 2 hours was plenty of time to explore the museum. There isn't a whole lot on the first floor. The little Kwik Trip shop was a little disappointing because no one was supervising and all the grocery items were missing. At other children's museums we have been to, someone is always making sure these things get put away so all kids can have fun. The second floor was much better. My kids loved the ball area, fire engine, large building blocks and the Davinci area. The crane was broken and that was disappointing. If you've been to Betty Brinn in Milwaukee this is not quite as nice.

My mother in law and I took my four kids ages 1, 3, 5 and 6 for an afternoon. My kids had tons of fun! There are so many great activities for them! We started in the art center and there was painting, sand, play doh, a play kitchen, books and many other things to do! They had a few tables with special crafts but my kids enjoyed the painting and legos more. There is this great ball room there that all my kids spent a lot of time in. The water room was fun except one of the tables was broke so it was tough for my 1 yr old who doesn't stand well yet to play. All the activities were so great that I can't even explain them all! They have a great little area for kids 2 and under to play. It has a few slides and some toys. We spent about 3 hours there and if we hadn't gotten there so close to closing time we may have stayed longer! The only bad things about it is the parking is in a garage across the street and I think it is very overpriced! I had to pay 7.25 for my 1 year old who really didn't do much of anything! It cost us 43.50.

This is an excellent place to bring your children for fun and exercise. Especially in Wisconsin with the long cold winters. This lets families have a place to play and stay warm.

Located in downtown Appleton. Many activities at many levels for kids. A great place for kids to pretend, learn, and burn off steam.

We were looking for some place to take a very lively 3 year old on a cool damp day. This was perfect. So much for him to do and play with. We spent the whole afternoon and had to carry him out at the end of the day. The staff were very friendly and constantly tidying up any stray toys on the floor with out a grumble. Although we had a 3 year old with us there was plenty for older and younger children to do. Great day, would highly recommend

Visited in August 2014 with our 6 & 8 year olds. Had low expectations because the website recommends the place for kids 7 & under. Turns out we were pleasantly surprised, both kids had a great time---lots of hands on things to do that were creative and 'not too babyish'--to quote my 8 year old. The Building For Kids happens to be a ASTC museum, so if you have membership with any science museum with reciprocity admission is free, as it was for us, nice bonus! Plan about 2 hours, and bring your own snack, there is an area to eat, but only a vending machine or two.

My kids love this place. There is a nice area for children under 3 and the rest of the building has tons of activities. There is so,e work that needs to be done to fix some broken parts of the exhibits but overall, it's still tons of fun for the kids. If you plan on visiting more than once during the year, a membership is worth it.

We have been here several times. My daughter seems to enjoy different aspects every time we go. I personally like the art studio for the kids. There are some areas that have broken parts to displays and do not work like they should. These have been like this for years though and I doubt it is a priority, such as working buttons on the fire truck and the plane. It is a wonderful place to let you child run and wear them out! I love the quiet ride home.

Took my 4-year old son and niece here and they absolutely loved it! There is plenty to do so plan for at least 3 hours. We are from Milwaukee and it was great to use our Discovery World museum pass to get free admission as a reciprocal site! For anyone who is familiar with Betty Brinn children's museum in Milwaukee, we felt this place was better! The art center part is great for kids who love to paint. There is a soft play area for children under 3, in which my 10-month old son had fun exploring. My 15-year old nephew had fun with the dominos. We were there on a colder day and had a 2 hour car drive ahead of us, so did not let the kids explore the water area, but it looked like a lot of fun. Overall this was a great museum and we will be back!

This place needs a little more attention on cleanliness. The attractions are there for so long and kids get board. Water area seems dirty. Learn some skills from the Green Bay museum....that place is fantastic.

Formerly called the "Children's Museum", it has hands on permanent exhibits that children love - there is a construction crane, a fire truck, a convenience store, all full sized, and fun for anyone. Then there are the special exhibits, that are there for a time and are featured. Some favorite characters, like Clifford stop in from time to time. There is little there that says "don't touch". The only problem is paying for parking no matter when you go. Most street parking is 2 hour, but there are parking garages nearby-irritating that they are all metered,

Been here several times for birthday parties and special events, but as a paying customer its a little pricey. I do understand its a non profit place, but needs to be a tad bit affordable. I like there is a lot of different stations around the building for kids. Love seeing kids smile.

Great place to bring the little kids during the cold winter months, or any rainy day! Lots of hands on activities, small gift shop, and normally fairly clean! Can be busy at times, but lots of fun!