Information
Landmark: Please Touch MuseumCity: Philadelphia
Country: USA Pennsylvania
Continent: North America
Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, USA Pennsylvania, North America
Overview
In Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, the Please Touch Museum invites children seven and under to explore hands-on exhibits, from a pint-sized supermarket to a glittering carousel.It creates a lively, hands-on space where young children can tinker, discover, and play, moving from one colorful, interactive exhibit to the next-each designed to spark creativity, fire the imagination, and nurture early learning.Inside Memorial Hall-an elegant 1876 landmark from the Centennial Exposition-the museum pairs grand arched windows and carved stonework with bright, playful spaces made for kids.Tucked inside Fairmount Park, the spot offers sweeping green views and the smell of fresh grass, making it an ideal place for families to learn and play outdoors.Roadside Attractions features a tiny city, complete with streets, cars, and little brick buildings, where kids can hop behind the wheel, run quick errands, and dive into the bustle of everyday city life.Fairytale Garden invites you to step into a world where classic tales bloom around you, from a gingerbread cottage’s sugary scent to the whisper of a magic forest.Kids can wander through magical worlds straight out of Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland, chasing make‑believe adventures among glittering castles and crooked tea tables.Rocket Room lets kids design, tweak, and blast off their own rockets, sparking curiosity about science, technology, engineering, and math-imagine the thrill of a cardboard nose cone snapping into place before liftoff.River Adventures is a hands-on water play zone where kids splash, guide streams through winding channels, and discover how moving water shapes the world while learning cause and effect and environmental ideas.Woodside Park’s Dentzel Carousel spins with vintage grace, its polished wooden horses carrying riders into a swirl of music and memory.Carousel rides cost a little extra, but visitors line up for them, eager for the bright lights and music.The museum embraces a “learning through play” approach, letting kids build problem‑solving skills, confidence, and friendships-sometimes while stacking bright wooden blocks or racing toy cars.Every exhibit invites kids to dive in-building, tinkering, and imagining together-sparking problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork that nurture vital early childhood skills.We’re open every day, though hours shift a bit-most days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays the doors swing open at 11.We’re closed on certain holidays, like the quiet morning of New Year’s Day.Tickets cost about $20 for anyone over a year old, while babies under one get in free.You’ll have to pay an extra fee to ride the carousel, even for a quick spin past the painted horses.You’ll need to book online so we can keep visitor numbers in check and make the experience better-no long lines, no crowded paths.You can park on-site for a fee, or snag a free spot on the street just a short walk away.The museum welcomes visitors of all abilities, offering smooth ramps, quiet elevators, and restrooms designed for wheelchair access.Sensory-friendly accommodations feature “Quiet Kits” stocked with noise-canceling headphones and soft fidget toys, along with set hours designed to give children with sensory sensitivities a calmer, less overwhelming space.Families can rent strollers, slip into quiet nursing rooms, spread out in shaded picnic spots, or grab mac and cheese and apple slices at the café.They also host plenty of special events and workshops-family craft days with the smell of fresh glue, lively storytelling sessions, and festive seasonal celebrations.Membership programs come with perks like unlimited visits, cheaper parking, and a few dollars off in the shop or café.In Philadelphia, the Please Touch Museum is a must for families with young kids, offering a safe, lively space where little hands can explore a bright red fire truck, press buttons, and dive into the wonder of the world around them.
