The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum
4.7(7.5K)google
4.5(258)yelp
KidsFamily
Overview
The Magic House is a not-for-profit children's museum located in Kirkwood, Missouri, just outside St. Louis. The Magic House opened as a children's museum in 1979 with the mission of engaging children in hands-on learning experiences that encourage experimentation, creativity and the development of problem-solving skills within a place of beauty, wonder, joy and magic.
Practical Info
Suggested Duration3-5 hours
Best TimeVoted one of America's best children's museums; perfect for any winter afternoon. Structuring your visit for Tuesday through Thursday at 2:00 PM is highly recommended; mid-afternoon ensures most chaotic morning toddler groups have left, giving families unrestricted, short-wait access to the iconic static electricity ball.
Getting ThereNestled beautifully in historic Kirkwood at 516 S Kirkwood Road. Via public transit, ride the Amtrak regional passenger rail directly to the Kirkwood Station, followed by an 8-minute walk south. For car travel, take I-270 to Exit 277 for US-61/Kirkwood Road North; the museum provides extensive, free parking fields steps from the door.
Travel Tips
- The campus gets completely overrun by regional school bus field trips from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM on weekdays; leisure family groups should schedule arrivals after 2:00 PM for a manageable experience.
- The signature static-electricity Van de Graaff sphere requires kids to step onto non-conductive rubber isolation mats; carrying open juice cups, sticky candy, or exposed metal keys near the rig is banned.
- The Victorian historic wing retains tight, winding timber stairs that block double strollers entirely; families must route back to the modern expansion atrium to board the single hydraulic elevator link.
Reviews
Positive
- The whimsical multi-story historic mansion delivers great visual magic, and the classic electrostatic globe hair-raising feature is a total family joy.
- The custom interior is bright and clean, featuring child-friendly low accessible steps, comprehensive directory signs, and sterile family restroom facilities.
- The youth staff and volunteer educators are hyper-energetic, masterfully managing interactive pretend-play queues and guiding children patiently.
- The general ticket cost packs all-day unlimited entry to premium interactive educational discovery zones, offering stellar learning value for money.
Heads up
- The historic mansion configuration compartmentalizes rooms into tight suites, making stroller navigation sluggish during rainy weekend peaks.
- Due to heavy hands-on water play abuse, floors near kinetic physics tables occasionally have water puddles requiring faster mopping care.
- During holiday weekend rushes, the entry ticketing windows bottleneck severely, forcing long queues standing outside in the lot.
- Admission tariffs sit on the premium high tier relative to comparable regional sites, and the on-site cafe menu carries steep child-snack markups.