Museum FAQ

If your party cannot attend at the reserved time, we ask that you cancel or reschedule your reservation at least 24 hours in advance to allow others to utilize your time slot. Refunds are allowed with 24 hours’ notice. An exception to the 24-hour notice requirement may be granted for COVID-related health issues.

If your family is unable to afford a museum membership, you may qualify for a Free or Reduced Admission or Membership if you are:

• A EBT, CHIP, Provider One, WIC, or Apple Health cardholder
• Having difficult financial circumstances
• As part of the WSECU – Inspired Learning for All initiative, show your EBT, CHIP, Provider One, WIC, or Apple Health card & ID at the front desk for discounted admission – first two guests free & each additional guest $3.

For qualifying families who want the benefits of Annual Membership, Hands On offers a $25 Access Membership Program. Your Access Membership includes:

• Unlimited admission for two named adults and four children living in the same household along with one named caregiver, such as a grandparent or childcare provider
• Discounts on camps and classes
• 10% discount in the museum cafe and store

Questions about eligibility? Call the front desk at (360) 956-0818.

The Inspired Learning for All imitative is a partnership with WSECU that allows us to expand our mobile educational programs, increase subsidized field trips for schools serving low-income student populations, and offer free or discounted admission to any family receiving assistance through EBT, CHIP, Provider One, WIC, or Apple Health. Cardholders with ID get two guests for free every day with each additional guest paying just $3.

WSECU members receive 10% off all museum memberships purchased at the front desk – and – “WSECU Wednesdays” with 50% admission on the first Wednesday of each month. Just show your WSECU card!

Exhibits are ideally designed for children age birth to ten.

We require all guests to wear proper attire, including tops, bottoms, and shoes, appropriate for a family facility.

The museum encourages interactive play between children and their adults. Your family’s admission only covers about 50 percent of the cost of your visit, and we raise the other 50 percent through grants, sponsorships and donations.

Anyone is welcome in the museum as long as they are accompanied by a child. We have a strict no adults alone policy in the museum. To ensure the safety of our young visitors, adults without children must be accompanied by a Hands On staff member. As a nonprofit organization, we are not always staffed adequately to provide unscheduled tours. Please review our Tours page to see our scheduled tour times.

At the museum all children must be accompanied by an adult (16 or older) unless registered for a special museum program such as preschool, camps, etc.

The museum accepts cash, check, Visa, Master Card, and Discover. There is an ATM in the museum lobby.

Learn more about directions & parking options.

The Play Day Café offers healthy food at affordable prices. Grab and go drinks and snacks are available along with sandwiches, salads, grilled cheese, quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, and more. You are also welcome to bring your own food from home to eat in the café.  Please no outside food from other restaurants or vendors in the café. The Museum offers in-and-out privileges if you would prefer to go out to eat and come back to play.  You are also welcome to have a picnic in East Bay Public Plaza when it’s open. Please keep food 5 feet away from the water feature. We also ask that food and drink are not consumed in the galleries or the Outdoor Discovery Center.

We need at least one adult for every five children. If you are a daycare, school, camp, sports, scout program, or similar coming to the museum with ten or more children – you can receive discounted admission by making a reservation in advance, see our Field Trips & Group Visits page for more information.

Please remember children under age 16 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult. We believe family members are important as a child’s first teachers and as a partner in learning. Our exhibits are designed specifically to encourage interaction and inquiry, as well as participation from the entire family. We also take visitor safety seriously and supervising adults help ensure their children are enjoying the exhibits and facility safely.

We ask that you not take your stroller into the galleries, except under special circumstances, to ensure there is adequate circulation for all guests. We do provide stroller parking in our Lobby in the Stroller and Coat Room.

Helmets are provided free of charge for use during your visit, however, helmets can be brought from home if preferred.

Lockers are available for rent for $2 (includes sales tax) during your visit to the museum. Lockers are located in the Lobby in the Stroller and Coat Room. All Deluxe Plus members receive free locker privileges.

The museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The museum will support other 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization’s auctions and events. The museum requests that a formal request be faxed, mailed, or emailed to the museum on the organization’s letterhead. Please include the organization’s Tax ID number and either the date of the event or the deadline for the donation. Each request will be reviewed, and if approved, the donation will be sent to the organization. Please allow ample time for your request to be reviewed.

The interactive 250-foot East Bay Plaza stream is open April through October. Please check the LOTT website for current hours. The stream is open for wading, and is an excellent lunch spot for families. Public restrooms are on site. Families can purchase healthy lunch items and treats like ice cream at the museum’s Play Day Cafe. Please note: Shirts and shoes are required inside the children’s museum.

The museum is an open-concept design that can be loud on busy days. At the Front Desk, we can loan your child a pair of brightly colored, noise-muffling headphones to wear during his or her visit.

Shoes with wheels damage the floors in our museum. We will ask that you pop the wheels out of your shoes to prevent repairs.

As a public, cultural attraction, each person entering the Hands On Children’s Museum grants the museum permission to photograph for use in grants, education and informational purposes.

IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED, please inform the front desk upon check-in and request a NO PHOTO sticker to place on your child. Our staff, volunteers, and visiting media are instructed to look for the stickers.

For the comfort of our visitors and their families, we are a Weapons-free Zone. We ask that visitors not bring any sharp objects or concealed weapons into the museum. We are also a Tobacco and Vape-free Zone. We ask that visitors do not smoke on Museum property, including the Outdoor Discovery Center and entrance.

During our busy field trip season (March through mid-June) we typically see a high volume of school field trips Tuesday-Friday between the hours 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Like us on Facebook to see best times to visit! Families are welcome to call in advance of a visit to check on scheduled field trips if they prefer to identify a less busy time, (360) 956-0818.

The museum is closed on the following holidays: Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It closes for one week in September for regular maintenance and cleaning.

Sick children are already asked to stay home from preschool and camp. A general rule to follow is that if you or your child have a fever or are too sick to go to work or school, then you are too sick to visit the museum.