Watch Us Grow A group of Northwest Arkansas residents have been meeting to assess the feasibility of creating a first-class Children’s Museum in the area. The group includes educators and school directors as well as business owners, Wal-Mart suppliers and parents who share a vision for greater educational opportunities for children in the region. We plan to meet with school and city officials, various service organizations, churches and other non-profit groups in Northwest Arkansas to discuss partnerships and potential locations for the museum. This project is one that will impact a very large portion of our Children, our Community and the overall quality of life in Northwest Arkansas for years to come.

Why visit a children's museum? Children's museums are fun, interactive gathering places where families can learn and play with other families. Many children's museums are located in major travel and tourism destinations. They are inclusive, non-judgmental environments where kids can be kids and lifelong learning is nurtured. More and more families visit children's museums each year for unique, face-to-face fun, enlightenment and shared experiences not found in traditional museums or other popular destinations.

Children's Museums and Vacations Adults plan vacations, and while parents and caregivers do their best to build-in activities for their children, many of these activities require adult-like strength, skills or knowledge. That's not the case at children's museums. Peek inside a children's museum and you'll see babies and toddlers touching a variety of textures, stacking blocks, crawling through a tunnel or blowing bubbles. Take another look inside a children's museum to see boys and girls enter a 19th century ship where they hoist a net full of fish, take part in a fishing derby, raise and lower sails and semaphore flags, all the while building an understanding of maritime history. Say adiós to rigid rules: at children's museums the general rule is: Please Touch! Children's museums produce programs and exhibits that transcend age and experience, and empower children to set their own pace - important features for young vacationers who can get overwhelmed by being away from home and exhausted from an action-packed itinerary.

Children's Museums and Lasting Memories Often it's the downtime in between the periods of highly stimulated entertainment that children and families will remember fondly. Children's museums offer a variety of activities, some as simple as reading a book or pretending to shop at farmer's market. Other hands-on experiences may invite a family to learn about a foreign culture by trying on clothes and costumes native to a people or country, engaging in an "authentic" festival or creating traditional folk art. Many children's museums have exhibits that provide families an inside look into the workings of machines or the principles of science. Children's museums offer opportunities for family learning as well for time to bond with family members.

Welcoming Places Due to the interactive nature of children's museums, most families can participate in exhibits regardless of their language fluency. Many museums provide signage and literature in more than one language. Kids will be delighted to find furniture, props and materials scaled to their size. Additionally, many children's museums create opportunities within exhibits for children and family members who use wheelchairs, or who rely heavily on their sense of sound or touch because of differing abilities.

Located in Mexico City, this Kid City is a kid-sized replica of a real city, with streets, buildings, retail & different vehicles going around the city.

Located in a huge reflecting pool on the Arkansas River in Wichita, Kansas, the Exploration Place has an incredible collection of hands-on exhibits.

Aim a real airplane propeller on a wall of shimmering metal discs to create 40-foot tall wind patterns.

See a 20-foot tall tornado form before your eyes.

Interact with real meteorologists from KSN Channel 3 as they forecast the weather at the KSN WeatherLab.

Be sure to look for the Kellogg mammoth tusk now on display and much more!