Ask any St. Louis parent where childhood happens and they’ll point to Kirkwood. The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum, has been enchanting families since 1979, growing from a cozy Victorian house into a wonderland of exhibits where kids can make their hair stand on end at the electrostatic generator, climb a three-story beanstalk, and run a whole kid-sized town.
The magic is in the doing: a construction zone, a bubble room, a kids’ village with a bank, grocery and fishing pond, a futuristic ‘Star-Spangled Center’ for civics, and gardens and water play outside in summer. Special exhibits rotate through the year, and the museum’s Friday-night and member events are fixtures of family calendars.
It is the region’s headquarters of play — budget half a day, minimum.
The Magic House is at 516 South Kirkwood Road in Kirkwood. Hours and tickets at magichouse.org.
