The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire

Full of learning and fun…
We took our two year old to the Children’s Museum of NH and were very happy with the experience. Full of sights, sounds, and touches, the museum is easy to find (especially from Portsmouth) and well worth the modest price of entry. Two floors, there are great opportunities for children to pilot a virtual submarine, explore how water travels through a riverbed, play with different sounds, climb, build, and create. We spend a full half day at the museum and had a blast. Not bad for adults either!

Quick breezy drive up from Boston and the whole family stayed entertained for a fun day trip Nice fun activity oriented mini-​exhibits for 4.5 year-​old, I even took a short nap on the 2^nd floor section. Biggest attraction: light crowds and easy access to museum inside and out

My seven year old absolutely loved our visit here. Obviously there are tons of interactive displays and exhibits. There may be some educational value for the toddler set but older kids will not get much out of it. Take pleasure in enjoying your child’s enjoyment adults will not find anything to hold their interest.

Amazing place! What a great community and state resource. Staff is extremely friendly, the restored building is breathtaking, the exhibits are fascinating, and so on. Great place for a unique adult event in the evening!

I really enjoyed myself here. My kiddo is just one, so he was a little too young to enjoy most of the stuff, but they had a pretty good infant area which he liked. It is pretty small and you can do everything in about an hour. Some of the displays were broken like most museums, and I was hesitant to let the little one use some of the «headgear» because I was afraid of lice, but that’s just my thing. They do NOT allow strollers, which really stunkfor us since he wasn’t able to walk yet, so we had to leave it in the foyer. I come from an area where people would totally steal that stroller, so I felt wary about that, but alas it was safe! Kids under 1 y.o. are free, so we really lucked out since he was just shy of 1 by only a week. I think non-​walkers should be free regardless of age.
There were plenty of things to keep busy with. I liked the submarine and the fishery tree house. I also liked the cave and the infant areas. I would come again.

We love the Children’s Museum! The yearly membership cost is the best deal in town… if you live in town. We drop in usually a couple times a week just for an hour or so. Our daughter seems to catch on to something new each time we go or understand how something works a bit more in depth each time.

Great place for young kids and toddlers… Everything is hands on. If your kid can walk, there will be something fun for him/​her to do. My 3 year old and 7 year old both had a great time. Tweens would enjoy it with a younger sibling. $ 9 for everyone, including children. $ 8 for seniors. Free for under 1. It’s in a great downtown location where you can walk to shops and restaurants after.

My wife and I have been bringing our two kids here for years and we love it! Check it out.

Smaller than the SEE Science center in Manchester but a good local spot.

Took 2 9 year olds… would have to say it is for younger kids but they did have fun. Only took about 20 minutes for the boys to see everything but if you had younger ones they could easily spend a few hours checking everything out

Our kids loved this place. The adults has super fun at the Colossal Building section. Our 8-​year old loved delivering mail over the museum. The price is extremely reasonable for all the fun we had.

This is a great place! One of my daughter’s friends had a birthday party there, and the kids had a blast running around. Tons of great exhibits, and I think I had as much fun as my daughter did.

The previous Unilocaler who wrote the website doesn’t do it justice is right on! I’ve had a few friends rave about this place but being do far away I never bothered and when in the museum mood, would go to the Boston one. Well, last week we just happen to be near and popped in… What an AWESOME place! My kids loved it!
They had a craft area with recycled materials, paint, crayons etc. literally, my kids sat and did crafts for 50 minutes! That’s about as common as an eclipse!
It’s very cozy, inviting, relaxing (as relaxed as one can be with kids lol) and creative. they may be on the smaller side, but they KNOW how to use their space wisely! in every little corner and crevice is another new adventure for a small child :) I just looked down at my son and saw his lil face light up!
so, when we left, I Mapquested a place to get dinner on the way home and found a McDonalds,.Rt 1 South Portsmouth, about 10 minutes away… BUT not just ANY McD’s! This one had a 3level indoor playground! Kids went wild! Made for an awesome family day!
We will definitely be doing this again! Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Fun, so glad there is a place to take the kids that involves learning. we spent the whole day, then went across the street to the noggin factory, then back to the museum!

What a terrific find! We were very impressed. I brought my 3 yr old (almost 4) while we were visiting from CA and he loved it. It is the right sized place with lots of creative and cool things to do – stuff that’s great to expose kids to in new, fun, exciting ways. Plus it was so clean!
Their website doesn’t do it justice — our highlights:
— there is an exhibit where you crank the balls up and they fall down through the pins and then rollthrough a maze that the kids build;
— this crank for hauling up a frisbee thing you make and watch it fall down over you
— a wall of panels that play different sounds/​music when you touch it;
— an art table;
— an area to build with wood pieces;
— an awesome train table;
— a café to pretend ordering/​cooking;
— also love the Post Office where you get a mail bag and go through the entire place picking up and delivering mail!
Plus, a nursing area. Great price for admission and you can even get passes at the library. No food, though, just a vending machine but close enough to walk into town or the sub shop outside by the playground. (If you go up the street, just don’t go to Harveys bakery, yikes). Nice gift store. We’ll be back next year!

Great place for the kiddos! I like this CM
much better than the one in Boston. Way more hands on, much more exciting and it’s almost brandy new!
If your lucky there is free parking right between the river and a small playground. Admission is cheap at $ 8 a head. They also offer some great specials for b-​days and children’s groups (ie boy scouts, brownies, etc). We got there at 11 and it was pretty busy, but by 2 the place was almost cleared out. Would recomend a late in the day visit if your kids don’t play well with others.
The place is Lacking on division of sections, allowing for young ones to run off and dissapear easily (hence the four stars). I would suggest going with another adult and performing the divide and conquer approach to child watching. They do, however have numerous staff patrolling offering assistance to kids, restocking supplies and tidying up.
Stressed? Check out the mind room (it isn’t really called that, but for review purposes). You and another strap sensors to your head and see who can calm their mind the best, Very cool because I whooped my nine y/​o butt! Find it in the back corner by the arts n crafts.
Will definitely be back! Looking forward to trying out the overnight camp.

This museum has moved from Portsmouth to Dover, and has been renamed from «Children’s Museum of Portsmouth» to «Children’s Museum of New Hampshire». Check the website for the new address and phone number until it gets updated. (Note: This is where you click the «Useful» button you see below)
The new location is very spacious and modern. Definitely a different look and feel to the venue. However, all the favorite exhibits are still there, and some new ones.
The new submarine is very cool, including sonar, a periscope and headphones to listen to and identify ocean sounds. There are some new cultural exhibits, like the one where you can dress up in traditional Japanese or German garb and dance along with natives via the magic of a blue screen and a TV. There’s a new toddler area.
They still have the post office, the archeology dig, the kaleidescope, the kings pattern room, the push pin board, and on and on.
I’ve not listed all the cool stuff. Suffice to say if you have young ones, it’s worth a visit! There is also a monthly FREE Family night. Check the calendar here for dates
. (I know this makes you want to click Useful a second time. Don’t do it.)

Great for young kids. Plenty of things to climb around in, including a ship with tons of rooms to explore, and a spaceship. Some of the stations are a little weak or need some updating.