Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

This was a great first stop on our Colorado family trip. Our 6 year old was ready to get out of the car and run, we were exhausted from the early am flight. The museum admission was reasonably priced ($ 25 for 2 adults and 1 child). There is a lot of stuff jam-​packed into a smallish space and I thought it had really great and unique exhibits. While we probably wouldn’t have stopped in without our daughter, it still was cool for parents. Recommend highly!

Honestly the coolest place ive been. Tons of interesting things to play with. I could spend hours playing the instruments, love it!

This place was so much fun! We had 3 boys all around the age of 3. They all had a blast. There is a lot to do and a lot to learn. When you are done checking everything out downstairs, head up to the top deck and check out the view!!! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!

Fantastic for all ages, especially to discover the wonders of music, sound, color, and creativity. Not to be missed!

This place is super cool! As a grown up and not a 5-​year old kid, I was really impressed with how much they balanced the interesting grown-​up stuff with the weird and funky kids stuff. I’ve been to many museums where it’s tipped way too far in one or the other direction.
The coolest part was where all the animals and bugs are. They have a handler who takes the snakes and rats out so that children can pet them. If you’re not into that, just stay out of that little nook.
A very large part of the museum is dedicated to instruments. That section is somehow supported by the EMP in Seattle (a museum specifically dedicated to arts and music, and a place where I have visited) so I thought that was pretty cool, and I could definitely see traces of that.
Great for kids and not too big to where you have to spend the whole day there. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area.

Pros: it’s better than no children’s museum.
Cons: There is a very small amount of things to do (compared to the two other children’s museums we’ve been to). Toddlers can do everything there is to do for them in under two hours– definitely not on-​par with other museums.

Gah! This place must be what a person with SPD considers Hell to be like. A large section of the interior is dedicated to musical instruments and sound. Lights, loud objecting sounds, kids tooting on horns. That noise can be heard throughout the museum and is right by the main entrance so it’s unavoidable when you enter.
It shut my daughter down almost immediately and I spent a good hour trying to get her to re-​engage and participate in any of the other hands on areas.
Ugh.
Yeah, I probably won’t be back. Sorry.

The music area is so fun and really educational all at the same time. There are drums, keyboards, and guitars that you can learn how to play simple songs on. There are some cool demos on sound waves, too. This area alone could almost earn the MoD 5 stars, but the rest of the MoD is just ok. There is a super educational natural area (kids not a fan), an area with seeds and farming stuff, and the non-​existant «café.»
The café area is some tables and chairs and a vending machine. Um, Hi, not a café people. The map of the MoD shows staff only areas for some illogical reason, and the learning labs (for school groups); so the map seems to show more than what is available.
There is a great building area for kids to play and a fun «air/​wind» area that the kiddos seem to really like. I think there is a lot of potential for the MoD to really expand itself and be super. Right now, it is just A-​ok.

Hours of fun for kids of all ages! But seriously. I have been to a few discovery museums in my day, and this one was top-​notch. It is brand new as of last year, so all the exhibits are current and high-​tech. The biggest exhibit is about music, with stations about music fundamentals, more advanced concepts, and even jamming stations with real instruments. There are other exhibits on the natural and human history of the area and other sciencey topics you’d expect to find in a discovery museum. Perfect for a weekend afternoon with the family, although honestly I would have had just as much fun by myself or with friends!

My sister came across some free passes to the museum, and that was enough enticement for me to check out a kids place such as this. As we made our way through the building I kept thinking to myself «my nephew would have loved it here.» While it was mildly entertaining for us adults, I’m sure kids would get a huge kick out of it.
The museum is pretty much one gigantic room that is divided into sections based on similar-​themed activities. When we went there was a section on music that kids could play with instruments and learn about sound, and there was also a little section about bison and how the Native Americans used them. There was also a bunch of other sections including giant building blocks, mazes, live ferrets and more.
I think that most kids would be able to spend a couple of hours fully enjoying themselves as they run from section to section. It’s one of those true kids museums where touching the displays and «artifacts» is encouraged, since most of what would be considered an artifact at a normal museum is just a replica (Native American tools, fossils, etc.) Definitely recommended for families as a way to get the kids out of the house for a bit.

Absolutely superb museum for kids! From the amazing amount of hands on displays to the crazy cool theater and amazing roof top observatory this place ranks at the top!

If you have a kid, you’ve got to go to this museum. Trust me. It’s definitely a kid-​oriented place. There are very few things that are off-​limits (don’t touch!) and so many things that you are encouraged to touch and interact with.
I took Kiddo here on my most recent visit and he LOVED it. He didn’t even want to leave to get something to eat. One of the first things you see when you enter the museum is an interactive maze wall. You move the pieces however you want and try to create a maze that the ball will travel through to get to the bottom. Everything on it is magnetic and easily moveable. Kiddo must have spent at least an hour just with this wall. He sometimes struggled with the need to put pieces so they angled down, but he’d eventually figure it out. From there we moved on to making our own parachutes to fly through the wind tunnel. And, we stood in the tornado booth to feel what it’s like to be in 78 mph winds (my hair had tangles for days; ladies I’d advise a pony tail or something).
A large portion of the museum is dedicated to music. You can add a mouthpiece to a number of different horn pieces (even building your own horn) and make noise. You can play a simulated electric guitar, bass, piano, and even drums. You can also scratch your own remixes on the two turntables. Or sit in the oval speaker chair and play with the music apps on the ipad.
Then there are the animals. They have a number of stuffed Colorado wildlife. For example, you can see how big you are compared to a black bear. Or maybe you want to see what a prairie dog’s teeth look like. There are even a couple of live ferrets.
There’s some other Colorado, in particular Fort Collins, history. And, some large soft blocks that the younger kids can play with and build their own forts, etc. There’s a movie theater as well as a nice looking gift shop. Kiddo and I didn’t go to either of those, so can’t fully comment. But, he did want to climb the stairs to the rooftop a couple of times and play hide and seek up there. On a nice day, definitely head to the roof to at least see the views.
It was my first time to the museum, but Kiddo’s second. After being there I can understand why he got so excited and grinned ear to ear when I suggested that be our activity for the day.