Marbles Kids Museum

Enter Marbles Kids Museum and prepare yourself for a full on explosion of fun.  Adult guests see a colorful, oversized, two-level playroom (not to mention, one that they thankfully aren’t responsible for cleaning), but what children see is a completely different version of reality.  From the minute you enter the light, bright lobby and turn the corner to see the life-sized chess pieces in Curiosity Square, children's imaginations are suddenly unleashed. 

Marbles Kids Museum offers entertaining and engaging activities for kids with their families and school groups aged 0-10.  No details have been spared in this hands-on fun zone.  For a slightly tranquil environment in the museum, find Storybook Forest, a vivid, inviting reading/storytelling space on the first level that offers “Woodland Wonders”, a daily program that features animators presenting a story and acting it out with the kids (and providing costumes for the kids, to boot).

Visit The Castaway Cove Kids Garden, a nice outdoor respite planned by master gardeners that allows kids to take self-led scavenger hunts to find and identify different aspects in the garden and to learn about vegetation.  Special planting parties for kids are also held every season for the spring and fall plantings. 

Venture up to the second level, and interactivity really gets going. Creativity excels in the Art Loft for sand painting, while Idea Works features a work bench area complete with real tools, and a style studio area for cutting out fabrics and designing garments for paper dolls.

If your child has energy to burn, then you must visit the recently unveiled Power2Play World Tour, featuring among other lively activities, a synthetic hockey rink, complete with helmets, pads and socks (no ice skates required), which will be featured through the Spring of 2011. 

And then, there’s Moneypalooza, the vibrant gallery where financial education can start early. In here, children are introduced to ways money can be earned - like setting up a lemonade stand or walking a dog, how it is saved – you’ll find an alluring bank for depositing money, and how it can be spent – look for the life-sized scale helping to convey wants vs. needs. 

Wherever your journey in Marbles leads, be assured your child will not lack for entertainment.  Who knows, even you may rediscover your own inner kid!

HelloRaleigh Tip:  Admission to Marbles Kids Museum is a flat fee for an all-day pass, but be advised: 10 a.m .to 1 p.m. can be busy.  Plan on catching a movie at the adjacent IMAX theatre, too!  Purchase a combo pass for the museum and the IMAX at a discount. Visit the Marbles website for more information.

- by Angela Risko, Raleigh Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Angela Risko

Angela Risko is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Formerly in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and Manhattan specializing in the film industry, additionally, she has developed multimedia content for the retail sector. A media relations professional and freelance writer, she believes inside everyone is a story worth telling. Angela is based in Raleigh with a concentration on lifestyle, culture, and human interest profiles.