Long Island Children's Museum
Long Island Children's Museum
Long Island Children's Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
See our own calendar at licm.org for additional open days and holiday closures. Long Island Children's Museum offers 14 interactive exhibits plus live theater, art spaces and daily activities to provide hours of discovery for children of all ages.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingWhat is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
771 within 3 miles
Attractions
172 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
217 reviews
Excellent
120
Very good
60
Average
18
Poor
12
Terrible
7
Shani L
1 contribution
Aug 2024 • Family
Visited this museum on August 20th for my daughter’s 2nd birthday and 3 days later both of us are extremely sick. We haven’t been anywhere else and she’s not in day care. So sick that I have to miss work and so sick she has double ear infections. The museum was crowded, full of teens for staff and no one walking around to sanitize the items children are touching, coughing and sneezing on. At least spray the surfaces every 2-3hrs or something? This place goes open to close with to cleaning whatsoever, a shame because the exhibits were cool and my daughter loved it there. We won’t be returning.
Written August 30, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
E D S
1 contribution
Apr 2022
Overcrowded. Many exhibits did not work. No one was cleaning exhibits with hundreds of hands touching them. Volunteers were about 16 years old and did not do anything about the children running around unsupervised while parents were sitting and talking. Worse museum I've ever been to. No organization!
Written April 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Layla8484
Playa del Carmen, Mexico28 contributions
Apr 2015 • Family
Today I took my grandson to the museum, we were having a wonderful time. There was a class of young children who were behaving so well and had all made projects. The children had glued crayons on their projects. A worker at the museum came over and was speaking so rudely to the children and their parents that I started to listen, she was drawing a lot of negative attention to the group. A parent said that they would be happy to donate crayons and offered to come back today to bring them, shortly after that a woman, who was enraged and an employee of the museum came and literally ripped off all the crayons from the children's projects. It was terrible and the children were crying.
I will never go there again. My grandson kept asking me why the boys were crying and why was the lady so mean. What could I tell him? A place we loved is no longer a place we are never going to go visit again.
The management of the museum should seriously reevaluate their staffing and policies.
Don't go here. Children should feel safe not shamed.
I will never go there again. My grandson kept asking me why the boys were crying and why was the lady so mean. What could I tell him? A place we loved is no longer a place we are never going to go visit again.
The management of the museum should seriously reevaluate their staffing and policies.
Don't go here. Children should feel safe not shamed.
Written April 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
andydanziger
Lindenhurst, NY2 contributions
May 2015 • Family
I hate to give a bad review to a museum, especially a children's museum but I'd be lying if I said anything else.
I was a member of this museum for several years but have finally stopped renewing my membership. Gradually more and more parts of the attractions break and are never fixed. For instance in the communications exhibit there isn't a single thing working properly. Plenty other things throughout the museum don't work as they should either (more of it is at least partially broken than not). Even in the tots exhibit (for toddlers), many of the attractions are broken or partially broken. It's really sad to have seen this place fall into such disrepair over the years and there's no excuse. Amazingly, even in such poor condition, it's usually crowded. I also see that they receive grants and charitable gifts from philanthropists and philanthropic organizations.
Where is the money going? The place is largely staffed by volunteers so that's not where it's disappearing. Is the president or director of the museum making a huge bloated salary, (which I would equate to stealing)?
About the only thing worth doing here are the shows, which continue to be great.
This place needs to be investigated to find out where the money is going.
I was a member of this museum for several years but have finally stopped renewing my membership. Gradually more and more parts of the attractions break and are never fixed. For instance in the communications exhibit there isn't a single thing working properly. Plenty other things throughout the museum don't work as they should either (more of it is at least partially broken than not). Even in the tots exhibit (for toddlers), many of the attractions are broken or partially broken. It's really sad to have seen this place fall into such disrepair over the years and there's no excuse. Amazingly, even in such poor condition, it's usually crowded. I also see that they receive grants and charitable gifts from philanthropists and philanthropic organizations.
Where is the money going? The place is largely staffed by volunteers so that's not where it's disappearing. Is the president or director of the museum making a huge bloated salary, (which I would equate to stealing)?
About the only thing worth doing here are the shows, which continue to be great.
This place needs to be investigated to find out where the money is going.
Written June 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Andy,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We’re so sorry to hear you were disappointed by your recent visit to the museum. To answer your question, the Museum's funds are spent on creating new experiences for our visitors through innovative programming, community outreach initiatives and bringing in compelling traveling exhibits.
If you take a peek at our Instagram and Facebook accounts (links below), you can see our exhibit team hard at work throughout the spring refurbishing components for the Sandy Island and Bricks & Sticks exhibits, moving the traveling exhibit Healthyville out while Motion Mania moved in, caring for our live animals, preparing the reopening of Our Backyard, inventing water features for H2Oh! and developing a brand new section of Communication Station focused on a collection of 1,000,000 stamps. Our News12 Studio in Communication Station was overhauled in February and now includes brand new equipment including a monitor, teleprompter, updated news desk and a touch screen to choose which clip our young broadcasters will feature. This is just a small sample of what’s going on in our exhibit department every day. In the coming months, visitors will see new play areas added to TotSpot, our Early Childhood Studio refurbished, the animation station and weather wall in Communication Station updated and a fresh paint job for the exterior of the Museum.
It might help to know that the $12 admission cost does not cover mostly salary... in fact, 78% of our expenses cover program services (exhibits, public programs, theater, community outreach); only 8% goes to fundraising and 14% for administrative purposes. We are quite lucky to have an active corps of volunteers that can assist our staff of nearly 100 professionals and help us keep our visitor experience high and administrative costs low.
You might be surprised to learn that if we relied purely on admission costs, the museum would only be open 4 months each year! To cover the true cost of theater productions, the average theater ticket would cost $20... not $4. To cover the cost of materials, staff and cleaning for our early childhood programs, we would need to charge $10 per person... not $2. There would be no free pop-up crafts every weekday afternoon, no free activities on weekends, no free special events like Bug Bonanza or the beloved Countdown to 12 New Year Celebration, each featuring face painting, craft stations, and educational activities. With only admission costs, we wouldn't be able to develop the Westbury School District STEM program or offer sensory-friendly nights for families with children on the autism spectrum. This is where school group tours, scout group visits, museum rentals, generous donors, memberships and much needed grant funding come in to close the gap. This wonderful support is vital to offering visitors of all ages the opportunity to explore freely and discover their passions, both within our walls and with us out in the community.
Because we see 250,000 visitors every year, our hands-on museum (like all hands-on museums) will often see favorite pieces in and out of commission throughout the day, but we’re out there getting them up and ready for action again every week. We welcome any of our visitors to please inform our staff about any items in need of attention. We’d be sure to give it the TLC it deserves!
We hope this clarifies a little bit of how our non-profit runs and would love to see you again soon. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with us.
Kind regards,
Melissa S
Long Island Children's Museum
https://instagram.com/longislandchildrensmuseum
https://www.facebook.com/LICMpage
Written June 26, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MomOf2Brooklyn
Brooklyn, NY10 contributions
When my mother suggested that we go to the LI Children's Museum with our 2 kids (big one is 2 and a half years old, little one is only 2 months old), we were skeptical. We weren't sure if they would have that much for my 2-year-old to do, or if this place was feasible with a tiny baby. Well, we were so glad we went!
My older son was able to do everything his little heart desired. The toddler area (limited to one use per museum visit)was wonderful, and the first area we visited. We spent a good half hour there. My son played and enjoyed himself with the other kids in there. Then we went into the Bubble room. My son loved this! We then headed to the airplay room, then to the tool area where my son was able to do some crafts, and then we went upstairs where they had all different things, including computers for them to play with and a whole section that teaches kids how people with disabilities live everyday life! Very educational! We were able to wheel the baby in the stroller the whole time, into each exhibit without a problem. The only area I kept the baby out of was the bubble room because it was messy and soap was dripping occasionally. So my husband stayed with the older one while I waited with the little one, no big deal. There is an elevator to go to the second floor, and a nice clean changing table in the bathroom. Very convenient.
The only thing is, there is not much food in the museum, but we stopped for lunch just before entering the museum at Subway which is right behind the museum. Also be aware that adults cannot enter the museum without at least one child. So a couple could not go to check this place out without their child before bringing them. The parents must bring the child or children with them. I like this policy, as it seems to be a safety issue (i.e., to avoid an adult entering without a child and leaving with one). It's scary but definitely a great policy and they enforce it. My parents walked in ahead of us with our older son and then entered the museum with their tickets. The person at the ticket booth made sure to give my husband and me an infant ticket (free of charge anyway) for our baby because she said we couldn't get in just the two of us.
We were at the LI Children's Museum on a Saturday afternoon in July and it definitely did not feel crowded. It only costs $9 per person to enter, and babies are free. They have a membership which is also worth looking into, and which we are considering because it also includes many other museums and attractions, including NY Hall of Science and the Brooklyn Transit Museum, along with many many other different things to do. I highly recommend this museum to families with kids of all ages from toddlers through around age 10.
My older son was able to do everything his little heart desired. The toddler area (limited to one use per museum visit)was wonderful, and the first area we visited. We spent a good half hour there. My son played and enjoyed himself with the other kids in there. Then we went into the Bubble room. My son loved this! We then headed to the airplay room, then to the tool area where my son was able to do some crafts, and then we went upstairs where they had all different things, including computers for them to play with and a whole section that teaches kids how people with disabilities live everyday life! Very educational! We were able to wheel the baby in the stroller the whole time, into each exhibit without a problem. The only area I kept the baby out of was the bubble room because it was messy and soap was dripping occasionally. So my husband stayed with the older one while I waited with the little one, no big deal. There is an elevator to go to the second floor, and a nice clean changing table in the bathroom. Very convenient.
The only thing is, there is not much food in the museum, but we stopped for lunch just before entering the museum at Subway which is right behind the museum. Also be aware that adults cannot enter the museum without at least one child. So a couple could not go to check this place out without their child before bringing them. The parents must bring the child or children with them. I like this policy, as it seems to be a safety issue (i.e., to avoid an adult entering without a child and leaving with one). It's scary but definitely a great policy and they enforce it. My parents walked in ahead of us with our older son and then entered the museum with their tickets. The person at the ticket booth made sure to give my husband and me an infant ticket (free of charge anyway) for our baby because she said we couldn't get in just the two of us.
We were at the LI Children's Museum on a Saturday afternoon in July and it definitely did not feel crowded. It only costs $9 per person to enter, and babies are free. They have a membership which is also worth looking into, and which we are considering because it also includes many other museums and attractions, including NY Hall of Science and the Brooklyn Transit Museum, along with many many other different things to do. I highly recommend this museum to families with kids of all ages from toddlers through around age 10.
Written July 15, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PattyLongIsland
New York City, NY1,927 contributions
Aug 2019
Took my two-year-old niece and nephew to this museum recently and the kids and adults had a great time. We went on a Friday in the summer, so we did run into a bus load of day campers, which made it a little hectic. If you have little ones not yet in school, would recommend going when school is in for others. They also say summer weekends are less busy than weekdays.
Hard to find discounts on tickets, but were able to save some money using our AAA card. Sometimes, they have discounts in Groupon. The cost for everyone over age 3 is $14. You can also add on activities like movies and workshops. Free admission for those with annual membership (which offers special events and activities during the year).
Since we had toddlers, we were given a pass for the Tot Spot room, which is wonderful and allows the little ones to play in their own space away from the bigger kids, for a set length of time. It is located directly inside the entrance on the right, through the painted school bus on the wall. There they handed out "ice cream" from the ice cream truck and rang up sales; became an engineer on the Long Island Railroad; got to gas up and sit on a real motorcycle; climbed to the top of the lighthouse and slid down the slide; checked out groceries on a conveyor belt and much more. They loved this room.
Other rooms are the bubble room, which is sticky fun; the colorful room with slides and mazes, very creatively decorated; the numbers area; the beach area that has climbing ropes and bridges for bigger kids. Upstairs is a massive area with all things related to communications, like a radio station, television station where you can be the weatherman on tv, plenty of things to build and explore. You can really spend several hours there since there is so much for the kids to do.
Outside in the backyard, is the vegetable and flower garden, along with a small water park area where the kids get to launch boats down a sluice.
They offer a quiet room for kids who are feeling overwhelmed. And have scheduled friendly hours for children who have specific needs.
Open every day, except major holidays. A wonderful experience for children and highly recommended.
Hard to find discounts on tickets, but were able to save some money using our AAA card. Sometimes, they have discounts in Groupon. The cost for everyone over age 3 is $14. You can also add on activities like movies and workshops. Free admission for those with annual membership (which offers special events and activities during the year).
Since we had toddlers, we were given a pass for the Tot Spot room, which is wonderful and allows the little ones to play in their own space away from the bigger kids, for a set length of time. It is located directly inside the entrance on the right, through the painted school bus on the wall. There they handed out "ice cream" from the ice cream truck and rang up sales; became an engineer on the Long Island Railroad; got to gas up and sit on a real motorcycle; climbed to the top of the lighthouse and slid down the slide; checked out groceries on a conveyor belt and much more. They loved this room.
Other rooms are the bubble room, which is sticky fun; the colorful room with slides and mazes, very creatively decorated; the numbers area; the beach area that has climbing ropes and bridges for bigger kids. Upstairs is a massive area with all things related to communications, like a radio station, television station where you can be the weatherman on tv, plenty of things to build and explore. You can really spend several hours there since there is so much for the kids to do.
Outside in the backyard, is the vegetable and flower garden, along with a small water park area where the kids get to launch boats down a sluice.
They offer a quiet room for kids who are feeling overwhelmed. And have scheduled friendly hours for children who have specific needs.
Open every day, except major holidays. A wonderful experience for children and highly recommended.
Written August 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MegsGirl
Floral Park, NY51 contributions
Jun 2016 • Family
While not one of the world's great children's museum, this museum is fun, easy to navigate and a manageable size for a visit. Little ones thoroughly enjoyed the TotSpot while the older ones loved the ClimbIt structure. Of course it has lots of hands on -the big bubbles, building stations and TV studio were favs. It does attract many school and camp groups.
Written June 17, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Denise R
New York City, NY12 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
I was very disappointed after spending $12 each for me, my daughter and my husband. WAY overpriced! Almost every exhibit has something broken in it. There are a few exhibits that you're not even sure what the point is and there is no explanation.
My daughter liked the bubble room and so did I (she's almost 3) but it happens to be the smallest exhibit there and always crowded.
The toddler room is basically a playground and honestly, the playground in my neighborhood seemed like more fun for my daughter, but this was an alternative option for a cold January day. They call it the toddler room but there were some older, obnoxious and pushy kids in there bulldozing their way around the little ones.
The sand pit (not sure what it's called)...pointless. My daughter stood there swooshing sand around a box because that's about all there was to do.
Not sure how this place qualifies as a museum...more like an indoor playground and admission should be $5 MAX!
My daughter liked the bubble room and so did I (she's almost 3) but it happens to be the smallest exhibit there and always crowded.
The toddler room is basically a playground and honestly, the playground in my neighborhood seemed like more fun for my daughter, but this was an alternative option for a cold January day. They call it the toddler room but there were some older, obnoxious and pushy kids in there bulldozing their way around the little ones.
The sand pit (not sure what it's called)...pointless. My daughter stood there swooshing sand around a box because that's about all there was to do.
Not sure how this place qualifies as a museum...more like an indoor playground and admission should be $5 MAX!
Written January 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
malujerry
New Hyde Park, NY168 contributions
Jan 2014 • Family
great place for young kids. 2 floors of activities including a toddler section, sand areas, bubbles, blocks, climbing area, etc.
Written January 7, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tenderb
Woodbury NY6 contributions
A very good option if you run into a few rainy days. Little ones had a blast.
Written July 27, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have a 12 yr old granddaughter who is bright beyond her years. She is interested in science and art. Would she have enough simulating things to see and do at the LI Childrens Museum?
Written October 2, 2019
Would you say it’s suitable for kids aged 9 and 12?
Written January 1, 2018
Yes, it was fun for me taking my grandsons. There is enough to look at and enjoy.
Written January 1, 2018
$9 for theater
$13 for general admission
Written March 19, 2017
How long is the average cycle of activities? What is the best time to show up? Is better to reserve or can you just walk in?
Written October 29, 2015
Depending on how interested your kids are in really sitting and playing/learning will determine how long you stay. I would say 2 hours at a minimum to see everything. But if your kids find something they love, you could easily spend up to 4 hours there building, playing music, figuring out puzzles, etc. No reservations required, walk in and pay. Best to go in afternoons. Weekday mornings have schools, camps. Weekend mornings are busiest family times.
Written October 29, 2015
Showing results 1-7 of 7
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing