San Diego Children's Discovery Museum

A perfectly sized museum and center for kids to learn and have hands-on fun activities.

This museum is divided into two areas: indoor and outdoor. The indoor area has sections and setups to do pretend grocery shopping, understand some physics principles around fluid dynamics and gravity, learn about money (financial center), pretend kitchen area, pretend laundry area, learn about common bugs and insects, etc. There is also an enclosed and safe play area for toddlers (2 and younger).

The outdoor area also has a variety of activity sections. They have sand boxes to let kids do some fossil finding, flowing water to do some gold mining / search, plant sections explaining various veggies, compost center to play around with worms, gardening section, obstacle course , pollination center and an enclosure with a pet turtle. They also run sessions where kids can make their own fossils.

Overall a great place to spend time with little kids and educating them on some of the common activities and things around us.

To top it all off, the staff is super nice and the place has ample free parking. Definitely a place to visit.

My toddler had a blast here. I highly recommend all kids 8 and under. Especially if you want them to sleep good 😴 after.

This place is awesome! First time here with my 3 year old daughter and it was a blast. Very manageable size. Great indoor and very relaxing outdoor play area with plenty of shade and picnic eating areas. I enjoy the Children's museum in downtown San Diego, but that can be a little overwhelming for little kids. I am very pleasantly surprised with this great little museum.
Returned her with my 7 year old son. He really enjoyed the museum, especially the outside area. I find this museum very pleasant. It’s across the street from a recently renovated playground, easy to make a day out of the whole area. We actually saw a performance at the Escondido Performing arts center, also across the street, then walked from there to the museum and back to the park.

So many interactive projects. My grandson had a wonderful day here. Many activities help your child learn new things while playing. Best way to learn

Found this gem while on vacation while our toddler was going stir crazy. By the time we left it was getting very busy and a little cramped, but getting there at opening gave us a good two hours of play (both inside and out) that our daughter absolutely loved (as soon as you thought you saw everything, you found another little area that had more to do). As a three year old, her one complaint was that she was too big for the toddler area and thus couldn't go use the slide in that gated off area. She definitely has been begging to go back, though!

We loved this place! There was so much to see and do. The educational sessions and activities were very involving for the kids and they loved it. There was story time, science, time and craft time. Generally and great place to take kids to have fun! See attached pictures!

It was a rainy day and our kids were getting restless in the hotel so we looked for something for them to do. We found this museum. When we arrived, my kids seemed skeptical but they loved it so much. They went outside to play when it wasn't raining but played inside when it was. There is a section for kids 2 and under which my boy loved but there is a lot more to do for older kids.

My recommendation age group is 1 to 10.

Been taking my daughter here since she was 1 year old. She's 9 now. I also added 3 more kids during that time. We love this place. The staff is friendly, the place is imaginative and inviting for kids. I like that the staff helps to ensure that kids are being safe and kind and respectful. Thank you!

Update: I love this place every time!

Accessibility: wheelchair accessible all around. There are a few parking spots near the front door that are for people who need it, but the parking lot definitely fills up on weekends and around holidays or spring break. Inside it is all flat ground and going into the garden is also flat ground. The restrooms here have multiple stalls, including one larger one, and everything is at a low enough height for anyone in a wheelchair to access as this whole place was made for people of all different heights! The staff here are incredibly friendly so if you need any assistance just let them know and they will help! I work with kids who have Autism and I fully see this place being incredible and fun for them too! If you have a child or adult in your group who is sensitive to noise, I recommend coming during the week day, NOT on a weekend. The weekends are very loud here and your kid will probably bump into other kids. As for stimulatory activities, there are many ones kids could enjoy...there is a water activity, sand activity, fun things to do on dry areas, inside, outside, in the sun or shade, you can make your own music or have it more quiet (again, only on the week days). Truly this place is amazing for kids with and without disabilities! I'm so beyond impressed.

Experience: I LOVE this place even as an adult, my niece and nephew love it, and the kids I babysit love it! My family has a year pass for this place because it's so awesome! To my knowledge you cannot come here without a child in your party, to protect kids from strange adults wandering in. There are SO many different activities for kids to do here and tons of other kids to play with, especially if you come on weekends. I love how so many of the activities get kids to be creative and figure things out, as well as learn about nature, animals, growing food and flowers, or other things! This place is the absolute best for kids of different ages and the yearly pass is worth it.

Cost: without a year pass, just walking in, one adult ticket cost a little less than $10.

Love visiting this place. The membership is a great deal. I'm impressed how often they are updating some of the areas to keep it new and exciting for the littles. They have great little events throughout the day so it never feels like the same day. This is in my regular routine of places to take the kids.

Good place to bring the kids for hands on learning. Nice and comfortable and not overcrowded, very safe for all kids. Outside area is awesome! Kids love the wind tunnel!
Update 2022: we continue to love this place, kids want to explore every little detail available. They have great crafts that include science. You need to go! They have changed the layout, new pictures included.

It’s all about role play! My kids (8,6,4 yo) loved this place! They can be a doctor, an archeologist, a farmer, a gardener, a chef, a pilot… and they can play with blocks, magna-tiles, metal wall! So much fun for kids!

Totally awesome, fun place!!!! The staff go above and beyond to make your visit fun, memorable and educational. My granddaughters LOVE visiting!! The Chicken Chat was so much fun. Lots of fun activities!! love love love.

This rating reflect my kids' excitement for the 3 hours we were there. My kids are 7, 4 and 3 (perfect for this age group). It was our first time. We spent about 20-30 min at each of their favorite stations and they kept busy. Though it was cloudy and wet outside, the kids still ventured to the outside area and had fun exploring and splashing in the water station. This place is safe, colorful, perfect for those days where you don't know what to invent to keep them occupied. The "carriers" center was a lot of fun: the kids enjoyed dressing up as firefighters and police officers. All together a day well spent with the family.

It is always a nice time. Especially not being here for a while. My kiddos really enjoyed being back and seeing some of the new setups.

Great place for kids to play and learn. Lots of things and activities that are fun and exciting. My daughter will be 2 in 2 months and she had so much fun. She cried when we left because she didn't want to leave, she was having fun and wanted to continue playing.

Came for a birthday and this place is amazing, loved the more authentic build of the toys. Makes you look around and think, I could make something like that for home to keep my child engaged.

They had a cute vegetables garden, chickens, bubble bins, lots to climb on and a cute store.

PARENTS: FREE COFFEE/TEA with admission! Wonderful place for littles - age 4 & under. Small, but engaging. Bathrooms great for the littles too, extra space in every stall for more than one person. Place is very clean, has a dedicated area for birthdays so as not to intrude on the other guests, has a very cute garden area with activities for children, a bubble table, reading room, pirate ship play area and a designated area for eating. Not a museum per say, but a children's play area.

Love taking my kids here! They also offer discounts making it a good inexpensive option to take kids. Love that its indoor and outdoor.

Staff is great. They helped my wife and kid after my daughter got hurt. Very attentive. As for the children's museum itself. Great events and a great place to take you kids any day of the week.