Children will love learning through play at the Providence Children’s Museum. With various exhibits that explore water, movement, air, sounds, astronomy, history, culture and more, there will be something for all of the youngsters in your group. The entire museum consists of two floors and an outdoor garden area.

The first floor includes the Water Ways play area, with boats, streams, steam and more for children to dabble in, as well as a learning lab, which hosts weekly and daily activities and events; Play Power, which features a series of air tubes for children to discover; and additional activities like funhouse mirrors, musical instruments and magnets.

The outdoor garden area is accessible from the first floor, and it includes a sand pit area where kids can find fossils, a garden area for them to learn about plans and insects, and lots of space for them to run and play.

To access the second floor, families have to walk up a ramp that is decorated with see-through windows that include art displays and animals. Upon entering the second floor, children can climb aboard a backhoe and build things out of blocks. They can also enter the Welcome to Rhode Island area, which includes books and games focused on local culture and history. There is also a camping area, tree house and giant stuffed animal for photo ops.

Introduced in 2015, the second-floor My Sky exhibit features activities that center on space and astronomy. Climb inside the planetarium, watch the various phases of the sun and the moon, and learn about constellations before making your own.

The Providence Children’s Museum is open daily, April through Labor Day, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. During the fall and winter months of September through March, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday only, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on Monday. On select Friday evenings, the museum is open until 8 p.m., with free admission for families after 5 p.m.