Sizzle Sights: McKenna Children’s Museum

McKenna Children’s Museum in New Braunfels is a preschooler’s paradise. Though not huge, the state-of-the-art facility is filled to the brim with interactive exhibits that encourage imaginative play.  Around every corner is a new opportunity for kids to build, create and role-play. Stepping into the shoes of ambulance drivers, doctors, bankers, grocers, artists, astronauts, and more, eager tikes have the chance to try it all.

From the moment young visitors enter the main exhibit hall, they will be drawn in to explore the numerous toys, activities and hands-on exhibits. The Museum's Hill Country Campgrounds offer teepees and tents to crawl through, fish to catch with a magnetic fishing rod, a kayak to paddle, and a pretend campfire.  A neighboring kid-size cave houses bat costumes to try. Take a peek Under the Comal River and you will find two small crocodiles swimming in an exhibit designed by Animal World and Snake Farm. After strolling through the Lend-A-Hand Ranch, pint-size builders can help construct a house, adding Velcro siding, magnetic wallpaper, and plastic plumbing.

Nearby, children will find McKenna Hospitable, where they can sit in the waiting room, check out the Biolab, or take a shift in the hospital nursery. Parked outside is the ambulance, which needs workers as well. Kids will delight in making the emergency vehicle lights flash, signaling that help is on the way!

Destination Space has plenty more buttons to push. At Mission Control, little kids run the show. They can also inspect the inside of a shuttle and learn about the solar system in this fun corner of the Museum.
Continue to the Outside the Lines Art Studio, where kids can unleash their inner Picasso. With easels, brushes and paint at their disposal, young artists don aprons to create masterpieces in a mess-friendly environment that makes cleanup a cinch.
In the Town Square, you’ll find a bank with a working ATM machine.  The machine issues play money, which kids can exchange for a prize. Next door, the Grocery Store is fully stocked with play food, carts and a conveyor belt for checkout.  
There is so much fun at McKenna Children’s Museum that some of it spills outside to The Great Outdoors.  If you visit on a sunny day, be sure to try the new Music Exhibit (where the old art car used to park). Kids with energy to burn will enjoy a little rock climbing wall, large animal statues, and a rubber pit for digging. The main attraction is an incredible water table, but this is in the process of being renovated and may not yet be open for play.

The entire Museum can be seen in just a few hours, which makes for a perfect morning trip from Austin, which you can squeeze in before naptime.

If you go:
McKenna Children's Museum is open Monday - Saturday, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  The Museum is closed on Sunday.
Admission is $5.50 per person ages 12-months and older; this price increases to $7.50 per person from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Parking is free.
There are free activities, included in the price of admission, offered on weekdays at 11 a.m. Check the website for the schedule: http://mckennakids.org/
The crocodiles are fed every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 11:30 a.m.
You can buy lunch onsite at Butterfly Bistro or pack your own and eat at one of the Museum’s picnic tables. Butterfly Bistro is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Following your Museum visit, consider a trip to nearby Landa Park. Landa Park has a miniature train that operates on weekends, from September to April. A train ride is $2.50 per person. Call (830) 221-4350, for more information.

McKenna Children’s Museum
801 W. San Antonio St.
New Braunfels, Texas 78130
(830) 606-9525