My little piggies went whee! whee! whee!

Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Address: 929 E. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Sunday: 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: $7.50 for anyone over age one; children under age one are free

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY

• Offers hands-on learning? Yes
• Engages an active toddler in play? Yes
• Provides interaction with other children? Yes
• Allows children room to play without long waits? No
• Is clean? Yes

Fantastic! Just the children's museum we've been looking for. It is great for toddlers. It's great for babies, especially new crawlers! And it's easy on moms/caregivers.

While it is a bit of a hike, we felt it was well worth it. The museum has many great play areas, including a bank, a television news station, a child-sized city bus, a child-sized train & farm, a grocery store (with brats, of course!), a harley, a garage repair shop, a pizza place, a house under construction, a music area (with the piano from "Big"), and loads & loads of other fun activities. We spent about two and a half hours and made it through approximately half the museum. We ended in the fenced-off crawler/toddler area, which I have to tell you is huge. It was nice to see this area a little bigger than a 3'x3' box. Again, both boys had a great time. The older one played on the slides and tunnels as well as in the sandbox. While our new crawler crawled over padded mats and blocks.

We all had a great time. The other families were so friendly and really engaged in playing with their kids or grandkids. And while this shouldn't count for much, the museum does have covered parking at a very reasonable price (ok, reasonable by Chicago standards).

The only downside is that the museum does not have a cafe. They do have a picnic area so I recommend bringing lunch & snacks with you. Or you can stop by the A&W drive-in on your way back to Chicago!