Visiting the Tulsa Children’s Museum

We visited the new Tulsa Children’s Museum (TCM) yesterday and it. is. the. BOMB.

First of all, I’ve never been to Owen Park and what a gem! You know, sometimes, I’ll go to these places and get so mad at myself for not knowing about them. I’ve been in Tulsa now for almost 8 years, and there’s just so many great spots I haven’t hit up yet. I feel a summertime theme emerging.

Anyways, the park is great and I want to go back to spend more time there, but back to the TCM.

It’s a little off-the-beaten-path, so Mapquest before you go. Getting lost after you leave somewhere is always ok because everyone is tired, but a 3-year-old in the backseat asking “are we there yet?” over and over and OVER, can really drive me out of my mind. If you just drive on the highways like you’re going to the Gilcrease Museum, you’ll get there pretty easily/ quickly. The actual address is 560 N Maybelle Ave.

TCM Hours:

Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday 9:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Children under 2 are free, and everyone else is $5. Memberships are available and if you hold onto your receipt, you can get that amount off your membership if you choose to purchase one. Which every parent knows that memberships are always the way to go if you plan on visiting more than 3-4 times a year.

The building is medium-sized. Not so big that you are worried you’re going to lose a kid. There’s only one way out, so if you barricade the door, you should be safe. There is everything there from shadow walls to suction tubes, but the biggest highlight (IMO) is the tape tunnel.

It’s my understanding that the whole thing is just made out of tape, which is a bit of a red flag, but I even got up there (I just couldn’t help myself) and it was quite sturdy. Now I would never disclose my specific poundage, but let’s just say, if I can do it, I’m quite sure you can do it.

With a spirited 1-year-old, my life is starting to get pretty tricky. She is no longer happy to hang in her stroller, or on me. Oh no, this girl wants to be in the action. Unfortunately, she’s not very good at it, yet. So, there’s a nice area where she can play (aka: burn some energy). A little request: Look, there’s just really not much you can do to keep toys out of a 1-year-old’s mouth. So, please do what I did and give the infected toys to the nice TCM patrons to be sanitized. Let’s do what we can, shall we?

Have you ever had those times where your children could care less about all of their expensive toys, and just want to play with old boxes? Genius (see below).

Right outside the door of TCM is a park area with benches and picnic tables, so feel free to pack a snack or lunch and continue the fun outside. Also, there’s a splash pad. It wasn’t on when I was there. I’ve kind of been a splash pad detective lately, so I think some aren’t opening until noon. Which is just insane! I mean, 1) It’s way too hot in August for little ones to be out after 11 a.m. 2) Noon is naptime, duh! But I’ll save that rant for another time.

Lastly, and to lactating mommas most importantly, there is a nursing room. Aaaah. But hey, if you have other kids you have to watch that are playing, you go ahead and whip it out proudly.

All in all I give it 5 stars. Go check it out!