Photo:
Kathryn Mueller
Ignite your child’s imagination at Imagine Children’s Museum located in Everett. The enormous three-floor museum, including a rooftop playground, has something for everyone. Trains — check! Theater — got that! Treehouses — absolutely! Cranes and conveyor belts — of course! If you can imagine it, this place has it.
The enormous museum is a one-stop shop for engaging and imaginative play, offering ample interactive exhibits and giant play areas guaranteed to tire out your toddlers.
Even if you’re not a North Sound family, you’re going to want to schedule a visit to this impressive play space.
A forest adventure on the first floor
When we first arrived at the museum, we headed straight into the magical treetop canopy in the Woodlands Adventure exhibit. We’ve hiked to a few fun lookouts in the area, but getting cloudless weather is like winning the lottery. Luckily, the view is always perfect from the museum’s Pilchuck Fire Lookout — and you don’t have to hike 5 miles on a rocky summit to get there!
Climb a few stairs and bounce across rope bridges to the lookout before venturing over to the bird-watching tower. Beautiful felt versions of Pacific Northwest fowl like the Steller’s Jay and Cooper’s Hawk grace the trees — you can spot them from the canopy or the ADA-accessible space below.
Don’t skip the forest floor, though. A lifelike pond gives kids the chance to “catch” fish using magnetic rods, roast a s’more by a campfire or build a cairn out of colorful blocks. My daughter found this area really engaging; before we could head upstairs, she had to take one last spin through the canopy, climbing next to Sasquatch lounging in his hammock.
Make believe with trains, planes and restaurants
When your little one is done playing in the trees, let their imagination take flight. All aboard for the next stop, which includes transit-inspired themes. Take flight, hop aboard a railway or step onto an Everett bus for more play opportunities.
From there, make your way to the WaterWorks area. There’s space if toddlers just want to splash around, but the gears, pipes and water cannons that distribute plastic balls around make this area unforgettable. It felt like a mini physics lesson! There are apron-type covers kids can put on to keep dry.
Kids will also love the Piccolo Café, where they can enjoy taking orders from patrons and serving up delicious delicacies in the adorable makeshift restaurant.
If you can believe it, those exhibits (and more) are all on the first floor. We haven’t even gotten to the second story yet.
Explore the Puget Sound ecosystem
In the museum’s second-floor area, we found more interactive spaces. We walked through a gray whale’s rib cage and examined its baleen before playing a memory game featuring local sea creatures.
My daughter took over one of the easy-to-operate microscopes to examine sea shells — the ridges and sandblasted edges are incredible up close! If you need some quieter sensory sensations, take a peek at painted anemones in the mini aquarium, or drag your fingers through the augmented-reality sand table to create oceanside cliffs.
Toddlers even have their own front-and-center space to climb on colorful sea creature structures.
Ship it at the Worldwide Distribution Center
The Worldwide Distribution Center is a clear fan favorite. Here, your future logistical maven can sort and ship packages. I saw kids working together to hoist boxes up a vertical conveyor before sending them tumbling down colorful chutes. Caregivers will appreciate that there’s a bench in this space — my daughter made a friend here and they ended up spending a solid chunk of our visit in their own little assembly line.
An interactive video game lets kids balance budgets and time in order to deliver packages around the world. The idea was innovative, but the thrill of sending a box hurtling toward the floor seemed to keep most kids away from the screen.
More to do on the museum’s second floor
The second floor should really count as two floors. A mezzanine level plays host to a port with a block-lifting crane and a tugboat with a realistic-looking radar screen.
One of the things I appreciated most about the museum was the conversation starters around every corner. From the fire prevention strategies and animal track identification tips on the first floor to the life jacket safety information near the mezzanine’s rowboat, families will find many opportunities for bonus learning.
Tinker, create and build
In the art space at the top of the stairs, kids can either choose a designated project — coffee filter parachutes were on the menu during our visit — or make up their own with supplies placed around the room. The Tinker Shop allows kids to use real tools for mini construction projects.
My daughter and her new friend eventually tore themselves away from the Distribution Center and headed for the Engineer It! Gallery. Decals on the wall reminded them to embrace failure as they cut out their own paper flyers to send through a wind tunnel. Fortunately, there were plenty of materials available as some attempts were more successful than others.
They took a quick seat at the joysticks in the crane cab hanging over the museum’s entrance, but the allure of the outdoor playground was too strong to stick around long.
Up on the rooftop
Don’t miss the rest of the museum’s exhibits, among them the popular outdoor rooftop play area. The outdoor space has large climbing structures with slides, a dinosaur fossil dig, musical instruments and more for kids to explore. You’ll likely spend a large chunk of time here, so pack accordingly for the weather.
We spent time swinging from the rings in the Tall Timbers play structure and watched other kids play in the Dino Dig area. As fun as the rooftop is, it wasn’t long before our tour guide (aka my daughter’s new friend, a veteran Imagine visitor) led us back down to the first floor.
Planning your visit
At over 60,000 square feet, Imagine Children’s Museum dwarfs the size of other local children’s museums (which average around 10,000–20,000 square feet). We spent just over four hours in the museum and still only scratched the surface.
To make the most of your day, plan to arrive around the 9 a.m. opening and spend the day here (or spring for a membership if you’re local). When hunger pangs hit, head to the third floor with your packed lunch or a selection from their Grab and Go Space. This is the only area where eating is allowed in the museum. You can also get a hand stamp at the front desk and head out for lunch nearby. (Just keep in mind that you exit through the museum’s gift shop. Your kids may want to take home a souvenir.)
With so much to explore, this is a good spot to bring a backup pair of hands or set some parameters around meet-up spots if you have more than one child to keep track of. With limitless opportunities to build, create, explore and wander, I look forward to a return visit this fall.
Nearby fun in Everett
While you’re in town, pick up a coffee at Loft Coffee Bar, a huge pastry at Choux Choux Bakery or some snacks at Sno-Isle Co-Op. If you visit on a Sunday from May through October, don’t miss the Everett Farmers Market right up the street. Watch glass artists for free at the Schack Art Center or pop into the Funko headquarters just down the block. If you need more play time in Everett, check out the colorful Emma Yule Park playground or the wonderfully inclusive playground at Forest Park.
If you go to Imagine Children’s Museum…Location: Imagine Children’s Museum is located in downtown Everett at 1502 Wall St. Everett is about a 30-minute drive from either Seattle or Bellevue, without traffic. Enter the building from Hoyt Avenue. Hours: The museum is open Tuesday–Sunday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. No reservations are needed. Please note: Sundays from 9–11 a.m., some exhibit areas are closed to the public for special community programs. Admission: Admission costs $22 per person. Babies 12 months and younger enter free. Show your EBT card and photo ID to receive admission for up to four family members for $3 per person. You can also purchase a museum membership, which provides a year of unlimited access to the museum. It’s worth it if you plan to come regularly. The museum also hosts Community Access Nights every third Friday of the month through 2024, which means you can visit the museum for free from 5–9 p.m. Special Sundays: The museum offers free dedicated playtime on select Sundays, 9–11 a.m., for families in which kids are being raised by a grandparent or other extended family member (first Sundays), families with a currently or recently incarcerated loved one (second Sundays) and families with children who have processing sensitivities (third Sundays). Pre-registration is required. Parking: Free 90-minute street parking is located around the museum, but you’ll likely need more time to appreciate this gem. There are paid lots nearby (budget about $5 for up to 3 hours and $15 for all-day parking). The Everpark Garage is free on Saturdays and Sundays. Strollers are not allowed on the exhibit floors and need to be left in the car, but a few carriers are available to borrow from the front desk. Restrooms: Gender-neutral restrooms and water fountains are located on each floor. |
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2022 and was updated in September 2024 with more information about visiting the Imagine Children’s Museum. Kathryn Mueller contributed to this article.
