Subscribe to our Family newsletter to get family-friendly events and latest parenting news sent to your inbox.

Your guide to The Magic House and MADE for Kids in St. Louis

Everything you need to know about the kids' museum's exhibits, special events, and memberships, plus info about its satellite location, MADE for Kids.

by

The Magic House, and its satellite location MADE for Kids, offer two distinct experiences under one institutional umbrella. The Magic House is St. Louis’ original, hands-on kids’ museum, with exhibits including: cultural immersion; water/bubble/sand activities; a child-scale village with a play grocery store, veterinarian office, fishing hole, newborn nursery, and library; physics experiments; three-story spiral slide; ever-growing outdoor play and construction areas; and so much more. There’s also a beanstalk-themed climber that stretches from the lower level to the top floor where your young guests will absolutely confound you by slipping into and scrambling away. 

MADE for Kids is a bit like the Art Studio/Make-It Workshop at The Magic House, supersized, with STEAM activities from digital painting and a well-stocked art/craft studio to pottery wheel, button-making station, and 3D printing projects. The recycling/upcycling craft area offers fun tools from scissors and needle/thread to hot glue guns.

Special Events

The Magic House has frequent special events, generally giving participants access to play in the museum afterward. One of the most popular, Big Truck Day, will blow the minds of your young vehicle lovers. Generally held in the fall, it’s a ticketed event that brings cranes, fire trucks, bucket lifts, sleeper cab trucks, and more up close for examination and exploration. Admission also includes a hot dog lunch and private playtime in Trike Town. Cultural events, too, like an observance of the Hindu festival of colors, Holi, and a German Easter celebration, draw crowds. Finally, holiday breakfasts and evenings with characters like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are annual traditions.

Summer camps for all ages, at both locations, tend to fill up; there’s also a live, virtual preschool art program called “Petite Picasso” Tuesday mornings from 9–9:30 a.m. (with advance registration required.)

Insider Tips

Families can bring outside food and drink to the Magic House, for consumption on the outdoor Garden Pavilion only.

Saint Louis Public Library cardholders can check out a free pass, just like a book, for admission to MADE, valid for admission for two adults and up to four children from the same household. Ask at the circulation desk of your branch. Once used for admission, the pass (issued on a lanyard) will be collected at the desk and returned to the library.

Membership Perks

The Magic House/MADE offers nine annual membership levels, many of which include shop and café discounts, summer camp discounts, members-only events, reciprocity memberships at other Association of Children’s Museums, and 50 percent off guest admissions. The levels range from a Kid’s Club pass ($25 for one child’s admission to the Magic House, with any accompanying adult paying regular admission) to a supersized Grandparents Club ($300, which covers admission to both locations for two grandparents, four adult children, and 16 grandchildren). Family Plus ($250) is a great option for parents and kids from a single household who want to get into both museums.

For just MADE for Kids, there’s an annual membership ($75, two adults, four children). Finally, there are usually a couple of flash sales each year for the higher membership levels, so following The Magic House on social media is a good idea. 

Best Photo Op

It’s a classic for a reason: Let your hair down, and then watch it go up, when touching the electrostatically charged ball (a.k.a. the Van de Graaff generator) on the top floor of the original Magic House building. 

Fast Stats

Good for:

The Magic House: Good for varied ages, from babies through tweens in different areas. Grown-ups will definitely be taking one for the team here, but the delight for the kids is worth it. Baby & Me and Wonder Works exhibits are best for the preschool set, while the Children’s Village and Make-It Workshop are best for school-age and up.

MADE: The hands-on opportunities here are best suited for school-aged visitors, and some (like robotics, game design, and 3D printing) require the ability to read and follow instructions to get the intended result. Great for kids and adults who want to experiment with art, physics, engineering, and upcycling.

Food: At The Magic House, the Picnic Basket Café offers meals and snacks that will cover most appetites, and they’ve somehow got it down to a rapid-serve system. Preordering online is available. No food service at MADE.

Shopping: A shop near the admission desk at The Magic House sells T-shirts, imaginative play toys, and science gear for the preschool/elementary set. Small case of items for purchase at MADE, some for use in the makerspaces onsite.

Price: 

The Magic House: Adults and children 1 and up, $14; under 1, free. All $3 after 3 p.m. With proof/paperwork, active-duty military and immediate family, as well as foster families, receive free admission. Free Family Nights (for two adults and four children) from 5–8 p.m. on the third Friday of each month. Parking is free in the adjacent lot, and in the overflow lots at Nipher Middle School and Concordia Lutheran Church in the summer and on weekends.

MADE: Adults and children 1 and up, $6; under 1, free. All $3 after 3 p.m. Free parking in an adjacent lot and across the street.

Hours: 

The Magic House and MADE: School year hours, Tuesday–Friday, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed on Mondays.

Location:

The Magic House: 516 S. Kirkwood

MADE: 5127 Delmar

Website: magichouse.org

Phone: 314-822-8900