The Natural History Museum is fantastic. The Air and Space Museum is brilliant. The children’s museum in whatever major city you’ve been meaning to visit is also likely a real gem. But getting there involves an airport, a parking garage, a stroller on a subway, and a lunch that costs $22 per person before anyone has ordered a drink.
There’s another option that often gets overlooked because it doesn’t have the same name recognition. I’m talking about small cities with science centers and children’s museums that are genuinely excellent. Not “good for their size.” Actually excellent, with engaging and interactive exhibits, passionate staff, and the ability to light kids up for an entire afternoon. (I say this with affection because an annual membership to one genuinely got me through my second child’s early years.)
These places tend to be easier to get to, easier to navigate once you’re there, and often significantly cheaper than their big-city counterparts. A few are part of the ASTC Passport Program, which means if you’re already a member of a participating science center at home, you may get free or discounted admission when you travel. More on that below.
A quick note on the ASTC passport program
The ASTC Passport Program is one of the better-kept secrets in family travel. If your home science center or children’s museum is an ASTC member, your membership may get you free general admission at other participating institutions when you’re traveling outside your local area (defined as more than 90 miles from both your home and your home museum, measured as a straight-line radius). Over 300 venues participate worldwide which means it’s not hard to offset the cost of your at-home annual membership with one trip elsewhere.
Explore all articles: Parenting tips and advice
Just be sure to bring your physical membership card and a photo ID, because not all venues can look you up in a database. Check the current participation list on the ASTC website before you go, since it updates periodically. And confirm directly with the museum you’re visiting, because benefits and exclusions vary. It’s worth a two-minute phone call before you drive two hours.
1. Burlington, Vermont — ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Full disclosure, this is my home base. My kids are older now but I’ve whiled away countless hours among the creatures here and feel grateful for each and every one of them. (Minus the “we’ve got to go” meltdowns, of course.) My beloved Burlington is small in the way that makes everything easier. You can walk from your hotel to the waterfront, there’s parking that doesn’t require a prayer, and the whole downtown is navigable without a map. ECHO sits right on Lake Champlain and, fittingly, makes the local ecosystem feel genuinely worth caring about.
The museum has over 100 hands-on exhibits and more than 70 live species, including Vermont’s largest aquarium tank. The early learning area, Champ Lane, is designed for the under-6 crowd and named after the lake’s mythical sea monster, which is the correct way to introduce children to regional folklore. There are daily animal demonstrations, engineering challenges, and a 3D theater. The Dinosaur Safari traveling exhibit runs through September 2026.
And when it’s time to leave (provided you’re visiting when the weather is warm), the waterfront location means you actually walk out into paradise. The adjacent park is perfect for a picnic with a view of the Adirondacks, and the bike path that runs through goes for miles in either direction. Church Street, Burlington’s outdoor pedestrian mall, is just a short three-minute walk up the hill and consistently good for an afternoon. In warmer months there’s also Vermont maple creemees right outside, which is the only thing kids will remember anyway. (Along the waterfront you’ll also find Foam, a fantastic brewery that allows kids–should you need a Vermont IPA before carrying on with the rest of your day.)
ASTC Passport Program: Yes, ECHO is an ASTC member. Check current participation details at echovermont.org.
Best for: Families with kids especially toddlers through early elementary. Strong rainy day option.
2. Chattanooga, Tennessee — Tennessee Aquarium
Chattanooga has figured out what a lot of mid-size cities haven’t, which is how to build a genuinely compelling waterfront. The Tennessee Aquarium is the anchor of it, and it’s bigger and more ambitious than most people expect. Two separate buildings—River Journey and Ocean Journey—mean you’re effectively getting two experiences in one visit, and having a natural break between them to grab lunch outside is a feature, not a design oversight.
River Journey follows water from Appalachian mountain streams down to the Tennessee River, moving through ecosystems and picking up river otters, alligators, and some seriously large freshwater fish along the way. Ocean Journey covers the expected coral reefs and jellyfish but earns its keep with a butterfly garden. Be warned it’s the kind that takes over a whole room and butterflies land on people, which is the detail that makes the whole trip for a certain kind of kid but absolutely terrifies others. (As the parent of one of each, I understand how awesomely or poorly this can go.) There’s also a touch tank where you can pet stingrays and small sharks. In the warmer months, there are some seriously fun water features outside which can keep kids occupied for literal hours. (Just be sure to bring swimsuits or risk whatever plans you had for later.) Both buildings are stroller-accessible and have elevators.
The rest of downtown Chattanooga is walkable from the aquarium: the Creative Discovery Museum (a dedicated children’s museum) is a few blocks away, the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge is worth the walk for the views, and the NorthShore neighborhood across the bridge has good lunch options. Chattanooga is also a reasonable drive from Atlanta, Nashville, and Knoxville, which makes it a solid road trip destination rather than a full production.
ASTC Passport Program: Tennessee Aquarium participates. Confirm current admission benefits before visiting.
Best for: Wide age range; the two-building format keeps older kids and teens engaged longer than a typical aquarium.
3. Duluth, Minnesota — Great Lakes Aquarium + Duluth Children’s Museum
Admittedly, Duluth has never flown high on my radar, but research (and some midwestern friends) has me intrigued. It’s right on Lake Superior with a genuinely charming Canal Park district, and seems to pack more to do than a city its size has any right to.
The Great Lakes Aquarium (like Echo above) is freshwater-focused and is, in fact, the largest freshwater-only aquarium in the country, with over 1,000 fish, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The main tank is an impressive 85,000-gallon recreation of Isle Royale (the remote Great Lake island), and it anchors both floors. There are river otters (two sisters named Agate and Ore), multiple touch experiences, and an H2O exhibit with water play designed for younger kids. (Yes, they provide waterproof smocks. Yes your kid will also get wet despite your best efforts.) The whole thing takes about 90 minutes at a relaxed pace, which is the right amount of time for most families with young children.
A few blocks away, the Duluth Children’s Museum is smaller but well-suited for the toddler-to-elementary crowd, with hands-on exhibits and ASTC reciprocal admission for members. Canal Park itself is walkable, with views of the Aerial Lift Bridge, harbor boat traffic, and the lakewalk running along the shore. In summer the city has a lot going on; in shoulder seasons it’s quieter and easier to navigate.
ASTC Passport Program: Duluth Children’s Museum participates in the ASTC program. Great Lakes Aquarium: confirm directly.
Best for: Midwest families looking for a lake-town weekend; kids who are into water, fish, or animals.
4. Albuquerque, New Mexico — Explora Science Center & Children’s Museum
Explora sits in the heart of Old Town Albuquerque and if you’re expecting something modest, be prepared to be impressed. There’s more than 250 hands-on exhibits on two floors, covering science, technology, engineering, and art, with a philosophical commitment to inquiry-based learning that shows up in how the exhibits are actually designed—less push-button-watch-thing-happen, more figure-out-how-this-works.
The laminar flow fountain, a perfectly smooth column of water that stays in an impossible-looking shape, is a perennial favorite. There’s an experiment bar where kids can test their own ideas, an arts and crafts area, and a high-wire bike suspended overhead that adults end up staring at longer than the kids do. In the warmer months, the Water Flow Patio draws kids like a moth to flame, so be sure to have a change of clothes handy. The museum also has a National Medal for Museum and Library Service, which is totally well-deserved.
Admission is unusually affordable—$10 for adults, $6 for kids—which matters when you’re also planning to spend money on green chile anything, which you absolutely should. Old Town Albuquerque is walkable from Explora and has the right mix of actual history, good food, and shops that are worth browsing. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is also nearby and rounds out a full day.
ASTC Passport Program: Yes. Explora is an ASTC member.
Best for: Families who want a lot of museum for a reasonable price; also strong for older kids and adults who want to actually engage rather than just observe.
5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Discovery World
Milwaukee gets undersold as a family destination, and Discovery World is part of why that’s a mistake. The 120,000-square-foot science and technology center sits right on Lake Michigan’s shoreline and manages to cover a lot of ground from interactive STEM exhibits and a working aquarium with touch tanks (stingray and sturgeon, if you’re keeping score), to a makerspace with 3D printers and laser cutters. There’s also a music lab and a working tall ship—the Denis Sullivan—docked outside and available for tours in season.
The Kohl’s Design It! Lab is the standout for older kids and the parents who secretly want to use the tools. It’s a proper maker space, not a decorative one, with real equipment and challenges that change regularly. The Great Lakes exhibits are genuinely interesting for anyone who grew up near the water and never really thought about where any of it comes from.
Milwaukee as a city is easier to navigate than Chicago with meaningfully less traffic, and the lakefront is a legitimate asset—Discovery World is positioned between the Milwaukee Art Museum and Summerfest grounds, so there’s enough in that corridor to anchor a full day. (Don’t miss the super cool musical park on the patch of grass nearby. Just look for the sparkly sculptures and follow the sound of the wind leaves!) The food scene has gotten substantially better in recent years, and the city is proud of its fish fry tradition, which is worth participating in.
ASTC Passport Program: Yes. Discovery World participates.
Best for: Families with a wide age range; the maker lab gives older kids and teens something with actual stakes.
A few other cities worth knowing about
This list could keep going. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is widely considered the best children’s museum in the country and sits in a city that’s genuinely manageable to visit with kids. Peoria, Illinois has the Peoria Riverfront Museum, which combines a science center, planetarium, and art museum under one roof with an IMAX theater. Providence, Rhode Island has the Providence Children’s Museum, which is small and excellent and pairs well with a trip to the RISD Museum when the kids are done. The point is that the category of “surprisingly good kids’ museum in a city you’d never plan around” is larger than most travel guides let on.
The ASTC Passport Program is your friend here. If you’re already a member at home, check the participating venue list before any trip—you may already have free admission waiting for you somewhere you’re driving through anyway.
