habitot children's museum

We stopped in to check out this adorable hands on activity/learning center right in downtown Berkeley. There are areas for water play, pretend store, painting wall, Spaceship with adorable spacesuits for the kids to wear, quiet reading nook, craft activity, etc... parents can enjoy watching their kids explore and experiment in ways that would create a mess in your own home...or explore with them! The staff is there to keep things tidy and they have a small retail store with very nice quality children's gifts. A great place to let the little ones let off some energy.

My grandkids have loved coming here. If you plan to come often, or if there are several family members coming along, it is a good idea to look into a membership, as the entry fees can add up. There are some areas that remain nearly the same from year to year, while other exhibits change. There is usually a water-play area (a change of clothes, and water-shoes are a good idea for kids who really like this area), a kitchen/restaurant/grocery area, and an art area. There are changing exhibits with vehicles (space shuttle or ambulance are ones I've seen) that kids can get inside of and "operate." Kids over the ages of 5 or 6 are less likely to find everything exciting, but if they enjoy art, they can still find something to do while their younger siblings play. It can provide a wonderful play space when families are starting to go stir-crazy when it rains for days at a time (does anyone remember when that used to happen in the Bay Area?!).

Liked: super hands-on. Multiple rooms that hit on different stimuli. Loved that if you become a member (we did not) there is a toy-borrowing system. they have a whole "library" of toys and you may borrow up to 3 at a time. really, really cool program. Disliked: very choppy, so that it was difficult to keep an eye on my 3 different-aged children. No fault of the museum's, just know that it can get hairy. Tip: bring change of clothes! The water exhibit and art exhibit can get messy!

They have very limited open hours, so check before going. It is especially good with toddlers and up to about 8 years old. Lots of activities. People bring their own food and either eat in the tiny lunch room or out in the hall.

Went there with my 2-yr-old and 3-month-old a couple months ago. I love the products in the museum store--it's a one-stop shop for encouraging my toddler to learn through play. Every time I go to Habitot I walk away with something--that day with 5 items! Wish I knew they had such a nice raincoat and rain boots selection before I settled for Target's only display model, which was more expensive than what Habitot had there!Previously, when I brought my toddler, he could not keep away from the water table. This last time, he went everywhere and it was just a joy to see him enjoy himself. Going to Habitot gave me so many more ideas about indoor play to start having at home. The price of admission, when compared to the bountiful ideas that I got when I attended, was minimal. I also appreciate they have a resource library and that was how I read the latest copy of the East Bay Moms newsletter.Although they have a toy lending library (such a great idea for reducing waste!), which I wish I could make the most use of, I do not trust my toddler with them at the moment. It would have been useful to know about this library before we had invested in all these look-good toys that only held my toddler's interest for a couple days or weeks at most. Looking back, if we had invested in a year's family membership, we would have actually SAVED toy money!Plus, they actually promote play, not all the academics that I keep seeing when visiting preschools. I felt for the first time that it was a permissive space and I could let my toddler wander from space to space within the museum.Best of all, it is in downtown Berkeley, very walkable and commutable for a mom who does not drive. I am so grateful for such a precious resource in our local community! Yes, it's not Disneyland or Six Flags, but at least I can be sure my active toddler is enclosed in a safe space and cannot run too far from me to catch him (very important when you've got an infant strapped to your front as the sole daytime caretaker).

I was very unhappy with our recent visit, I thought the place was very unsanitary, the play areas didn't seem like they had been cleaned in awhile and we were there shortly after it opened, so you would think it would be clean. The bathroom was disgusting too. On top of all of that, it was very expensive, I'm not sure why a parent has to pay full price? I will not be going back, ever.

My little gal loves it and they have parent's night out once a month. 5 stars for that alone.!

I took my two year old daughter to this museum (my nine year old had to stay home with Dad because the age range is only 0-6), and we had fun but I wouldn't say it's the best children's museum around. There is a small play store/restaurant with play food and a couple of cash registers and some shopping carts that she enjoyed playing with, an art studio where she made a Valentine, a space shuttle where some kids were dressing up as astronauts and zooming around the place, a small water play area and that's about it. I have been in places that were almost as small physically but had a lot more going on. I would say that if your kids loves to play dress up, or paint, or paint their faces, definitely check this place out. There is a AAA discount that gives one free admission, so take advantage of that if you have it.

My grandkids love this place. There are multiple areas for little ones with limited attention spans. They can paint, wearing aprons, and slop all over. They can create individual art projects with glitter and glue. They can plan in water. They can play with a train set, climb in a little house, shop in a little "grocery store" and many more opportunities to amuse themselves and learn in the process. The yearly membership fee is not prohibitive, either. I'll renew again for 2012!

I went with my friend and her twin two year old boys and they had a blast. One of them didn't even get passed the first exhibit of the spaceship he was having so much fun. While it's small, there's lots for little kids to do. They have a section for the "artist" in the family or a local grocer. The other one spent most his time in the water section. They provide the aprons, the water and toys. There's even a bathroom inside also. I would highly recommend this place. There's also a section for children under 20 months old. If you have an AAA card you can get a discount. Have fun!

Habitot is heaven for tired mommies and toddlers! I took my son when he was about 18 months and he loved every minute of our visit. It's expensive if you're just paying for a one-time visit, since adults and children both have to pay something like $9 each. But the great thing is that it's all enclosed so you can let your kid run around without worrying that they're going to get into everything - that's the point! And it's well staffed, so you don't have to clean up after them... someone else does it! A welcome break for both of us. If we go back again we will definitely get the membership.

Ich war mit einer 3-jährigen Mädchen und einem 6-jährigen Jungen dort. Zunächst ist es gar nicht so ersichtlich, dass es sich um ein Museum handelt, da von außen fast nichts zu sehen ist und es im Keller des Gebäudes liegt. Beim Betreten wurden wir nett begrüßt, aber der Preis ist für das, was wir erlebt haben, sehr happig! Für die Kleine war es wunderbar, alle Dinge auszuprobieren. Aber dass das Museum für 0-7 jährige Kinder sein soll, ist hier völlig übertrieben. Kinder über 5 Jahren haben hier keinen Spaß mehr, da alles eher auf kleine Kinder ausgelegt ist. Dafür ist das Personal super freundlich und die Kinder können kreativ sein. Es ist nicht das größte und das schönste, aber für kleine Kinder allemal ausreichend um sie glücklich zu machen.