The Parent’s Guide to Imagine Children’s Museum

Dig for dino bones on a rooftop in Everett, Washington. Bottle feed a piglet puppet. Launch a plastic ball through a labyrinthian watercourse. Pilot a jumbo jet. Piece together endless puzzles. Bang out a melody on a larger-than-life marimba.

Imagine Children’s Museum, the large purple lighthouse-cornered building on the intersection of Wall Street and Hoyt Avenue, offers these multisensory experiences and more for children aged 1 through 12.

It also offers parents and grandparents the thrill of childhood creative play by proxy. A happy kid is a happy kid-guardian.

I’ve been to the ICM three times this year and every time I visit I find new activities that I didn’t know about before.

Here are five things I know you’ll appreciate about your next visit.

1. Actual activities IRL

Research shows that today’s kids don’t need more screen time. They need tactile, physical activities to engage their senses. The Imagine Children’s Museum offers a great environment to experience the world directly through play: splashing, climbing, building, designing, dancing, gluing popsicle sticks into structures. This “hands-on” play is perfect for growing brains.

2. Discover your children’s skill set(s)

The more activities your children are exposed to, the more their natural proclivities emerge. By taking my kids to Imagine Children’s Museum I discovered that my oldest daughter was definitely into nonstop karaoke, while my younger daughter wanted to hang out in the faux “veterinarian's office” almost the entire duration of our visit.

They both had a good time pursuing their separate interests.

It’s easy to promote learning when you know which direction(s) your children are already growing in. You can cater to your children’s strengths. Follow up your time at ICM with a visit to the Everett Public Library to get books on whichever subjects pique their interests.

3. Wear your kids out

Hard play = deep sleep. Wearing your kids out for a midday bedtime is the oldest trick in the parent handbook. Use it.

4. Novelty as discovery of skill sets

Modern kids often live in a curated, algorithm’d “reality” where they’re fed content that they’re supposed to like. What’s interesting to me is when my kids break character and express original interest in something that surprises me.

At the Imagine Children’s Museum you may be surprised to learn that your little engineer-in-training is a heck of a pizza artist. Or maybe your little ballerina has a paleontological streak. There are many personas to try on and you may be surprised to see which ones stick.

5. Funsies

A happy kid is a healthy kid. The most important thing about the Imagine Children’s Museum is that it’s fun. Kids go to the Imagine Children’s Museum to get their laughs and wiggles out.

What else could be more satisfying for a parent?

Cool hack: you can attend the ICM free of charge on the third Thursday evening of each month from 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.