Study Science and History at the Cincinnati Museum Center 1301 Western Ave., West End Science, history and fun abound at the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC). Not only does CMC contain world-class museums, like the Cincinnati History Museum and the Museum of Natural History & Science, it's also home to the Cincinnati Children’s Museum, which is consistently voted as a top 10 children’s museum in USA Today’s 10Best poll. At the Children’s Museum, kids can climb, crawl, explore and discover the world around them through eight educational and themed play areas, including two made especially for younger children. The museum center also hosts national traveling exhibits that delight both children and adults with their interactive learning elements and expansive collections, like the current exhibit, Barbie™: A Cultural Icon, which shares the history and legacy of the world's favorite doll as a source of inspiration and creativity for millions of children. You can also catch a film highlighting the wonders of the world in the immersive Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater. Films currently being shown that your kids will love include The Blue Angels, about the U.S. Navy’s elite flight demonstration squadron, and Space: The New Frontier. Call of the Dolphins, which takes a closer look at the underwater world of these sea mammals, will also soon be shown. Photo: Hailey Bollinger

The Children’s Museum at the Cincinnati Museum Center Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Kids in the Cincinnati area (and their parents) can rejoice: For the first time in nearly a year and a half, the Children’s Museum in the Cincinnati Museum Center will open to the public on July 1.

There will be an official ribbon cutting to reopen the space at 9:45 a.m.

As a result of the pandemic — and due to the attraction’s interactive presentation with many high-touch areas — the Children’s Museum’s doors have been closed for the past 16 months. But the lifting of COVID restrictions by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and access to the vaccine have allowed the CMC to reopen the beloved play zone (voted one of the top 3 Best Kid-Friendly Attractions in this year’s Best Of Cincinnati issue).

[PHOTOS: See Inside the Renovated Cincinnati Children’s Museum]

Although the CMC will have to limit guest capacity in order to ensure social distancing and proper cleaning protocols, the museum cannot wait to be a part of children’s learning experiences again, says CMC President and CEO Elizabeth Pierce. “Seeing kids climb through The Woods, splash through Waterworks and have those transformative moments of joy and epiphany are some of our most fulfilling moments as museum professionals,” she says in a release.

Guests of the Children’s Museum will have to continue to wear a mask in order to protect all those who have not been vaccinated, including the many children who are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for children ages 12 and up in May. Previously, the Pfizer vaccine had been approved only for people ages 16 and older. The COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson remain available for those who are 18 and older.

The Cincinnati Museum Center itself recently hosted a vaccine pop-up aimed at those ages 12-17.

Timed tickets are required and can be purchased at cincymuseum.org/tickets. 

The Cincinnati Museum Center is located at 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. For more details, visit cincymuseum.org.

This article appears in Jun 1 – Jul 6, 2021.