Top Rated Kids Museums in the World

Just because you have a mischievous baby doesn’t mean you have to give up your museum fetish. There are some incredible ones around the world that the entire family is bound to enjoy. After hours of research, I’ve compiled an organized (eh, some may say unorganized) list of the top rated kids museums in the world, and I did it just for you!

Special thanks to one of my go-to Facebook travel groups, Families Who Love to Travel, and Sheila Hortsman Maassen (aka Wicked Family Travels on Instagram), who initiated the Facebook post about favorite museums. And of course, thanks to all of those who commented with their helpful suggestions! You all made this list possible.

From what I’ve gathered, the most museum-centric cities to visit are (most of which are no surprise):

• London
• Chicago
• Stockhom
• New York City
• Washington, D.C.
• San Francisco
• Paris
• Los Angeles
• Helsinki

Now brace yourselves for the monstrosity of a table you’ll find below. If you aren’t up for the reading assignment, then pay close attention to the asterisks, noting the most popular museums and those with the most rave reviews.

Top rated kids museums in the world:

Museum	City/State	Country
Rozafa Castle	Shkoder	Albania
War Memorial	Canberra	Australia
National Maritime Museum	Sydney	Australia
Pankratium	Gmund	Austria
Stadtturmgalerie	Gmund	Austria
Festung Hohensalzburg	Salzburg	Austria
Hellbrunn Palace	Salzburg	Austria
Schloss Schonbrunn + Children’s Museum	Vienna	Austria
*House of Music	Vienna	Austria
Red Star Line Museum	Antwerp	Belgium
National Chocolate Museum	Antwerp	Belgium
Natural History Museum	Bruges	Belgium
Chip Museum (quirky)	Bruges	Belgium
Mini Europe	Brussels	Belgium
Heritage Park Historical Village	Calgary	Canada
TELUS Spark Science Center	Calgary	Canada
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology	Drumheller, Alberta	Canada
Upper Canada Village	Ontario	Canada
Canadian Children’s Museum	Ottawa	Canada
Ottawa Space Museum	Ottawa	Canada
Royal Ontario Museum	Toronto	Canada
Royal British Columbia Museum	Victoria, BC	Canada
Agriculture Museum	Prague	Czech
KGB Museum	Prague	Czech
Kildeparken	Aalborg	Denmark
Experimentarium	Copenhagen	Denmark
Viking Ship Museum	Roskilde	Denmark
*Grand Egyptian Museum	Cairo	Egypt
The British Museum	London	England
Imperial War Museum	London	England
*London Transport Museum	London	England
*Natural History Museum	London	England
*Science Museum	London	England
The Charles Dickens Museum	London	England
The Royal Academy of Music	London	England
The Clockmaker’s Museum	London	England
Brooklands Museum	Weybridge	England
Jorvik Museum	Yorkshire	England
National Railway Museum	Yorkshire	England
York Castle Museum	Yorkshire	England
Science and Industry Museum	Manchester	England
World Museum	Liverpool	England
Estonian Open Air Museum	Tallinn	Estonia
NUKU Theater	Tallinn	Estonia
HAM	Helsinki	Finland
Kiasma	Helsinki	Finland
Sederholm House – Children’s Town	Helsinki	Finland
Centre de Decouverte Son	Bretagne	France
Memorial de Caen	Caen	France
La Cite de Mer	Cherbourg	France
The Clos Normand	Giverny	France
The Erik Satier Museum	Honfleur	France
Musee des Confuences	Lyon	France
June Beach Museum	Normandy	France
Caramels d’Isigny	Normandy	France
La Harmoniere	Normandy	France
Musee de la Musique	Paris	France
l’Orangerie	Paris	France
The Louvre	Paris	France
Chocolate Museum	Paris	France
Musee d’Orsay	Paris	France
Musee de Cluny	Paris	France
The Clos Luce (Leonardo da Vinci Museum)	Val de Loire	France
Saalburg Museum	Bad Homburg	Germany
Puppentheater Museum	Berlin	Germany
East Side Gallery	Berlin	Germany
*The Spy Museum	Berlin	Germany
Bundeswehr Military History Museum	Dresden	Germany
Black Forest Open Air Museum	Gutach	Germany
Experimenta Science Museum	Heilbronn	Germany
Toy Museum (Spielzeug Museum)	Munich	Germany
Lochmuhle (Amusement Park)	Wehrheim	Germany
Eltz Castle	Wierschem	Germany
Acropolis Museum	Athens	Greece
National Archaeological Museum	Athens	Greece
The Royal Tombs of Alexander the Great’s Family	Vergina	Greece
Military History Museum	Budapest	Hungary
House of Music	Budapest	Hungary
Saga Museum	Reykjavik	Iceland
Perlan	Reykjavik	Iceland
Eldheimar Volcano Museum	Sudhurland	Iceland
Skogar Museum	Sudhurland	Iceland
National Museum	Delhi	India
Albert Hall Museum	Jaipur	India
W5	Belfast	Ireland
The Titanic Museum	Belfast	Ireland
National Museum of Ireland	Dublin	Ireland
Dublinia	Dublin	Ireland
Yad Vashem	Jerusalem	Israel
Academia	Florence	Italy
The Innocenti Museum	Florence	Italy
National Archaeological Museum	Naples	Italy
*DaVinci Experience	Rome	Italy
Gladiator Museum	Rome	Italy
Borghese Gallery	Rome	Italy
Samurai and Ninja Museum	Kyoto	Japan
Hakone Open Air Museum	Hakone	Japan
Miraikan, The Emerging Science Center	Tokyo	Japan
*Petrosains Discovery Center	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia
Esplora	Valletta	Malta
Museo del Papalote (older kids)	Mexico City	Mexico
Donkey Farm	Podgorica	Montenegro
Archeon Museum Park	Alphen	Netherlands
Nemo Science Museum	Amsterdam	Netherlands
Anne Frank House	Amsterdam	Netherlands
Loo Palace	Apeldoorn	Netherlands
*Dutch Open Air Museum	Arnheim	Netherlands
*Rijksmuseum van Oudheden	Leiden	Netherlands
Zaanse Schans	Zandaam	Netherlands
Kinderboecken Museum	The Hague	Netherlands
Zuiderzee Museum	Enkhuizen	Netherlands
Te Papa	Wellington	New Zealand
Kon Tiki Museum	Oslo	Norway
Museum of the Viking Age	Oslo	Norway
Nobel Peace Prize Museum	Oslo	Norway
Museo de Oro	Lima	Peru
National Coach Museum	Lisbon	Portugal
National Museum of Flight	Edinburgh	Scotland
Edinburgh Castle, National War Museum	Edinburgh	Scotland
Glasgow Science Museum	Glasgow	Scotland
Belgrade Fortress	Belgrade	Serbia
Ice Cream Museum		Singapore
Art Science Museum		Singapore
Lee Kong Chian Natural HIstory Museum		Singapore
Apartheid Museum	Johannesburg	South Africa
Teddy Bear Museum	Seoul	South Korea
Museo de la Ciencia CosmoCaixa	Barcelona	Spain
Museo Taurino de Madrid	Madrid	Spain
*Vasa Museum	Stockholm	Sweden
Skansen Open Air Museum	Stockholm	Sweden
Junibacken	Stockholm	Sweden
Paper Museum	Basel	Switzerland
Natural History Museum	Basel	Switzerland
Emmentaler Schaukaeserei	Bern	Switzerland
Lindt Chocolate Museum	Kilchberg	Switzerland
Transportation Museum	Lucerne	Switzerland
Alimentarium Food Museum	Vevey	Switzerland
Chillon Castle	Veytaux	Switzerland
National Museum of Natural Science	Taichung	Taiwan
Topkapi Palace Museum	Istanbul	Turkey
Museum of the Future	Dubai	UAE
Perfume Museum	Dubai	UAE
Arizona Museum of Natural History	Mesa, AZ	USA
Petersen House Museum	Tempe, AZ	USA
*Musical Instrument Museum	Phoenix, AZ	USA
Crystal Bridges Art Museum	Bentonville, AR	USA
Museum of Jurassic Technology	Los Angeles, CA	USA
Peterson Car	Los Angeles, CA	USA
California Science Museum	Los Angeles, CA	USA
The Getty Museum	Los Angeles, CA	USA
California State Railroad Museum	Sacramento, CA	USA
Children’s Museum	San Diego, CA	USA
Exploratorium	San Francisco, CA	USA
Musee Mecanique	San Francisco, CA	USA
Alcatraz	San Francisco, CA	USA
California Academy of Sciences	San Francisco, CA	USA
Bay Area Discovery Museum	Sausalito, CA	USA
Ringling Museum	Sarasota, FL	USA
Castillo de San Marcos National Monumen	St. Augustine, FL	USA
Frost Science	Miami, FL	USA
The Field Museum	Chicago, IL	USA
Museum of Science and Industry	Chicago, IL	USA
The Art Institute	Chicago, IL	USA
Chicago History Museum	Chicago, IL	USA
*Indianapolis Children’s Museum	Indianapolis, IN	USA
WWII Museum	New Orleans, LA	USA
Maine Maritime Museum	Bath, ME	USA
Plymouth Plantation	Plymouth, MA	USA
Boston Science Museum	Boston, MA	USA
Henry Ford Museum	Dearborn, MI	USA
*City Museum	St. Louis, MO	USA
La Hougue Bie	Saint Savious, NJ	USA
Wilbur D. May Museum	Reno, NV	USA
National Automobile Museum	Reno, NV	USA
The Tenement Museum	NYC, NY	USA
The Cloisters	NYC, NY	USA
Museum of Natural History	NYC, NY	USA
Museum of the City of New York	NYC, NY	USA
The MET	NYC, NY	USA
MoMa	NYC, NY	USA
Transit Museum	Brooklyn, NY	USA
The Rock N Roll Museum	Cleveland, OH	USA
Please Touch	Philadelphia, PA	USA
Journey Museum	Rapid City, SD	USA
The World’s Largest Spicy Sauce Museum	Gatlingburg, TN	USA
Parthenon Museum	Nashville, TN	USA
Frist Art Museum	Nashville, TN	USA
Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Museum and Gardens	Nashville, TN	USA
Country Music Hall of Fame Museum	Nashville, TN	USA
Dallas Museum of Art	Dallas, TX	USA
Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum	Chantilly, Virginia	USA
Museum of Flight	Seattle, WA	USA
Ballad Locks Visitor Center, Museum	Seattle, WA	USA
National Air and Space Museum	Washington DC	USA
National Museum of Women in the Arts	Washington DC	USA
International Spy Museum	Washington DC	USA
Holocaust Museum	Washington DC	USA
Buffalo Bill Center of the West	Cody, WY	USA
War Remnants Museum	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam

Do you want to head to Europe to knock out some of these with the kids? Check out a few of my fantastic European itineraries.

Now tell me, what would you add to this list of top rated kids museums in the world?

And dare I ask, is there anything you’d remove???