AHA Museum in Lancaster, Ohio
I don’t know about you, but when I am on vacation or a mini-getaway, I love to find things to do with my kids that are not necessarily on the beaten path. I consider myself a pretty good expert on inexpensive and free places to play in the Metro-Detroit area, but it can be a challenge when away from home. On a recent trip to Ohio, we visited AHA: A Hands-on Adventure Children’s Museum.
The AHA Museum is an 8000 square foot play place is geared toward children ages 0-8. We took two seven-year-olds, one 5-year-old and a 4-year-old on this visit. They all had an amazing time. We got there as soon as they opened and had the whole place to ourselves, which was perfect for a couple of our non-neurotypical kids to explore before it got too crowded
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It was very well planned and spaced. There were 30 different “exhibits” including: STEAM Zone, Ball Mountain, Bingo Lake, Block Table, Bulldozer, Build-a-House, Crane, Honey-Comb Climber, Pattern Block Wall, Theater, Dino-Dig, and Water Table.
My daughter loved the STEAM Zone, which was an open Art area. She was able to use any of the supplies on the carts to create. She sat there for a good 30 minutes using the dab markers and colored tape. I was able to sit with her and still see the majority of the place and keep an eye on my son while he explored the rest of the museum.
The only place not visible and separate from the main play area is the water zone. The water table had two places for little babies to sit and play and plenty of toys to experiment within the water.
In the middle of the room, there is the “Plop Zone” geared toward non-walking littles. Parents can easily sit along the outside and the babies have a safe and soft place to explore.
There were plenty of friendly staff available to help at the AHA Museum. There were monitored doors into the lobby and it felt very safe inside. They have a designated room for food with picnic tables and sinks. Hand sanitizing stations could be found throughout too. Inside the play area were two family restrooms and other restrooms were located in the lobby (all of which had changing tables). There were no vending machines nor a gift shop or concession stand (which to me, is a BIG plus!)
They are also building an outside Nature Playscape to be opened later this year, and by looking at the plans on the website, seems like we may need to go back!
GENERAL INFORMATION for AHA Museum – Lancaster, Ohio
General admission is $8 per person
12 months old and under – Free
Museums For All Admission $3.00 with EBT card.
Best experience for children 8 years old and under.
1708 River Valley Circle South, Lancaster, OH 43130, (740) 653-1010
(ALL Year)
Monday-Saturday
10 AM – 4 PM
(November – March)
Monday – Saturday
10 AM-4 PM
Sunday
12-4 PM
Check out our list of museums in Metro Detroit.
Author: Julie McKeeman
Julie is first and foremost a mom of two amazing kiddos, Elliott and Bennett. She is an elementary school librarian whose passion is to create safe spaces for all children.
Julie is first and foremost a mom of two amazing kiddos, Elliott and Bennett. She is an elementary school librarian whose passion is to create safe spaces for all children.
