Museums & Educational Attractions in Philadelphia, PA
We list 26 museums & educational attractions across the Philadelphia area. Compare prices, hours and age ranges in one place, then pick the one that fits your day.
Sorted by distance from the middle of Philadelphia, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) is an internationally acclaimed contemporary art museum with unique Artist-in-Residence and Apprenticeship programs. Not only…
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This is an artist's club founded in 1860 that continues to serve as a gathering place for visual artists in Philadelphia. Members and visiting artists can view…
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The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is a natural history museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1812 and dedicated to exploring the…
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A museum of medical history in Philadelphia displaying anatomical specimens, medical models, and historical instruments in a nineteenth-century gallery setting…
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The Franklin Institute is a science museum located at 222 N 20th St in Philadelphia, PA. Families and children can explore hands-on exhibits and experiences…
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African American Museum in Philadelphia is a cultural institution in the city's Historic District dedicated to preserving and sharing African American heritage…
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An art museum in Philadelphia displaying impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings by artists including Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso…
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Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG) is a mosaicked visionary art environment, gallery, and community arts center that preserves, interprets, and provides access to…
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A museum on Independence Mall dedicated to telling the history of Jewish Americans. The building houses exhibits exploring how Jewish people have shaped American…
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Philadelphia Museum of Art is a major art institution in Philadelphia, PA, spanning a main building with roughly 200 galleries alongside additional campus spaces…
Museum of the American Revolution is a history museum in Philadelphia's Old City that traces the people and events behind America's founding. Families can explore…
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Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a museum and environmental education center housed in a historic building that opened in…
Stem Prep Lab is a hands-on STEM learning venue in Philadelphia offering before and after-school programs, Saturday classes, summer camps, and open play sessions…
A community arts organization in Philadelphia dedicated to preserving and sharing Puerto Rican culture and that of other Latino communities. Families can visit…
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Please Touch Museum is a children's museum in Philadelphia, PA dedicated to learning through play for all children and families. The museum creates interactive…
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Main Line Art Center Summer Camps offers weekly, art-focused day camps in Haverford, PA for kids and teens ages 5-16. Sessions cover disciplines like ceramics…
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Kubik-Maltbie Inc, located at 7000 Commerce Pkwy suite c in Mt Laurel Township, New Jersey, specializes in creating engaging experiences for children's museums…
A 650-acre arboretum near Philadelphia with woodland trails, meadows, and gardens that change through the seasons. Families can walk the 17 miles of paths, see…
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Sloomoo MiniMoo Philadelphia is an interactive slime experience located in King of Prussia, PA where families and children can explore hands-on slime-filled rooms…
The Stoogeum is the world's first and only museum dedicated to Three Stooges memorabilia, located in Lower Gwynedd Township, PA. Housed in a 10,000 square-foot…
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A history museum in West Chester displaying artifacts, manuscripts, photographs and artwork spanning from the 1600s to the present day. Families can explore…
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For over 100 years, the Delaware Art Museum has served as a primary arts and cultural institution in Delaware. It is alive with experiences, discoveries, and…
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A grand house in Wilmington, Delaware, displaying the largest collection of American decorative arts in the country. The estate sits within 1,000 acres of gardens…
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The Delaware Contemporary is a non-collecting alternative space. The Delaware Contemporary exhibitions and programs explore the boundaries of contemporary art and…
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The Delaware Museum of Nature and Science is a museum located in Wilmington, Delaware, offering exhibits and educational programming centered on nature and…
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The New Jersey State Museum is a museum located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, New Jersey. Families visiting can explore exhibits, view collections, and take…
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A museum housed in a building erected in 1758 as military barracks, now preserving the story of colonial and Revolutionary War New Jersey. The structure served…
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Where a card says no price or no hours listed, the venue does not publish it. We would rather leave the gap than fill it with a guess. Prices come from each venue's own website, and we publish one only when the figure appears on the page we took it from. Tell us if we are missing one you know.
Which one, by age
Two children three years apart do not have to be a compromise. The age line on every card shows what that venue serves.
Please Touch Museum
Best here for under 2, 3 miles out, listed ages 0–9 and admission from $2.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Best here for two to five, 1 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission $18.
Chester County History Center
Best here for six to nine, 23 miles out, listed ages 6–12 and admission $5.
African American Museum in Philadelphia
Best here for ten and up, 1 miles out, listed ages 6–16 and admission $10.
Free museums & educational attractions in Philadelphia
2 places on this page get you in free. That makes a short trip easy to justify on a day when nobody is sure how long they will last.
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Free to get in and 1 miles out.
Taller Puertorriqueno
Free to get in and 3 miles out.
By town
Most of these are not in Philadelphia proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Philadelphia
18 of them: The Fabric Workshop and Museum, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute, the closest 1 miles from the middle of Philadelphia and 10 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Wilmington
3 of them: Delaware Art Museum, The Delaware Contemporary and Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, the closest 25 miles from the middle of Philadelphia and 2 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Trenton
2 of them: New Jersey State Museum and Old Barracks Museum, the closest 28 miles from the middle of Philadelphia and 2 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 1 to 28 miles out from the middle of Philadelphia. Hours move with the season and with school holidays, so check the listing before you set off. If you run one of the places on this page, you can claim it for free and keep its hours and prices right.
Before you go
Grip socks. Almost every venue requires them for children and several require them for adults. Most sell them at the door for a few dollars. Bringing your own is cheaper and means you are not buying a fourth pair.
Check whether adults pay. It runs from free to full price and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you.
Weekday mornings are the toddler rush. If you want space, aim for after two on a school day. Weekend mornings are the busiest hours of the week almost everywhere.
Ninety minutes is the realistic ceiling for most children under five. There is rarely a gradual wind down. Leaving with time left on the clock is not wasted money, it is a better afternoon.
Call ahead in school holidays. Several of these venues run camps and private events that close open play with no notice on the website.
Looking somewhere else in the metro? Browse every kid-friendly place in Philadelphia.
Other things to do in Philadelphia
Museums & Educational Attractions in nearby cities
Common questions about museums & educational attractions in Philadelphia
How many museums & educational attractions are there in Philadelphia?
We list 26 museums & educational attractions within 31 miles of Philadelphia, PA. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which museums & educational attractions in Philadelphia publish their prices?
18 of the 26 here do, and each price was checked word for word against the venue's own page before we published it. The rest do not publish one, so their card says no price listed rather than carrying a guess.
Are any museums & educational attractions in Philadelphia free?
Yes. 2 places get you in free: The Fabric Workshop and Museum and Taller Puertorriqueno.
Which museums & educational attractions in Philadelphia suit a toddler?
5 of them list an age range starting at two or under. Check the age line on each card, because a place that suits a six-year-old does not always suit a two-year-old.
How did Mini Navigators choose these museums & educational attractions?
We list every one we have within 31 miles of the center of Philadelphia. Each is a published place with an address we geocoded and checked, and the business can claim its listing to keep the hours and prices current.
Do adults have to pay?
It varies more than you would expect, from free to full price, and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you. The price on each card is what it costs to get a child in. Where a venue publishes an adult price it is on the listing, and where it does not we have left it out rather than assume.
Do I need to book ahead?
Usually not for open play, but several venues cap capacity at weekends and during school holidays, and some close open play entirely for private events. Where a venue has its own booking page, the listing links straight to it.
What should I bring?
Grip socks, a water bottle, a change of clothes for anyone under four, and a plan for leaving before the meltdown rather than after it.
What else is there to do with kids in Philadelphia?
Philadelphia has 7 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The Philadelphia hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.