St. Louis, Missouri: City Museum

Less a museum than the World's Greatest PlayZone, with precarious places to climb and secret chutes to slide. Plus the World's Largest Underpants, the World's Largest Pencil, and Elvis Presley's travel trailer.

City Museum

I have to stick up for this museum. It is the most crazy thing I ever have seen. It is like a haunted house for people like me, who don't like the overly gross ones. We crawled into this huge piece of artwork from a recycled shoe factory and ended up on the roof, challenging each other to climb up thin metal structures as they swayed in the windy sunset. Then we went back down the center of the beast by the 7th Foot slide, saw the World's Largest Pencil, a huge collection of building facade art mainly by Sullivan, and found fun in the Museum of Mirth and the Everyday Circus.

We were in there three hours and could have spent even more time; we never even got to the aquarium, said to be fantastic too. Maybe you have to be a kid at heart or an art or design fan to appreciate it, but you should definitely go if you get a chance. You have to crawl through the museum to get the best out of it, and I do mean crawl into, up and down in. Great for steam punks and those who want a Halloween house but without evil clowns.

[Nyx, 11/15/2009]

City Museum

The City Museum is great fun. We've been there twice. Go at night when they serve beer, and play the vintage baseball, shooting gallery and pinball games. Use the old black and white photo machine. Go down the slides repeatedly. Climb through a tiny tunnel in the floor. Climb the metallic sculpture straight up into the gift shop in the ceiling. Swing on a rope. It really never ends. But be careful when jumping into the giant ball pit -- it might be full of water! In winter they have a giant bonfire outside, as well.

They now also have a Big Boy statue. Stay until 1 am, and then go to the Courtesy Diner where they filmed the Chingy video, Right Thurr!

[Jamie, 10/01/2007]

City Museum

We went there on our honeymoon, and saw everything. It was almost creepy in a way, but it is well worth the $25 a person to see all of the weird stuff, including the underwear!

[Jen, 06/20/2007]

City Museum

We were just at the City Museum, and they do have the men's underwear. The new aquarium is unbelievable -- two-headed snake tunnels in the tanks to make you feel like swimming with the sharks, birds flying all around and special sites set up for petting animals. No doubt we will go back -- and my husband and I don't have any children.

[lisa, 04/27/2005]

City Museum

The City Museum may be pricey, but everyone will have that "kid in a candy store" sparkle in their eyes if they try to enjoy it. An aquarium just moved into the building, there are awesome caves, lots of tunnels, the skate-less park (I think more kids use it now, running up and down the ramps) and plenty of crafts. They have an evening program for adults on summer weekends where they have bands and serve alcohol.

[DeAnna, 04/05/2005]