(The Child Museum)
When you say “Let’s go to a museum!” what do your kids say? Do they cheer or groan? If the latter, I have the solution! The Cairo Child Museum is sure to please even the most reluctant museum patron.
As an added bonus, admission to the Child Museum includes access to the museum grounds. These grounds rank among my top five favorite parks in Cairo. This is significant because – let’s just be honest – Cairo is somewhat lacking in the public park department. Good parks are few, far between, and certainly not public in the “free” sense of the word. When you treat yourself to a trip to the Children’s Museum, you also treat yourself to one of the better parks the city has to offer.
(Exhibit on ancient Egyptian irrigation systems at the Child Museum)
Today I’ll highlight a few tidbits about the grounds, the museum, transportation options, and (as always) a few insider tips on how to plan and navigate your best trip to the Child Museum.
(Animals graze near the model of a Nile made entirely of blue, green, and white tiles)
Plan your trip: the Child Museum is open seven days a week (excluding holidays) from 10am to 4pm. Just know that if you try to contact the Child Museum in advance via their Facebook page to confirm the hours and other essential details, you are unlikely to receive a response. It is possible that you may arrive and find the museum closed for renovation or booked for exclusively that day to school groups. If so, no worries. The grounds alone make a trip to the Child Museum worth it; your children will have so much fun running around the extensive garden that they will (hopefully) forget they were meant to actually go inside the museum. Bring a picnic lunch and, no matter what, the trip will be a success.
(Front gate of the Child Museum)
The museum entrance: Assuming the museum is open, you will be prompted at the ticket office just outside the front gate to select one of several options: garden access only (currently 35LE per person) or garden access and access to one or more floors of the museum (packages starting from 75LE per person). If this is your first visit to the museum, I recommend you purchase admission to the garden and the basement floor of the museum. The basement floor exhibits are focused on the structures and art of ancient Egypt. The floors above contain exhibits centered on ancient and modern Egyptian culture and space discovery.
At the gate or shortly after you enter, you will be approached by a docent who will be your guide through the museum. You can request an Arabic or English tour. You should also be able to request to start your museum tour immediately or to schedule your visit for some time later after playing in the garden.
(Get up close and personal with African animals at the Child Museum)
The museum grounds: the central feature of the museum grounds is a model of the Nile. Follow the tiled model as it winds its way through the park and takes you through various Nilotic habitats. You may find the Plaster of Paris hippos, giraffes, and lions to be in need of repair, but your children will be delighted. And maybe you’ll just give in and let your kids climb all over the dilapidated animals like everyone else. Your kids will adore it.
(Follow Nile to the Cairo Child’s Museum)
Before long you’ll reach the playground area. There are several decently-sized playground structures that could keep younger kids busy for at least an hour. Older kids could explore the amphitheater, stage, and possibly play a game of soccer or frisbee on the expansive lawn. Depending on the time of day, it may be the perfect time to pull out the picnic lunch. Note: there is not a lot of shade, so you may want to plan your visit sometime during November-March.
(One of the several play structures on the grounds at the Child Museum)
The museum:
The tour is approximately one hour and is guided from start to finish. This can be both positive (you will need assistance in order to fully enjoy all the fun interactive exhibits) and negative (the docents have a memorized script and their English accents may be a bit difficult for your small kids to follow). Regardless, the exhibits are excellent and you won’t want to miss them. Try it out and see. My kids love it enough that we keep coming back.
(Exhibit on ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs at the Child Museum)
The museum staff will (nicely) insist that you check in backpacks, etc. at the security desk. I recommend you keep a shawl or hoodie with you; no matter the weather outside, the inside of the museum will be heavily air conditioned.
(Dig up your own artifacts at the Child Museum)
Transportation: Want to take your car? Good news: you can! Drive up to the front gate and buy a parking ticket along with your other admission tickets. You’ll then be directed to park in the back of the museum compound. You may also try to park on the street directly in front of the museum. Uber is also an option. And of course…you can take the metro. The Haroun metro station is just directly northwest of the museum front gate.
(Exhibit on ancient Egyptian agriculture at the Child Museum)
As I mentioned, we just keep coming back to the museum – whether to bring new friends, to attend a workshop, or just to play in the garden. If it is a hot summer day, you’ll find us inside the museum. In the winter, we’ll likely be enjoying the garden. Either way – I’ll see you there!
