Central America
Costa Rica
Province of San Jose
San Jose Metro
San Jose
Things to do in San Jose
Museo de los Ninos

Museo de los Ninos, San Jose: Address, Phone Number, Museo de los Ninos Reviews: 4.5/5

See all things to do

Museo de los Ninos

See all things to do
See all things to do
Museo de los Ninos
4.5
437
#8 of 93 things to do in San Jose
Children's Museums
Visit website
Call
Email

Tours and Tickets

The area
Best nearby
Restaurants
755 within 5 kms
Restaurante Silvestre
421
0.5 km$$$$ • Latin • International • Contemporary
Cafe Rojo
462
0.6 km$ • Cafe • Asian • Fusion
Isolina
148
0.4 km$$ - $$$ • Contemporary • Wine Bar • Vegetarian Friendly
Tournant Restaurante Y Cafe
55
0.6 km$$ - $$$ • Latin • Fusion • Central American
Alma De Amon
265
0.6 km$$ - $$$ • Mexican • Peruvian • Latin
Cafe La Mancha
75
0.8 km$$ - $$$ • Cafe • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options
La Criollita
310
0.8 km$$ - $$$ • Latin • Central American • Costa Rican
POPS
901
0.9 km$ • Dessert
Hotel Dunn Inn Restaurant
34
0.3 km$$ - $$$ • Pub • South American • Costa Rican
Bar Restaurante La Terraza
40
0.4 km$$ - $$$ • Bar • Spanish • Contemporary
See all
Attractions
71 within 5 kms
Galeria Namu
207
0.7 kmArt Galleries
El Sotano
38
0.4 kmCivic Centres
Parque Central de San José
308
0.4 kmPoints of Interest & Landmarks • Parks
Teatro Nacional Costa Rica
3,547
0.9 kmHistoric Sites • Theatres
Metropolitan Church (Catedral Metropolitana)
393
0.7 kmReligious Sites
Pre-Columbian Gold Museum
2,414
0.9 kmSpeciality Museums
Centro Costarricense de Ciencias y Cultura
8
0.4 kmSpeciality Museums
Central Market (Mercado Central)
652
0.8 kmFlea & Street Markets
Jade Museum
1,331
1.1 kmHistory Museums
Museo Dr. Rafael Calderon Guardia
13
0.5 kmArt Galleries • History Museums
See all
Popular mentions
4.5
437 reviews
Excellent
220
Very good
156
Average
48
Poor
12
Terrible
1
MnMsc
Paris, France243 contributions
Would not recommand at the moment
Feb. 2021
We visited the museum this month and I would strongly advise AGAINST visiting it with the actual covid restrictions. It has plenty of interesting opportunities for childrens to play, but at the moment:

- you are placed in groups with other families and literally rushed from one room to another. It was a big disappointment for us as we were with older childrens, so a lot of time were spent in rooms which had not so much interest for our little one, and when we got to the rooms we were looking for, the transport area, the playground (was closed), the supermarket, the dinosaurs, we had like 2/3 minutes to spend in them !! Really frustrating for everyone.

On the top of that, they made us pay full price for our little one, because my husband (who were the only one of us allowed to go to the cashier) didn't speak spanish. He said we had a 1yo, but the guy at the entrance kept saying in spanish
"3 adults".

Best to be avoided.
Written February 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Dan Gillotte
107 contributions
Review for the Museo Penitencerio
Oct. 2019
Trip Advisor doesn't seem to have a listing for the Museo Penitencerio that shares space with the Kids museum but it's ultimately separate.
A small but informative museum reckoning with the terrible history of this prison. The museum recreates the conditions using original cells. It includes actual graffiti from the prisoners as well as statues of inmates with authentic artifacts of the the period.
The museum does a good job at taking responsibility for the atrocious conditions they allowed at this site.
Written October 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Klaus Battenberg
3 contributions
very interessant
Jul. 2019 • Couples
The story of this museum is very interessant , they told us it was a jell in the past and now it is kids museum . It is located just in front of the hotel where we stayed Best Hostel San Jose, so we walked there by curiosity to see it, then we decided to enter and visit . It was really nice.
Written August 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
MiddleAgedCrisis
Cambridge, UK21 contributions
Ok. 10 min walk from cente
Apr. 2019 • Family
Ok museum which kept my two girls amused for a couple of hours. Locals get in free, but foreigners are charged which is to be expected.

Good selection of exhibits (space, dinosaurs etc) with mixed English and Spanish descriptions.
Written April 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Philip D
Leicestershire, UK11 contributions
AN ENGAGING AND INTERACTIVE ATTRACTION FOR THE KIDS
Feb. 2019 • Family
My wife and I took our 3 year old grandson to the Museo de los Niños. The museum is a short taxi ride from the center of San Jose. At weekends it does tend to get busy so try and arrive as early as possible. It is a museum for kids so all the displays and attractions are interactive.

Our grandson is dinosaur mad and the first stop just happens to be the dinosaur display where a giant Triceratops faces off against a T-rex. The children can dress in dinosaur costumes, excavate fossils and learn about these creatures from displays around the exhibit. He loved it.

Each section of the museum covers different aspects of life. There is a safe city where the children can learn about the various rescue services and dress as police officers or firemen. They can shop in a kid’s supermarket.

There are sections covering the Earth and the Solar System, space travel, as well as personal health and hygiene. There are two aircraft cockpits, a fire engine and a London double-decker bus to explore. A large section covers the history of Costa Rica from early indigenous people through to modern times.

You can enter a small farm display and we had great difficulty trying to get the little guy away from milking the metal cow.

There is a house of distorted perception which leaves you feeling very peculiar and a hall of mirrors which allow you to take some strange photographs.

We spent a full morning in the museum and by lunch time it was full of people, so it is obviously a popular attraction for the locals. From the outside the museum looks like a fortress and that is exactly what it was, the penitentiary. There are many interesting photographs on the walls of the corridors showing how it looked before and how the same spot looks now.

If you are staying in San Jose with small children I would certainly recommend the Museo de los Niños as a worthwhile and educational way to pass the morning.
Written February 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Carlos U
San Jose, Costa Rica23 contributions
It is mainly for local children, not a real tourist attraction.
Oct. 2018 • Family
This is a great children's interactive museum, but it is not a real tourism attraction. It is made and oriented for local kids to discover and enjoy.
Written October 29, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
jcabezas2016
San Jose, Costa Rica15 contributions
A great place for kids to have fun and adults to look at what the jail was like.
May 2018 • Couples
As it's name indicates it is great for children (School ages). Quite a few interactive exhibits where kids can learn as they play. The museum employees are young high school and college students, courteous and great kid entetainers.
Written August 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
daviddD135XM
12 contributions
Excellent family day-trip
Aug. 2018 • Family
Highly recommended activity for a family day in San Jose. We spent most of the day here. Lots of activities and hands-on science and nature exhibits for the kids. Climb into a plane, train, helicopter, see some colonial history. Worth the small extra cost to visit the dinosaur exhibit - lots of animatronics. Very interesting back story and exhibits down a prison hallway.
Written August 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
INJRtraveling
Israel34 contributions
Not a must
Aug. 2018 • Family
We were not very impressed with the museum. Many things were not translated to English which didn’t help, and some exhibits were not very well maintained.
The dinosaurs exhibit doesn’t include real things but rather recreations and our kids got bored of it very quickly.
Yet, they did like playing with the airplanes, in the ‘bank’ and other places. Ok if you need to pass time in the city and give the kids a place to play
Written August 23, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Walter J
Heredia, Costa Rica52 contributions
Great place
Aug. 2018 • Family
Everything was nice and clean. The attaching were cleared and we'll.thought... Perhaps a better cafeteria with more options is needed
Written August 6, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
2
…
Showing results 1-10 of 173
Anything missing or inaccurate?
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Frequently Asked Questions about Museo de los Ninos