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| - I'm a parent of an energetic 1.5 year old kiddo. The first time I brought my son to the I.D.E.A. Museum was when he was 6 months old, and I liked the potential of the the place so much that I purchased a membership. I believe I was a bit hasty with that purchase now. In my experience, the pros and cons of the I.D.E.A. Museum are as follows:
Pros: convenience of location to those of us in the East Valley; fun activity/craft stations in the main portion of the museum (although a bit too "advanced" for a younger toddler, so we just do what we can!); museum gallery themes are interesting, informative and often interactive; younger kids seem to have fun in the Artville section; the outdoor instruments and proximity to other downtown Mesa attractions are bonuses!
Cons: the young children's section, Artville, while cute, is often full of children too old to be in there, who tend to trample on/knock over the little ones; Artville has also unfortunately been pretty dirty every visit and I'm not sure that the toys are ever sanitized properly--especially in the padded baby area. I'm really not a germphobe, but, honestly, some of the toys are flat-out crusted with gunk. My son has gotten sick (croup, HFM, colds) after every single visit we've made there--and now, after about a dozen times, I've finally stopped thinking this is a coincidence.
Unfortunately, there are so just many toddlers drooling/chewing/snotting/sneezing/etc. on things (as toddlers do), with no sanitization stations for parents and very few volunteers on hand to help clean things, that it seems inevitable that any little sickness could easily spread.
While I get that kids hanging around kids and getting sick is kinda par for the course, it never seems to happen after our visits to the Phoenix Children's Museum, the Science Center, or local recreation/community centers, where greater attention seems to be paid to consistent clean up. I'll stick to those activities moving forward--the convenience of the I.D.E.A location just doesn't outweigh having a sick child as a result of every visit.
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