We spent many rainy days at the Children's Museum by the Historical Museum while I was growing up, so I was excited to take my younger brothers -- ages 10 and 14 -- to the new one. It is bright, colorful, and attention-grabbing the minute you walk in the door. We didn't make it past the first water fountain for a good 15 minutes -- turning a wheel changes the water pressure, challenging you to find the sweet spot that brings the spout of water parallel to the slide, waiting to carry the ball away. After finally tearing ourselves away, we stumbled into a sunken area with mazes of tunnels, a sensory water hut, and small pods perfect for curling up with a book. Then, we realized it was meant for ages 6 and under. Oops.
More highlights: Crazy tunnel area on the second floor. Art area (especially the decorated bottle caps that made up the walls). Screen that senses your facial expressions, creating animal noises that match what you do (yawn = deafening lion roar). Hamster/people wheel.
It also looks like they have pretty good, healthy food in the cafe, although we were full of farmer's market goodies and so didn't try anything.