Like most children's museums, the Three Rivers Children's Museum in Richland, Washington was set up as an educational center. It works to extend learning at home, in school, and in the community through art, science, and humanities. This children's museum has been open since 1991. Since then it has seen about 210,000 children and parents. The facilities are a 3,500 square foot building at Broadmoor Square Mall. The exhibits are in 3,000 square feet, while the rest is offices, a gift shop, and meeting rooms for workshops and parties.
The main goal of the Children's Museum is to help children 2 to 10 learn in a safe and secure environment. The exhibits are interactive in sections to make the learning fun. Admission is very inexpensive at $3 per person including children and adults. Operating hours can vary, but in general they are Sunday through Tuesday closed, Wednesday through Friday 10am to 5pm, and Saturday noon to 5pm.
The exhibits at Three Rivers Children's Museum range from performances to interactive adventures for children. For example one of the exhibits is the Castle Performance Stage. Throughout the year they have stage performances with children dressing up in renaissance costumes and playing on the medieval castle. Creative kitchen is another exhibit. Children are able to play in a kitchen with tables, chairs, and cabinets. All of the equipment is kid sized, so they can role play and learn about the responsibilities of a kitchen. Anyone's little chef will enjoy this area.
Lowe's Workshop has been sponsored by Lowe's Home Improvement Company. It is a workshop where children can create a doorstep or other project. Tools such as a tape measure and even Mec construction toys will be found here. If creating a home is not in the plans for fun, visitors have the Post Office exhibit. Here children are able to work in a post office setting with real mailbags and attire. One can sort through mail, deliver it, and learn about how the post office works.
Among the other theater attractions is the Puppet Theater. Here children can create their own puppet as well as play with the puppets that are already there. One can host the play or just sit down to watch. The School Bus area is based on the Magic School Bus. It is meant to be a classroom area for Eagle scouts to teach children, and of course a little bus driving fun.
For the younger guests there is the Toddler Play Area. Moms and the younger generations are able to play with age appropriate toys. Newborns to toddlers will find something in this area to keep them occupied, especially with a train table, books, and puppets. Anyone wishing to be an engineer on a Union Pacific Train will enjoy this exhibit. There is a place to drive the train, use switches, and be a traveler on the train. The last exhibit is the USS Friend Ship which teaches one about a ship's deck including how to steer it and navigate it.
