HealthWorks! Kids' Museum, St. Louis City

Location: 1100 Macklind Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110 (around the corner from the Science Center)

Website: http://hwstl.org/

This museum opened in 2016 and it is very cool and different. It costs $7 per person ages 3 and up for open play.  They do have some special events during the year as well, check their calendar for details.

By far my kid's favorite thing was the interactive man. He's a 55-foot long, 25-foot wide, 8-foot tall human skeletal structure that serves as a universally accessible indoor playground. It features a leg slide, a bone balance beam, and the ability to explore under the rib cage and play an electronic, memory-style healthy eating game that is attached to the digestive tract. Visitors can also walk inside the skull and learn about the different parts of the brain and their functions as the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, the cerebellum, and the brainstem all light up overhead. This structure also boasts an all about poop panel that features a passing gas sound effect (minus the odor), as well as informative displays about heart health and the harms of smoking.

Their second favorite activity was the dentist's office and pharmacy. From the website, "With the needed tools, technology, and dress-up attire, kids can transform themselves into mini-healthcare professionals, or play the patient or customer, in these real-life settings. The dentist's office provides the perfect place to practice. It’s outfitted with a dental chair, a stationary microscope showcasing oral health issues like cavities, a brushing and flossing station, an x-ray area, a good vs. bad breath display, and more. The medical office is just what the doctor ordered, complete with an examination table and stool, play medical instruments and equipment, script cards for guided play, educational resources, and MyScope technology that allows kids to see their skin in a whole new way. Need a prescription filled? Head over to the pharmacy where “pharmacists” can count capsules and complete the process of filling faux medication. And, while waiting, individuals can play a medicine safety game called “Pill vs. Candy”."

 You can fill up the capsules with little cotton balls, make a pill, and then put it in a giant pill container. They really liked doing this activity.

 They loved playing doctor and dentist on me!

Giving her the 'pill' he made

We watched a short 10-minute movie about digestion in the Delta Dental Theater. It was cute and had good tips about how important it is to brush your teeth and eat healthy food. Too bad I think the message was lost on my kids who asked for ice cream and snow cones for lunch....

The last area was the market and kitchen. From seed to plant to plate, this interactive play area allows individuals to harvest life-like fruits and vegetables from the garden, take them to market, weigh them, and make a purchase. From there, they can take their produce to the picnic area to create a healthy meal.

The fully-functioning kitchen is a creative corner that helps bring healthy mealtime habits to life. Live cooking demonstrations will utilize ingredients from the “Pizza Garden” growing outside the museum to show how easy it can be to make your own pizzas packing a more nutritious punch. There will also be an educational series on topics ranging from chopping skills to how to prevent cross-contamination when cooking.

 Coloring stations

The kids loved putting their food on the scale and weighing everything. They also loved the cash register and checking each other out.

You can turn the crank and make him burp.

I thought this was a climbing wall at first but it's a huge diagram of skin. 

Life-sized Operation game! He yells "Oh!" if you touch the sides. 

 

Guess the nasty smell. It describes the bacteria that create foul odors.