Exhibits and Experiences

Six interactive zones spread across two floors, each with its own distinct theme. In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, children play croquet with the Queen and sip tea with the Mad Hatter among oversized, storybook sets. The Supermarket lets kids take full control — stocking shelves with plastic recreations of popular products, loading carts, and ringing up orders at the register.↗

Food & Family, a 3,650-square-foot permanent exhibit presented by GIANT, poses the big questions children naturally ask: Where does food come from? How do we prepare it? Through three interconnected zones — a shopping market, a home and industrial kitchen, and a neighborhood festival area — kids explore open-ended culinary play.↗

For the youngest visitors (age 3 and under), Nature's Pond offers high grass and a lily pond where animals are waiting to be found, while Fairytale Garden provides a cozy setting for stories and nursery rhymes. Older children can grab the wheel of a real bus or sail a model boat on a miniature Delaware River.↗

The Creative Arts Studio, opened in 2018, invites families into sculpting at a permanent clay station, collaborative mural-making, and cardboard structure building. Centennial Exploration connects today's young visitors to the 1876 world's fair through the story of the very building they are standing in.↗

Daily Please Touch Playhouse performances are original and interactive, designed to be a child's first live theater experience. The museum also hosts rotating temporary exhibits — recent programming includes PAW Patrol: Adventure Play, which opens in October 2026.↗↗

Visiting Tips

The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM; it is closed Monday and Tuesday. Getting tickets in advance is recommended, especially during peak seasons and school breaks.↗↗

If you can choose your timing, afternoons tend to be quieter than mornings when school groups flood the galleries. Rainy days bring bigger crowds, so pair your visit with a fair-weather afternoon if the forecast allows. The museum is wheelchair accessible throughout, with accessible seating, restrooms, and parking.↗↗

Free parking is available on-site for general visitors; museum members enjoy the gated lot. An on-site cafe and restaurant make it easy to extend your visit without leaving the building, and the gift shop offers play-themed keepsakes to take home.↗↗

Located in Fairmount Park along the Avenue of the Republic, the museum is a natural pairing with a walk through the surrounding parkland — one of the largest urban park systems in the country.↗

Good to Know

The Please Touch Museum is family-friendly and LGBTQ+ friendly, with changing tables, kid-friendly programming, and sensory-friendly mornings held periodically for guests with autism or sensory sensitivities. Active military discounts are available. With a 4.6-star rating across more than 7,300 reviews, it consistently ranks as one of Philadelphia's top attractions for families with young children.↗↗