What is Kidcity?

Kidcity is a one-of-a-kind children's museum for the early years, where little kids and their favorite grown-ups play pretend together. Each whimsical room is handmade by our artist crew to jumpstart imagination play for ages 1 to 7.

A museum is usually a place for looking, but a children's museum is a place for doing!

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Our Exhibits

Each room at Kidcity has a different “pretend-play” theme. There’s a Fishery, where kids use conveyors and pulley baskets to bring in the catch; a Space Age Roadtrip, where friendly aliens take a trip on Route 66; and a pint-sized medieval village called Middleshire, where kids build a castle and keep watch for Vikings. In “La Piazza”, a dolphin fountain shoots scarves into the air in an imaginary corner of Sicily. One room celebrates the beloved characters of the vintage Rollerducks(TM) television show. Our littlest visitors can play in the Toddler Sea Caves (only age 2 & under). There's also a Main Street, a Farm, and classics like trains, baby dolls, blocks, dress-up, puppets and more. Kidcity also has the only known Celebrated Bathing Fluid Dispensary — a hand-washing machine invented by the renowned Dr. Nostrum — which is as entertaining as it is hygienic. All of our exhibits are conceived and built by our in-house team of Jen Alexander, Scott Kessel & Matt Niland, with lots of help from other local artists. We're always building something new in our garage workshop, so you never know what you might find at Kidcity!

Our Story

Kidcity is a homegrown non-profit organization that started in 1994 with Jen Alexander’s plan to open a children’s museum in Middletown. Over the next four years, under the guidance of a local board of directors and with help from hundreds of volunteers and contributors, the museum took shape. The historic Camp-Sterns House (c. 1835), was donated by St. Sebastian's Church, after the building retired from a 70-year career as their convent. The City of Middletown donated a portion of a public parking lot as a new site for the house. On March 15-17, 1997, the old house moved 400 feet down Washington Street, spending two days stuck in the middle of the road when it got a flat tire (true story!)  After renovations to the house, our first hands-on exhibits were built by local artist Ted Esselstyn and friends, and Kidcity opened its doors to the public on September 26, 1998.

In 2003, Kidcity doubled the size of the museum with an addition that was designed to look like a second old house. The new building added an elevator and new exhibits, including a space just for our littlest visitors. Since 2005, the creative team led by Jen Alexander, Matt Niland and Scott Kessel has continued to fill the building with immersive pretend play experiences.

The Board of Directors continues to oversee Kidcity as a non-profit organization with the following mission:  The Kidcity Children’s Museum will celebrate a child’s natural curiosity by offering a downtown playspace where children ages 1 to 7 come with their parents and other significant adults to learn through play.  Kidcity is a safe and enriched educational environment that fosters the development of problem-solving skills and creativity.  As a child-friendly public space, Kidcity will support every parent’s effort to be the best parent they can be.

For more information, contact Jen Alexander, Executive & Creative Director, at director@kidcitymuseum.com or Sioux Wimler, Museum Manager at manager@kidcitymuseum.com.

If you’d like to make a tax-deductible contribution to Kidcity, please click the donate button. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, EIN#22-3396732. Thank you!