Great Indoor Hangout in Truckee

So you’ve booked yourself for several days, maybe a week, in the snow covered hills of Truckee. You’ve reserved every afternoon for skiing, tubing or snowman building, but what to do in the morning when its still too chilly to be outside? Well if you have kids ages seven and under, a great indoor hangout is the KidZone Museum.

This is a dome shaped facility that is essentially divided into three sections. On the right you have an indoor jungle gym for the toddler group and a baby zone for infants up to age 18 months. In the middle of the dome is an art room where visitors have access to washable paint, markers, crayons, and paper in many sizes and colors. On the left side of the dome is the Lucky Duck Farm area where kids can move animals around in a barn, use kid-sized tractors, wheel barrows, and even try on farm animal costumes. There is a lot of opportunity for imaginative play, and a surprisingly large amount of space in which to play around.

Another fun but not so farm-related activity includes a vertical board that has tubes and ramps which can be moved and velcroed back onto the board in different places. A ball is released at the top and either heads down the path of tubes and ramps created for it, or it veers offcourse requiring the young engineer to modify the course, and try again. There is a science room where kids can play with basic homemade objects which illustrate a scientific principal. Another area is a large indoor playhouse equipped with a kitchen and lots of knick knacks.

My personal favorite was finding a soft couch covered in blankets and pillows in a nook near a large window. There are kids books stacked nearby for anyone wanting a little bit of quiet time. Another more quiet activity is to start up a project in the art room. If you are needing some inspiration, there is a large statue made of cardboard and egg cartons on which you can add your own coat of paint.

If you are staying for several days in Truckee, it may be worthwhile to get a membership. A membership here, which is quite reasonable, will also get you into many other (more pricey) museums nationwide.

Note: We received complimentary passes to this musuem. This post is an accurate reflection of our experience.