A friend and her little ones are members of their local children’s museum in Arizona.  They love to go there and participate in events of all kinds, including hands-on food projects.  They are coming to visit me soon, and I cannot wait to take them to my favorite food-related museum, the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.  Calling itself “the best smelling museum ever created,” the actual experience corroborates their claim.  While the history of flour milling in the Midwest may not seem like a riveting topic, it is because it connects history, geography and food.  Why does it smell so good?  The Baking Lab does baking demonstrations that fill the whole place with that beautiful smell of freshly baked bread.

There are opportunities for kids to experience food, nutrition and food history at museums and historical sites across the country.  These opportunities help kids see connections of food to health, nutrition, region, history and more, and make kids even more curious about food in the world around them.

• Check out the Louisiana Children's Museum, which has children’s cooking camps.
  
• The McKenna Children's Museum in New Braunfels, Texas offers Tasty Tuesdays and Gardening Gourmet Wednesdays for pre-K age children.
  
• The Children’s Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, CA offers a special program for Little Chefs.  The four week series helps toddlers explore through making quick and easy edibles.
  
• At Port Discovery in Baltimore, Maryland, families can participate in the "Cook & Tell" program with The American Heart Association. Kids get cookin' real and heart-healthy treats in The Diner during this interactive story time with the help of a nutritionist!
  
• The Children’s Museum of Denver features My Market, a realistic market setting with ongoing activities supporting healthy food choices and good nutrition. 
  

Don’t know if there is a children’s museum near you?  Check the Association of Children’s Museums list. 

Is there a fun place for kids to experience food near where you live?  Share it with us.

My favorite foodie museum experience is the National Museum of American History Smithsonian's Julia Child kitchen exhibit.  Definitely worth a trip!

Tags:  Julia Child, children, experience, food, museum