San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum

320 N Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025

Hours:

• Monday (Closed)
• Tuesday-Saturday (9:30 AM-4:30 PM)
• Sunday (12:30 PM-4:30 PM)

Overview

What a fun way to spend a few hours or the whole afternoon. The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum in Escondido may not be on the size or scale of the New Children’s Discovery Museum in downtown San Diego, but it is nonetheless, a great place for kids to experience and enjoy some imaginative and interactive play. The museum consists of numerous inside and outside play areas. Lockers, restrooms and a day care center are also within the museum.

As far as children’s museums go, the Children’s discovery Museum may be the smallest we have visited. Although lacking in size, the museum has some great areas and it is super cute. Children will undoubtedly have a blast here. The museum may not be able to occupy kids for the whole day however, but there are other great spots in the area to visit as well. For example, visitors can cross the street and visit Grape Day Park, which is my personal favorite playground in Escondido. For those visiting the area and looking for somewhere to let the kids play for a little bit, this is a great spot, especially on hot summer days. Additionally, the admission price is very reasonable compared to other children’s museums.

Features

Although most exhibits at this Children’s Museum appear to be permanent, it is possible that some may be temporary or rotating as this is the case without a lot of Children’s Museum, in order to bring new stimulation to kids as they continue to visit. It is possible that some exhibits may be different from my visit or no longer there in the future when others visit. Below I will describe the exhibits that were present amidst our visit in order to give others a good idea of what the museum offers and what they can expect to explore while at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum.

Indoor Play Area Features

“Our Home” Exhibit

• In this farmers market, kids can use their mini shopping carts to grocery shop and buy groceries at the play register. After this they can use their imaginations to cook and clean.

“Money Sense” Exhibit

• This exhibit features a banking and financing area to introduce kids to math and finances.

“Habitat Hangout” Exhibit

• Kids are introduced to two different San Diego County habitats here, including a coniferous and chaparral forest. The main attractions of this exhibit are a rock wall and a treehouse.

“Reading Book Nook” Exhibit

• This exhibit consists of bean bag chairs and nooks with plenty of books for children to choose from for story time.

“Imagine” Exhibit

• Musical area with percussion instruments and a puppet theater.

“Toddler Tide Pool” Exhibit

• This enclosed exhibit is solely for toddlers and their parents and shoes must be taken off before entering. This sea life themed area encourages toddlers to practice crawling, pulling up and beginner walking activities. There is a tumble area, a small slide and crawling tunnel, along with numerous sensory games and toys and a foam building block station.

“Experiment” Exhibits

• Light Peg Board and Light Table

Outdoor Play Area Features

• Dinosaur Discovery Area – Sand play area where kids can dig for Dinosaur bones

• Adventure Play Area – Tires That Kids Can Crawl Through

• Water Play Station Area – Legos and water toys with steps for kids to climb on to reach the water station

• Garden Area
• Toy Building Area

• Covered Picnic Shelter with 4 Picnic Tables

Scout’s Story

After a phenomenal 3 days in San Diego, we decided to spend our final morning in the area by visiting The New Children’s Museum of San Diego before heading towards Escondido to visit Grape Day Park and the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum.

On our last visit to San Diego, we ended our trip by stopping at Grape Day Park before heading home. It was early in the morning and there was no one else at the park. As we were leaving, I spotted the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum, which is located just across the street and commented to my wife on how it would be cool to bring our 1 year old daughter, Scout, here one day. At that time, Scout was in active treatment, battling stage 4, germ cell cancer. Being that her immune system was compromised, visiting the children’s museum wasn’t exactly a safe option.

Fast forward a few months, and Scout is now 2 years old and her cancer has currently been in remission for two months. We were excited to end our trip by visiting a place that we hadn’t been able to just a few months prior. Life has changed pretty drastically and rapidly over the past two years and we were grateful for what this day would bring.

Scout’s Day at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum

After leaving The New Children’s Museum in San Diego, we made our way directly to Escondido and The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum. As far as Children’s Museums go, The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum is on the smaller side. However, it still offers plenty to do and kids are sure to have a great time here.

Scout began her time at the museum, on the inside, playing at the little farmers market before making her way to the toddler play area. After perusing all the different exhibits, Scout made her way to the outside of the museum, where the July heat was becoming pretty intense. Luckily, the outdoor section of the museum houses a wonderful, water play station area with Legos and water toys. Scout had a fantastic time here and began dumping water over her head time and time again. She was now soaking wet but we decided to let her continue as she pleased.

There is a cool fossil digging area and building area outside as well but with the heat, we decided not to stay as long as we would have otherwise. Overall, our experience at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum was fantastic and we were incredibly grateful to have been able to finally bring Scout here and too let her experience it.

July 19, 2023

Notes, Questions and Thoughts

Admission Prices:

• $11.50 (General Admission – All Ages Over 12 Months Old)
• $8.00 (Military and Veterans Families)
• Free (Under 12 Months)
• $1 (Museums For All – EBT/WIC/SNAP Cardholders) (Good for up to 4 People – Must Reside in Same Household)

Yearly Membership Prices: For more information on what each membership includes you can follow the link below

https://www.sdcdm.org/visit/memberships

• DUO = $85 (2 Individuals)
• BASIC = $140 (Up to 4 Individuals)
• PREMIUM = $195 (Up to 6 Individuals)
• EBT/SNAP/WIC = $35 (Cardholders and All Dependents)

Getting to The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum

320 N Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025

Parking:

• A reasonably sized, free parking lot is present directly in front of the museum.

A 30 second walk leads to the amazing Grape Day Park, which is located directly across the street.