Des Moines Children's Museum

10/16/2026

Crash explored everyone’s favorite liquid tiles at the Iowa Wild Kids Night game! Thank you for inviting us out!

10/14/2026

We had a great time bringing activities for the kids zone at the Walk To End Alzheimer’s. We love being able to support organizations doing great work.

10/13/2026

Goodbye water table - we’ll see you next year in our new home!

Tom Egan Water Table Artist came up to help us move the water table into storage for the next year. Unfortunately, our water table has a lot of requirements and won’t be able to make the move to a temporary space for us. Thank you to Tom and our staff members for spending a your day moving the water table safely!

10/12/2026

Come play in our final two weeks at our Valley West Mall location! We have lots of fun activities planned.

Monday: Spider slime
Tuesday: Frozen hand sensory bin
Wednesday: Pumpkin spice play dough
Thursday: Exploding pumpkin
Friday: Tp tube bubble paint
Saturday: Sticker witch hats

10/05/2026

Tomorrow, Monday October 5th, is the last day to come in and play with our water table. The water table will be headed into storage for the next year because it, ufortunately, can't make the journey to a temporary space with us. Come get your splashes in and enjoy our other activities this week too!

Monday: Slime guts
Tuesday: Eyeball stacking Play Doh
Wednesday: Pumpkin guts
Thursday: Play Doh monsters
Friday: Pool noodle monsters
Saturday: Chalk

10/02/2026

Dear DMCM Family,

We want you to hear this from us first.

Valley West Mall has been sold, and we have been given 30 days' notice. We must vacate our Valley West Mall location by 11:59 p.m. on October 31, 2026.

This is not the ending to our Valley West chapter that any of us hoped for. This mall has been our home for nearly a decade, and it's where so many of your children took their first steps into imaginative play.

We have known since 2022 that the mall would eventually be sold, so we planned for it. Part of that planning was securing our permanent home at 1200 12th Street in West Des Moines. Construction is beginning, funded in large part by your generosity through our "From Love to Legacy" campaign, which has now raised more than $4.5 million. We had hoped to open there in 2026, but we chose to take the time to build a space that serves every family the way we want it to. Our current goal is to open in 2027, following a full year of renovations and exhibit installations.

What has changed is the timeline and the short-term plan, not the long-term one. We are working through plans to move to a temporary location until our new home is ready for us. We will share details as soon as they come together.

Here is how you can help now:

📦Show up. We need hands for packing and loading, especially later in the month. If you want to volunteer, email [email protected] or sign up to volunteer (link in the comments).
🚚Lend space or wheels. If you or your company has a truck, a pod, or empty storage space, we'd be grateful for the use of it.
💸Give, if you are able. Every dollar toward our moving costs is a dollar we don't have to take from opening our new doors.
💻Stay tuned. Watch your inbox and our social channels. We'll share exactly where to show up and when as soon as we know.

Thank you for all of the support you have already given this museum. We need you again this month, and we are grateful to be facing it alongside you.

With gratitude,

Ashlen Sheaffer
Interim Executive Director, Des Moines Children's Museum

10/01/2026

We couldn't do it without our partners!

Thank you to Variety - the Children's Charity of Iowa for their continued support of the Des Moines Children's Museum! This year, the grant money will go to a universal changing table in a newly built family bathroom and a new and improved Sensory Room in our new facility! We can't wait to share more with you as our project progresses.

09/30/2026

We’re going all monsters, spiders, ghouls, and pumpkins starting Thursday with a full month Halloween programming!

09/28/2026

More rain in the forecast? Stay dry inside with fun activities this week!

Monday: Corn husk painting
Tuesday: Naza lines
Wednesday: Color sticker lines
Thursday: Tennis ball bob for apples
Friday: Watercolor spider webs
Saturday: TP mummy bears

09/26/2026

Today is Worldwide Day of Play! Come in and celebrate with us by doing what kids do best: playing!

Today's the day! Our World: Worldwide Day of Play is here, and children’s museums across the country are bringing their communities together to celebrate the power of play.

It's not too late to find a participating museum near you and join in a day of playful learning, connection, and fun! 💜 https://childrensmuseums.org/dayofplay/