Closed Aug 25-29: Reset & Refresh Week is coming! LEARN MORE
Birthday Parties: There's no better place to celebrate! LEARN MORE
Move it! Dig it! Do it! Don't miss our biggest event of the year! LEARN MORE
Kinder Club: Fall registration open for 3, 4, & 5-year-olds! LEARN MORE

Blue Room

Become an architect of imagination as you build and create with giant blue blocks

The Blue Room exhibit is a space for imagination, featuring giant building blocks and many other blue props that offer endless opportunities for kids to build, create, and explore. Whether they’re crawling or climbing, kids of all ages can tap into their imagination and transform their environment in the Blue Room.

Imagination Playground blocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including cubes, bricks, cogs, curves, and cylinders, each with unique features that fit together in endless combinations. Children can use these blocks to build objects such as animals, rocket ships, and robots, as well as imaginative places like houses, factories, and cities. Through this self-directed, open-ended play, children have the chance to express themselves.

Playing with blue blocks offers children many benefits, depending on their age. For infants and toddlers, simply moving the blocks around or climbing on them helps build their motor skills. As children get older, building simple structures allows them to experiment with prediction and cause and effect (“What happens when I place this block on top?”). More complex structures encourage spatial awareness and help children intuitively learn about balance, mass, and gravity. By the time children reach ages 7-10, their structures often reflect things they’ve seen in the real world, and they engage in social play by negotiating and working collaboratively. There is no limit to what children, teens, and even adults can create!

Ways to Play

  1. Create a structure that will fit your whole group
  2. Create a structure using at least one of each type of building block
  3. Design something with a moving part
  4. Recreate something that you saw today on your way to the museum

This exhibit initiates

Other exhibits

City Orchard

Sorting, selling, and counting fun is always in season in this apple orchard
Read exhibit details

Coral Cove

Discover hidden treasures and daring adventures in this swashbuckling exhibit
Read exhibit details

City Money

Build financial literacy skills as you play with earning, spending, saving and giving
Read exhibit details

Shape the Future of Play!

Please take a moment to share your thoughts in our 5-minute survey. Your feedback will help us keep the museum’s exhibits and programs fun, accessible, and meaningful for every child.

Give the gift of play!

Fuel their curiosity and create lasting memories—memberships, gift certificates, and unique toys from our gift shop will spark joy, learning, and endless play!

Closed August 25th-29th

The Iowa Children’s Museum will be closed Monday, August 25th, through Friday, August 29th, for routine cleaning and maintenance. This includes STEM Family Free Night. Thank you for your patience while we work to make our exhibits even better for your next visit!

Due to Winter Weather

We will be closing at 5:00 pm on 2/12

Thank you for your understanding!