Museum of the Southwest

We just moved to Midland two weeks ago so I was looking for things to take my 6-​year-​old son to do to entertain him. I read about the museum (here on Unilocal) and decided to give it a try. After one false start (they are closed on Mondays), we finally made it the day before school started.
We went to the Children’s Museum and there were quite a few kids there with their parents. What really made me happy was that my son met and played with his first new friends here in Midland at the museum. He hasn’t been this happy since we moved here.
There are a lot of things here for kids to learn from, including a make-​believe grocery store with a cash register, a make-​believe Burger King, a make-​believe vets office, and so much more. I could count off on stars because some things didn’t work and some seemed old and in need of replacement, but this is a kid’s museum, so they require money from the community and that might be hard to come by. Honestly, for the kids, they never noticed and it was just something a parent would notice — and since this is a place for the kids, I won’t count off on it.
Next up, we went to the Planetarium for a show and it was nice, a perfect length for the kid’s attention spans, and educational. There is also a small room next to the planetarium where my son and his new friends spent a lot of time learning more about the solar system and planets.
Honestly, I was very happy and will take him back because he had a lot of fun there and there is a lot there for him to both play with and learn from. It also looked like they were adding new exhibits that were not open yet, so I want to see those when they open.
I also heard they have a lot of family activities throughout the year in the park by the museum, so my entire family will be back to check those out. I think I will pay a yearly membership and make this a regular destination for my son and I to visit.

I’m a teacher and took a small group of elementary students to the museum on a Saturday. Being from a big city, I wasn’t expecting a lot out of it, but was pleasantly surprised at the nice little collection. They may not have a lot of art, but enough to spend a few hours enjoying art of the Southwest. They feature a good collection of New Mexico/​West Texas artists and were very welcoming to my little group of kiddos. The museum is free although they do accept donations.
There are several picnic tables outside the main museum in a sculpture garden. The Museum of the Southwest also houses a children’s museum although we did not go there.