New Orleans may be better known for its festivals, nightlife and eclectic food scene, but the city also brims with family-friendly appeal.
This was a discovery my kids and I made firsthand earlier this year, as we strolled through New Orleans City Park, a 1,300-acre retreat located approximately a 10-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter.
In addition to stretches of green lawn and towering oak trees, the park is home to a variety of family-friendly attractions, such as the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, the fairy tale- and nursery rhyme-themed Storyland playground and the New Orleans Botanical Garden.
Its crown jewel, however, is the Louisiana Children's Museum, which relocated from much smaller downtown digs to a newly constructed, state-of-the-art campus at the park in mid-2019.
What I expected would be a quick museum pit stop ended up turning into a nearly half-day affair, with my kids -- ages 1 and 5 at the time -- refusing to leave until closing time. And even then, there was still plenty left unseen at the sprawling, two-story center.
At least one full hour was spent playing with the museum's Bean Machine, part of a larger collection of first-floor exhibits focusing on food and its journey from farm to table.
The interactive Bean Machine exhibit at the museum. Photo Credit: Christina Jelski
While the concept is simple, with the Bean Machine illustrating the mechanics of mass food production, the contraption itself is delightfully complex. The towering machine is entirely kid-powered, requiring children to move coffee beans up, down and around via a pulley, crane and conveyer belt. Best of all, the machine is a closed-loop system, meaning that as long as there were kids willing to keep it running, the coffee beans remained in perpetual motion.
For parents on vacation -- who, as they say, aren't actually on vacation but simply parenting in a new destination -- it provides a much-needed break, with the Bean Machine providing entertainment ad infinitum.
My kids also loved the museum's second-floor "Mighty Mississippi" exhibit, comprising a 100-foot-long water table that incorporates lessons on the river, its geography and related elements like locks, dams, drainage systems, ports and tributaries.
Positioned at the perfect height for hands-on play, the water table was a hit with my 5-year-old, who enjoyed sending boats down the pretend river and figuring out how to operate its staircase-like locks and dams.
Crescent City focus
"Mighty Mississippi" isn't the only exhibit that pays homage to New Orleans' rich heritage. Nods to local culture are peppered throughout the museum, from a brightly hued, shotgun-style playhouse and a "Creole Kitchen" exhibit complete with crawfish boil to a pretend food truck honoring Mr. Okra, a beloved community icon who sold fresh produce in New Orleans for over 50 years.
The museum also highlights New Orleans' vibrant arts community with its artist in residence program, through which local artists are invited to share their talents with children and offer daily art activities at the museum's "Studio in the Park" space. Each residency culminates with a final work of art, created in collaboration with kids who visit the studio.
During our visit, the artist in residence was BrioniClaire Armstrong, who was on hand that afternoon and working closely with children to craft colorful, collage-inspired artwork. The bright and welcoming Studio in the Park, located on the second floor, was one of my favorite areas in the museum, flooded with natural light and adorned all over with art created by artists and kids during past residencies.
For the grown-ups
While all these cultural elements help keep grown-ups engaged, it's the food, surprisingly, that makes the Louisiana Children's Museum a true standout.
The museum is home to Acorn, a casual cafe serving approachable-yet-elevated fare designed to appeal to kids and adults alike. At the restaurant's helm is Dickie Brennan, whose eponymous restaurant group is also known for high-end, critically acclaimed New Orleans institutions like Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse and Tableau.
That high-level pedigree means that Acorn goes well beyond the usual kid-friendly staples like chicken tenders, mac and cheese and pizza, although those are all available and well-executed. Instead, my husband and I were able to skip the kiddie stuff and enjoyed a trio of perfectly seasoned blackened shrimp tacos, crispy brussels sprouts tossed in hot honey and a hearty Cobb salad drizzled with a delicate sherry vinaigrette. Your average children's museum menu this most certainly is not.
We capped it off with some house-made ice cream, and once we were done with our meal we spent some time feeding the turtles that live in a pond near the restaurant. Turtle feed is available for purchase at Acorn, but restaurant staffers told us the turtles also occasionally like to snack on vegetable scraps from the kitchen.
Happy turtles equal happy kids. And happy kids equal happy parents, making a visit to the Louisiana Children's Museum one of those rare vacation experiences that hits the mark for the entire family.