Cape Cod Museum Of Natural History

Negative experience: Lovely place. Lots to offer. Great for kids and families. But absolutely the most atrocious parking lot in existence. Staff does not organize parking well and makes it dangerous. You are either there before they open at 10:00 or you don't come back until 1:00 is what I was told by a staff member. Will not come back because of the dangerousness of the parking lot, and the fact that you need to park at a public park down the way and walk along a dangerous main road to get there.

Fantastic experience: Very expansive museum! Love the aquarium!!!!

Positive experience: Cute, small museum! Kept the kids busy for a couple of hours. They enjoyed the different craft stations , especially those in the kingfisher play area (timed 30 min play slots).

Negative experience: This museum is definitely overpriced for when we went. I am not sure if there are more parts open during the week but on the Sunday we went, there was nearly nothing available to see. We paid $42 for 2 adults, a child and our second child was free under 3. We went through and viewed everything that was open in maybe 20 minutes. It was pitched as a great place for kids but there was nearly nothing for kids to do when we went. Also, it would have been an extra cost to walk through the butterfly section which we deemed not worth it. Overall this was a disappointing experience.

Fantastic experience: YOU MUST JOIN THE BUTTERFLY garden Staffs in there was very nice and friendly. I love the atmosphere of it, everything was nice and lovely. We’re from Boston so the museum is small for us but everything was a good new experience for us My daughter loved it so much especially the butterflies Overall is nice experience

Fantastic experience: The best smallest museum in town. Come learn about our unique ecosystem, see the unique bird life and meet friendly faces. Only rule: go early!

Fantastic experience: We had a wonderful time. Bubble time, mud kitchen, and kid friendly walks on the wild side.

Fantastic experience: This place way undersells itself!! We stopped in today and the kids could have stayed for hours. We easily were there for almost two hours and only left because it was really hot and lunch time. So many things to see and do. Mine especially enjoyed the aquarium and the mud kitchen. Definitely a great place to make a trip to on the Cape if you have kids!

Negative experience: Shuts at 14:30... in the peak summer season. Really?

Fantastic experience: Such a great place for younger kids. Filled with all sorts of educational and fun experiences, including a mud kitchen outdoors. Bring extea clothes for that part :D

Negative experience: Our worst experience in the States! We arrived to the parking a little bit before the opening of the museum. It was raining and the parking was totally empty in the beginning of may. An employee of the museum call Jerry shouted on us telling us it was forbidden to park here before the opening. This man was so agressive and impolite that we had to leave the place. I don’t recommend anybody to bring any kids to this place, this old man Jerry could shock them by his aggressivity!

Fantastic experience: It's really wonderful specially my kid just loved it. We couldn't explore all the trails because of rain but would surely come back again.

Negative experience: They do not accept cash. My client and I drove all the way from off Cape to visit. It was not posted on website that cash was not accepted. My client needed to use the bathroom and they would not allow us to use the restroom unless we paid admission, which we could not due to them not accepting cash.

Negative experience: I used to love this place and was excited to finally bring my own kids there. Found more than half of the exhibits to be closed only after we were inside the museum. Why close the children’s interactive exhibits every Sunday (a day when kids are out of school)? And with no mention of the exhibits being closed on the website or at the front desk, prior to purchasing tickets. My kids were not the only ones disappointed by all the locked doors and closed signs. The staff all appeared to be half asleep and none went out of the way to be really engaging. If you do want to give this place a try, go in the warmer weather, not on the weekend, and know that they do not accept cash.

Fantastic experience: The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is a fantastic spot for families! It’s educational, interactive, and perfect for kids who love nature and sea life. The highlight for us was seeing the extremely rare half blue, half pink lobster—make sure to ask the staff so you don’t miss it. A fun and memorable experience for all ages!

Fantastic experience: Fabulous place to learn about the environment surrounding the Cape. Especially enjoyed the walk across the marsh to Wings Island...just gorgeous scenery!

Positive experience: No strollers?! Odd for a place designed almost entirely for kids. Lots of rules and warnings on the way in, not the friendliest of welcomes. When we first rolled up to the desk, a Jane Buffin said with a scowl "number one no strollers . . . ". Wow, Jane, good morning to you, I'd hate to ever get to numbers two or three. Not the most fascinating or well-written museum, the aquarium feels a lot like what an amateur aquarium hobbiest might put together.

Negative experience: Don t know about what's inside. Did'nt make it. I asked to go to bathroom and the Girl Said i had to pays first, this is not a public restroom. So we backed Up to look at price chart a another lady told us that we were in their parking and to go park elsewere or make our Choice Quickly . That was enough for us. They are unfriendly

Fantastic experience: For the size, it's got a lot going on. Check their schedule in advance to sign up for activities - this is NOT a major metropolitan natural History museum and therefore some program offerings are only once a day or even once per week. That being said, some short trails, some hikes, mud play for kids, an aquarium, a butterfly garden, and a discovery center await those who visit. My photos come only from the aquarium and mostly just the unique one-in-multi-million lobsters they keep. BUT can those lobsters get larger aquariums?!?! They look cramped!

Positive experience: Went on a weekend and found out the more interactive things for little kids are closed due to staff shortage. Which is super unfortunate because I know my kids would've LOVED that mud kitchen area. This is the only reason why I docked the rating. The museum itself is cute and very informative.

Fantastic experience: Hidden gem. Probably the coolest, most educational mini-aquarium I've been to. Small displays that let kids get close up to all kinds of different fish and sea creatures. No touching in the tide pool tank which was a slight disappointment, but the sheer variety of animals was a mitigating factor. Great collection of rare lobster morphs as well! The native American section was thoughtful and informative. I particularly liked the soil cross section showing the different regions that are present locally. Fun rainy day cape activity, highly recommended for thoughtful 4+ year old children.

Negative experience: A mix up (definitely on my part) regarding admission to the butterfly feeding (under 16 must be accompanied by an adult- REALLY?!) was met with a total lack of customer service. As a museum dedicated to education and to children I found the attitude of the admission staff - particularly one woman) totally unacceptable. Will not renew my membership.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely fabulous - way better than you'd expect! Both the indoor and outdoor space were engaging, educational, and well laid out. Will make this an annual visit!

Fantastic experience: Absolutely a fun way for kids to spend the day. Between the mud kitchen, the exhibits and the trails expect a couple hours here

Positive experience: Nice museum. Great for children and adults. Aquarium nice. However in tough economic times I think it unreasonable to charge extra for butterfly garden, especially for a family with children.

Fantastic experience: It’s not huge. It’s not fancy. It’s just really fun and exceptionally well run. It’s clean. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. They put in great special programs. The trails outside and the butterflies in the summer are fantastic. Membership is a great deal. Our kids 4 and 8 are big fans.

Fantastic experience: We had a blast here and could have stayed all day! It’s great for children of all ages and that includes the adult kids. Believe me, it’ll bring out the kid in you! Lots of learning opportunities, activities and creatures to observe. The staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and a joy to chat with. We particularly found the active bee hive fascinating! I love that they are able to go outside and then come come back for all of us to observe.

Positive experience: Beautiful and quiet place. No dogs allowed. If you have a stroller with you, leave it in the museum or in the car. Nice view and nature. Lots of birds. The aquarium and museum were closed, which was a bit disappointing. ​

Negative experience: Not pleased. Drove all the way over there from Criagville as the online hours said "OPEN" and got to the door where there was a sign that created us with CLOSED!

Positive experience: Interesting for adults and children. In addition to the museum and aquarium, we did the guided nature walk to Wing Island and Cape Cod Bay and learned a lot about the plants and animals that inhabit the different ecosystems here. A nice way to spend a few hours on a Sunday.

Positive experience: Always a fun walk out to the ocean through the trails. I was there on the 4th of July and the bushes along the trails really needed a trimming. Also some of the boards were saggy and our feet got soaked. Just be ready for that.

Fantastic experience: Best Museum I have ever been to. A great rainy day option while down the cape. Or whatever the weather is. The bird exhibit and the observation area live with the feeders and osprey live cam for me are worth the price of admission. And amazing aquarium! You will NOT be let down. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: The museum was cool with lots of fish and animals in aquariums. Friendly and helpful staff. The best part was the hike out back though. Gorgeous views across the salt marsh and you can hike through the dunes right to the water. We will be back!

Positive experience: 2023 Update to review: experience today unfortunately was not as great. We happened to arrive about 10 minutes before opening and were planning on just taking the kids on the trail while we waited. A woman approached us and said that we absolutely could not park there if we were going to use the trails. I explained that we were also planning on going to the museum. She asked us to stand there and wait while she unlocked the office so that we could buy tickets first. We were waiting and my kids were getting antsy so I took them on the trails while my husband stayed behind to pay. They then told him that they had to physically put the wristbands on each person and he had to explain that we were already on the trails. Do they just not trust people at all in this place? Overall, this experience was extremely off putting. Seems like management is promoting an overly aggressive parking policy. Another thing, admission tickets are not exactly cheap and if you want to enter the tiny butterfly area it's an additional $5 per person or $8 to "feed" them with a sponge. Then outside if you want to use the "mud kitchen" playspace, you apparently need to pay for a timed ticket just for the experience of letting your kids dig around in the mud with a few tools. I don't understand why they feel the need to nickle and dime everything here. At Heritage gardens, once you pay everything is included- car museum access, the giant kids playarea (so much better than this tiny mud kitchen, the carousel, etc). Why can't they do that here? Just very disappointed overall. This place used to feel more special in previous years. Management, please take note. We won't be returning. It's not worth the price. The trails are lovely, however, so just go to those. One of the best nature museums around for little kids. My 2 year old and six year old both had a blast. This place is a gem! It's just the right size for little ones. Focus is on birds, fish insects and amphibians. There is a wonderful tinker/stem room and lots of other hands on activities, puzzles. This place is the best! :)

Fantastic experience: Very informative. Loved the pop-up areas for the kiddos to play. The butterfly house was amazing.

Fantastic experience: We are impressed with the multitude of great exhibits and displays at this museum. One could easily spend the day learning and exploring here. I will definitely be coming back to research for future lessons in my class. #TeacherLife

Fantastic experience: What a fun time, with so much fun & interesting things to do/see. I was a chaperone for my daughter’s school, so glad I volunteered

Fantastic experience: Charming! Took the kiddos and had a wonderful time. Lots of information and activities nestled within acres of nature trails through marshland and beach. Surprisingly large aquarium facilities on the lower level and a beautiful stuffed bird exhibit. Good pricing, good parking.

Positive experience: This is a hidden little gem. Well done museum with lots to do hands on for kids. Was small, and so we cleared it pretty quickly. The walk to wing island from here was nice and was definitely worth the trip.

Fantastic experience: I took my Grandson there, we had a great time. The trail to the waterfront was amazing. Love this place!

Fantastic experience: We came for the awesome trail that goes through the salt marsh and the tidal basin, but the museum was way more amazing that I expected! Lots of stuff for kids to do and explore, with a delightful aquarium!

Fantastic experience: We have now visited here twice and it has been different each time but both great. The staff were very friendly and answered all of the questions of a curious 6 year old! They have a nice activity room for kids to do lots of hands on experiments, you can watch the camera of the osprey nest, go downstairs and see all of the fun fish, and outside is a netted butterfly area that is filled with them and a lot of fun!

Fantastic experience: Both the kids were so excited we came by here. Just emailed them for more info on there programs. They do a good job and are patient with even the rowdiest of kiddos.

Fantastic experience: Very interesting time here. The museum looked smaller in the pictures, but is actually quite spacious and full of things to see! They feature a small aquarium where you can see fish and other sea creatures native to the cape, including an albino snapping turtle. There’s also a nice butterfly house you can check out for a small fee of 5$, and a trail that will take you through the nearby marsh to Wing Island. The museum also contains a wild osprey nest, if you’re lucky enough to catch them. Overall had a fun time here!

Fantastic experience: Good place for 6 and 8 yr old grandkids. Some stuff for me as well. Wampanoag exhibit of tools, history, and culture very interesting. Lots of aquariums with varied animals. Very interesting to talk with the person overlooking the shallow viewing tank. Answered a lot of questions.

Positive experience: Very good place to take kids 13 and under. Also good for those over 13. The exhibits are very engaging. Best to go within an hour +or- low tide. The other times are good.

Positive experience: Really nice museum. The butterflies worth the extra $ and the nature hike was informative and a nice break. Try eating the pickle grass at the beach.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic museum for kids, so much great stuff to see. There's so much to learn and see and touch about local Cape Wildlife. Every kind of bird, every kind of fish, every kind of insect, you can see them all. Want to learn about the history of geography of the Cape? Learn more about the indigenous people? It's all here, it's all accessible and it's all interesting. The butterfly room is especially fun and full of many kinds of beautiful butterflies. Take your kids and go have an awesome time.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful and child friendly museum. Their aquarium is pretty interesting and informative. The highlight of the visit was the 1.5 hour walking tour of the surrounding trails and beach.

Fantastic experience: Great experience for the whole family. A must visit on cape especially for non-beach days.

Positive experience: This was our first visit to this museum and it was very enjoyable. Much of it is geared to kids, (we are two adults whose grown children were not with us) but it was still interesting. Be prepared to share your space with the small ones. We were drawn to the museum because of the advertised wood carving demonstration. We talked to the artist, who was very interesting, but we were a little disappointed that he wasn’t actually carving, just showing some of his tools and pieces he had worked on. The people of the land, geological formation of the cape, local archeology and biomimicry exhibits were interesting, tho brief. The live osprey cam, beehive observation, bird alley and aquarium were very interesting; we spent most of our time there. The highlights were the butterfly house ($5 extra fee) and outdoor trail to Wing Island. The trail was about 1 1/2 mile easy walk through boardwalks (think literally pieces of wood on the ground over a marsh, some sink down into water a little), forest, field, ending at the ocean. A beautiful view - at low tide you can walk out a long ways. There were more trails across the road which we didn't have time for. The walk alone was worth the trip, but the museum was nice too!

Fantastic experience: Great place for kids 3-10 to explore…lots of interactive things for them to do

Fantastic experience: my boys LOVE this place. Frogs, Turtles, Tadpoles, Snakes, Whale (exhibits), bugs, fish, lobsters, butterflies, even some high-tech stuff mixed in ... my goodness this place is a real gem. We love this museum! just got annual membership for my family.

Fantastic experience: A gem of a little natural history museum with whale skeletons, a bee colony, butterfly house, outdoor mud kitchen play area, tons of fun interactive kids activities, (including many that produce goodies to take home) a sweet little aquarium, and a nice marsh trail to hike when the tide is out. We dropped more than twice what we paid on admission in their excellent gift shop.

Fantastic experience: I have been coming to this amazing little museum in Brewster for years. It is truly an incredible place for ALL ages, especially kids. From the live osprey-cam (in summer), to the trails, the gift shop, the exhibits (live bees in a honeycomb!) with all sizes of sea creatures in the basement to the bird carver's room, it is a wonderful way to spend a few hours!

Positive experience: coming from a state with huge museums, it's difficult to be impressed by something this small but they do provide a good history of the area and enlighten you on the ecological impacts. a bit pricey for a short walk through but you can stay and look at the fish tanks and they nickle and dime you for anything extra. hopefully some of that cost goes back to the exhibits. good rainy day option.

Fantastic experience: I’m glad we had time to stop in here, the staff was friendly and knowledgeable.

Positive experience: Small ,nice blend of activities, excellent special programs, and many kind hearted staff members who were polite and eager to please. Today's visit was well enjoyed and received by our group of three. We attended the special Reptiles show as well as the Butterfly exhibit both activities were well worth the extra money and our time. The museum is small so they have to make good use of all the available space and the items are very dispersed and arranged in a strange manner. There were many people today but spacing and wait times were minimal. I also saw a steady stream of new customers while I was there.. There are many exhibits worth viewing and while it isn't a full day event it proved to be an enjoyable day. Finally I must say the staff members were present in good numbers and they were all professional an went out of their way to please everyone from the people taking the reservations right down to staff members who gave quick content comments to help engage the kids and adults. If I were to focus on 1 item to work on I'd say it would be the trails. Here I would work on the condition of the trails, a better trail map, and more staff and activities directing people and roaming or stationed at points along the trail talking with people like they do inside the museum. Again this was an excellent day trip and well worth the drive! Hats off!

Fantastic experience: Excellent indoor exhibits and Rick gave an amazing guided nature hike out to the beach and back.

Positive experience: Short hours, but only takes ~1hr to go through the entire museum

Fantastic experience: Great for the kids, fills up the day a little bit!

Fantastic experience: Place is great. Whether you have kids or not it's definitely worth checking out. Make sure you do the 1.5mi walk.

Fantastic experience: Great place to see all kinds of native birds underwater stuff butterfly's..and much more

Fantastic experience: Nice trails to explore leading out to the marshes. Very knowledgeable and informative staff make the experience worthwhile and enjoyable!

Fantastic experience: Great place to take kids. Adults will learn a lot too! The walking paths are excellent. The path leading to the beach rewards you with a truly beautiful view.

Positive experience: Over-Crowded but Nice We went with our three toddlers on a rainy Sunday morning. When the doors opened at 11AM there was a long line. There were blue arrows after the lobby that guests were told to follow, but very few actually did. The play/art room was nice, but limited by time due to the number of guests. The downstairs aquarium is great, but again, because of the number of people in the small museum, we were rushed through and couldn't take the time to explore. We felt even during non-COVID times the museum was too crowded, but especially because of COVID, it was way too busy and there should have been a lower capacity limit. The butterfly exhibit was closed, which was a bummer because the kids were looking forward to it.

Fantastic experience: How do I put this, ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! This muesem and the trails that come near it are combined an amazing experience. There is so much stuff to do, and If your ever passing by on a summer day, you have to go on one of their trails!

Positive experience: One of the great CC beach,dunes walk

Fantastic experience: Such a fun and beautiful experience. Definitely had a wonderful time. Next time I visit Cape Cod I will bring my niece here. I know she will love it as much as I did.

Positive experience: Family decided to go here on a day during our vacation. It did not disappoint in any way. Wonderful exhibits and knowledgeable staff and volunteers. Trails to marsh and all around were wonderful.

Positive experience: Went here and did the Mudflat Mania. This was a nice little hike down to the shoreline. This takes place at low tide so you can learn about the sea life that is located near the shore. Very fun for little children and adults as well. You are able to walk along the shore and look for many different things. The staff is very polite and give you information about the sea life you are going to encounter on this little adventure. Bring a little bucket and little scooper to dig with. Have fun and enjoy the beautiful scenery that you will see.

Negative experience: This used to be a great museum, but over the last few years it has become less and less welcoming. A lot of the staff are older, rather cantankerous, and impatient with children. Do not bring your dog here - they HATE dogs. If you have a dog on leash in the parking lot, someone will come over to harass you. I believe there is an ACLU lawsuit currently pending against the museum for discrimination against individuals with service dogs.

Fantastic experience: We came after hours, but you can still do the nature walks, which was 100% worth it! We followed the 1.5 mile trail with our 2-9 year olds and our teenager. They LOVED walking over the salt marshes, and exploring all the tide pools on the beach! They saw crabs, clams, horseshoe crabs, and came home with many natural "treasures"! We will definately return!

Positive experience: Cute place. Took the tour they give that spoke about the ecology of the area. Very informative, and my favorite part was getting to eat some sea pickle. It was really hot, and the tour lasts awhile so be prepared if your doing this during the summer or any hot peak times. Make sure to wear a hat, sun block, tick repellant, and bring yourself a drink, and a snack wouldnt hurt if you taking kids with you. Our guides were older woman and they worked very well together and made us feel very welcomed and informed. They took the time to answer our kids questions, even if they had already answered them before. The inside of the museum is small but it was nice to cool off and check out their small aquariums. They had a nice gift shop with different souvenir prices ranges that would fit any budget.

Fantastic experience: A great little museum with a little bit of everything. I perfect way to spend the morning with my 5 year old. I suggest bringing snacks and water there are plenty of benches along trails to take a brake. Make sure to call ahead to reserve spots for buttery feeding, and mudflats (I did not know to do that based on the museum's website.)

Negative experience: Despite signage for the museum showing a trail from the parking lot we were told we were not allowed to park in the parking lot for the museum if we did not pay to visit the museum and were forced to move our car. We will not be patronizing museum anytime soon.

Fantastic experience: Love it the mess fest is so cool

Positive experience: Loved the nice aquarium

Positive experience: Enjoyable little natural history museum based around the ecosystem on the cape. The bird feeders were very active outside the window with 6 different birds, red and gray squirrels, and chipmunks all eating. The osprey camera with chicks was also excellent. We went too early in the season so only a few butterflies to visit with. The tick signs are no joke check yourself and your children when you leave. I pulled one off my 2 year olds pants.

Fantastic experience: Great museum, beach, tidal flats, beach grass, low tide smells, natural environment, walks, and staff. Reminder of what the cape was before it was discovered. You'll return in time - or be introduced - to simpler pleasures of old cape cod here. Worth it.

Positive experience: Loved the nature walk down to the beach. It was a relaxing stroll through the marsh and the woods to get to a nice, sparsely populated beach. Wonderful place for kids, but no restrooms that are close to the beach.

Fantastic experience: Loved it......spent a wonderful morning there!

Positive experience: I took my 4 year old daughter you're a couple of weeks ago. She really enjoyed the touch tank and the special dog show that they do once a month. She also liked the nature walk down to the marsh. If you're looking for a fun family event for kid that likes nature, this one is recommended