Travel back in time as you learn about timeless discoveries, and explore the history of the famous watch, “The Timex”.
At the Timexpo in Waterbury, CT, you’ll learn about the companies last effort to save itself from bankruptcy. They purchased a trademark of a “little” known cartoon mouse. The $1,500.00 was quite an expensive gamble. It turned out OK though. The “little” known mouse’s name was…hmm…Oh yes, Mickey Mouse! Nice Save!
Kids will have so much fun taking their paper watches, sending them through the stampers, and pushing down the many levers! All to design their very own colorful, paper watches to wear home. Kids can step on foot patterns to watch them glow, just as the Timex glow watches do. Look around, and you’ll notice all of the fun cartoon characters on Timex watches in a giant display case. Your kids will enjoy the interactive touch screen, as they build an animated watch! Put Timex watches through a torture test, just as the salesmen did in the 1950s and 1960s! Pull a knob nine feet to see how much wire was coiled into a watch! Turn the gears around, and around to see how gears click together! Travel through time, down a hallway of time travel. Once you have gone through the time corridor, grab a wooden boat out of the water, and place it down to watch the current take it away.
If your kids will allow you the luxury of stopping to read a few boards, you’ll learn some interesting facts about Timex. You may even remember the Timex watches you had as a kid. Perhaps, even a Mickey Mouse watch!
After, you are done exploring the museum. Head back downstairs to the main lobby. You can shop for a Timex watch, in the watch outlet. Or, you can purchase a clock activity kit that kids can do immediately in Timexpo, or take it home to enjoy later!
Mom’s Review:
The museum itself was very interesting. I went back in time, myself, remembering all of the Timex watches I had, as a kid! The hands on displays were a lot of fun for the kids. The favorite was the watch stamps, and all of the cartoon characters on wrist watches! I enjoyed reading the Timex history, and the interesting history of Timex torture tests. It was a very unique museum, that we did enjoy. I would definitely go back with my family.
Positives:
Great history on something we can all remember as kids!
Great hands on fun!
Bathrooms on two out of three floors!
Bright, clean, and open museum.
Clock activity kit is fun, and unique! (They have all designs – from ballet, and Barbie to dinosaurs, and race cars).
Museum is in the middle of a shopping mall parking lot, so food, and shopping is very close by.
Fenced in yard in back to sit and relax with the kids, on a warm day!
Watch store is within the museum. You can buy the kids their first watch!
Very Reasonable Admission
Negatives:
- I only wish that the museum did not place foot patterns on the floor that glow when you step on them, And then ask the kids “not” to stomp on them. I don’t know very many kids, that wouldn’t be tempted to step a little harder, when one did not light up. Another glow idea, is to make walls that kids can interact with. Like, walls that will respond to a light pen with neon impressions, (as the kids draw pictures).
- Another great addition might be, setting the “make a clock activity” in a room with manipulatives for younger kids. (This way, younger kids, or kids not participating would have something to do, if their older siblings wanted to sit down, and participate.) – I don’t know what I would do with my youngest one, if we had to stand there in a clock show room while Ella colored a clock.
- Staff was so/so on kid friendly personality. If I had to rank them it would be a 6. They weren’t rude, but did not make a friendly, welcoming impression on us.
Favorite Season To Visit:
Any Season – Indoor Museums make it a nice Winter activity.
Activities/Things To Do:
- Build A Watch
- Hands On Watch Activities
- Learn some history, and see some amazing displays
- Shop
What To Pack:
- Strollers are permitted
- $$Credit Cards Are accepted, but the minimum is $10
- $$Cash for Clock Activity Kits – They only take cash for those ($11 each)
- Food is very close by, but their is a very nice lawn behind the museum if you care to pack a snack.
- Usual Kid Stuff
FYI:
- Watch Activity Kits are cash only $11 – And, they are so cute you might be tempted to get one, or more!
***These would make very unique, inexpensive birthday party presents! - If I did it over, I would purchase my clock activity, or let my child make one there, at the beginning of the tour – before a younger siblings attention span is done!
- Birthday Parties are offered at Timexpo – They include a private tour, a party room with audio/visual equipment, and a clock making activity! $20 each.
Kids Review:
Ella (4): I had so much fun. I can’t wait to get a build your own clock kit for my birthday! My favorite part was making paper watches!
Older kids heard about all of the fun activities, and can’t wait to go!
Dad’s 2 Cents $$ – What’s All of This Quality Time Going To Cost Me?:
Adults – $6
Seniors – $5
Children – 5-12 $4
Under 5 – FREE
Location:
175 Union Street
Waterbury, CT
203-346-5722
Hours:
Tues. – Sat. 10-7
Sun. -Mon. Closed
Closed on Major Holidays
Our Experience:
This is one with my mom. She doesn’t come to town very often, so when she’s in, we like to take the kids to some great tourist spots. It’s also nice to have another set of hands. I don’t know what it is with the fourth, and boy combination, but it’s challenging! At least for this experience.
I’ve seen the Timexpo website, and it looked intriguing to me. I noticed the mention of some kid activities, but I was still skeptical on how much fun it would be for the younger kids. I wanted to just take the older ones. Never the less, I decided, with my mom in town, we would head off with the 2 and 4 year old. I was definitely pleasantly surprised, when the friendly staff member handed us some paper watches, and told us we could use them upstairs for a fun activity!
We started with that activity. We loved it! Then, my four year old, and I built an animated clock. The kids loved seeing Bambi, Mickey Mouse, and so many other loved characters on the watches!
Then, we saw the glow tunnel. What fun! Kids love glow in the dark. Of course, as I tried to read something on the wall, my youngest decided (since his footprint did not glow) to stomp on the footprints, then his sister thought it looked like fun. Before I knew it, someone was coming upstairs to ask them to stop. Oops! Sorry.
My mom, and I had a lot of fun seeing the old clocks, and wishing we had some of them. We also loved the awesome displays in the time travel room.
After we visited our last display, in the future room, my mom bought a couple of very reasonable watches, and I had fun picking out a dinosaur clock kit – to go – for my oldest son’s birthday. This is when I wished for a play area for my two year old, or rewinding time so I would have thought to purchase this before his patience was gone. Oh well. Live and learn! I still rate this museum as good stuff!
More Pictures For A Better Visual:
go to http://www.kidfriendlythingstodo.com/2012/01/timexpo-the-timex-museum-pictures-a-kid-friendly-thing-to-do/
To visit Timexpo’s Web Site:
go to http://www.timexpo.com/
~Melissa
KidFriendlyThingsToDo.Com – A site dedicated to giving you reviews on fun things to do with kids in CT – reviewed by mom, and kids. Providing fun kid friendly activities, recipes, ideas and crafts to do with kids.
