While Staying at Lake Casa Blanca State Park, we took some time to explore Laredo, Texas. One of our stops was the Imaginarium inside the Mall del Norte. The kids have explored many museums and play spaces, and came here with high hopes.
The Imaginarium of Laredo, Texas had a very limited footprint compared to other places we’ve visited, though that’s not surprising as it was located in a mall. The other thing against it was that the location seemed partially shut down. It wasn’t clear if this was due to post covid caution or lack of staff.
blocks.
The exhibit the kids spent the most time interacting with was the vacuum tube wall. These contraptions are almost a given in these STEM play spaces. This particular one had a fun feature. About half of the balls that children put through the system get routed to an overhead hopper. When the hopper is full, a klaxon sounds and all the kids have a few seconds to rush under it as it dumps the balls!
Another fun Exhibit was a Tiny H-E-B. H-E-B is a large grocery chain in Texas. Kids could go around and pick up various plastic foods and then “check out” at a kiosk. I particularly liked that after a kid was “rung up,” the other kid had to select how much money to give. Though it didn’t need exact change, and a lot of kids spammed the $20 button, the potential was there.
There were a handful of other displays; a few percussion instruments, a giant light bright wall, and a giant mouth with labeled teeth, but it all seemed just thrown together. Another area, the “bubble zone” had no bubbles, but a few half-filled totes of LEGO and DUPLO blocks. It could have been because the staff was gearing up for a private event, but it still felt barely worth the $5-a-head admission. Still, if you have a young child, and are passing through Laredo, The Imaginarium may be worth a shot.