A fun stop in Bellevue

After dropping a friend off at SeaTac on Friday, the kids and I needed a place to stop and burn some energy before heading back home to Yakima. Of course, Seattle has lots of fun things to do with kids: Pacific Science Center, Woodland Park Zoo and the wading pool at Green Lake were all tempting options.

Ultimately, though, I decided to stay on the eastside of Friday afternoon traffic. So, we stopped by the KidsQuest Children’s Museum at the Factoria Mall in Bellevue. It’s at the junction of I-90 and I-405, so it was super convenient for our route. Admission was $7.50 per person. We stayed about two hours and, honestly, the kids could have stayed longer but I was ready to move on (especially because the “jeans for $12″ sign on the OshKosh B’gosh store across the way was screaming at me to check out their back-to-school sale).

Anyway, the kids had a great time. Annie, 4, loved the Waterways area, which had several interactive exhibits that allowed kids to explore the power of water. Max, 6, really loved “driving” the full-size Peterbilt semi-truck.

The museum’s not especially large and I wouldn’t recommend it as a destination from Yakima, but it was a great way to pass the afternoon if you happen to be in Bellevue or (like us) just passing through. Makes me wish we had something similar closer to home…

Looking for an indoor place to beat the heat? Check out our list of Indoor Play Places.