City Museum

The City Museum, located in St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1997 and is housed in the former International Shoe building. As far as exhibits go, the museum boasts a "eclectic mixture of children's playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel." They are all made of recycled industrial materials and visitors of all ages are encouraged to feel, touch, climb on, and play in the various exhibits including but not limited to a skateless skatepark, the enchanted caves, shoelace factory, and world aquarium. The museum consists of 4 floors, the roof, and the outdoor "MonstroCity," a large outdoor playground including a large ballpit with rubber dodgeballs that even adults can play in. Beneath MonstroCity is Cabin Inn, originally the home of Daniel Boone's son and is now a bar and entertainment venue. The museum attracted over 300,000 visitors in 1999 and over 600,000 in 2007. It has been named one of the "great public spaces" by the Project for Public Spaces and has won other local and international awards as a must-see destination.