Visit Us
Thinkery is Austin’s home for “why” and “how.” A place where science and families play side by side.
Where people connect with ideas by doing, making and experiencing. It’s a foundry for a new generation of innovators and creative problem solvers. And it’s a heck of a good time.
Museum Hours
Monday: (Baby Bloomers), 9 am – 12 pm ONLY
Tuesday: 10 am–5 pm
Wednesday: 10 am–8 pm
(Community Night from 4–8 pm—Admission by donation)
Thursday: 10 am–5 pm
Friday: 10 am–5 pm
Saturday: 10 am–6 pm (Baby Bloomers, 9–10 am)
Sunday: 10 am–5 pm
The last ticket sold 30-minutes before closing.
Museum hours occasionally change due to special events and holidays. Please check the web calendar for updated information.
Our maker spaces begin to close one hour before closing.
During the school year, school groups are playing and exploring in the museum every Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 am–1:30 pm and from 9:30 am–3:30 pm during the summer. The first Tuesday of the month is No Tour Tuesday.
Museum Location
Thinkery
at the Meredith Learning Lab
1830 Simond Ave.
Austin, TX 78723
(512) 469-6200
Museum Pricing and Admission
Visitors
$14 (FREE for children 0–23 months)
Members
FREE admission year-round. Discounted admission to special programs including Baby Bloomers, Family Nights, Camp and Thinkery 21. Not a Thinkery Member? Become a Member today!
Groups
Whether you’re bringing a large group or class to the museum, we offer several options to explore our museum with your students.
Groups traveling by bus or with more than 10 children must schedule a Thinkery visit in advance through our school programs. Interested in exploring our galleries?
For safety purposes, we ask that visitors adhere to a minimum adult: child ratio of 1:5.
Discounts and Benefits
Museums for All
Thinkery is proud to participate in Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Association of Children’s Museums’ Museums for All program!
Thinkery invites all families with Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, WIC cards, STAR cards, CHIP cards, Medicaid cards and MAP identification cards to show their card(s) to receive FREE General Admission tickets. (Special programs and events excluded.) Thinkery’s Museum for All discounts can only be applied at Admissions, not online.
Open Door
Maintaining affordable access for everyone is a top priority for Thinkery. Each year, our Open Door Initiative provides subsidized admissions, camp scholarships and field trips to thousands of children and families with limited financial resources.
ASTC and ACM Reciprocal programs
As a member of a science center or museum participating in the ASTC Travel Passport Program, you are eligible for free general admission for up to 4 guests when you visit Thinkery. Photo ID required for cardholder. Local restrictions apply. Membership to participating children’s museums through Association of Children’s Museums Reciprocal Network (ACM) receive 50% off general admission for up to six (6) guests. In order to redeem these benefits, you must present a valid museum membership card with the logos for ASTC and ACM.
ASTC policy dictates that visitors must live outside a 90-mile radius from the museum they wish to visit to receive benefits. Therefore, members of the DoSeum and Texas Museum of Science and Technology in Cedar Park will be unable to receive ASTC benefits. Thinkery will provide half-priced admissions to these members with ASTC benefits.
Military and First Responders
$2 off per family member, up to five family members. First Responders include police officers, firefighters and EMT workers. Thinkery’s military and first responder discount is not available online and must be purchased at Admissions.
Tribal ID’s
$2 off for folks with a tribal ID. Discount is not available online and must be purchased at Admissions.
Thinkery Visitor Guidelines
Thinkery invites guests to engage in positive experiences that spark imagination and stimulate curiosity. To support positive visits, the Museum expects the following from all guests:
Thinkery’s Guidelines for Playful and Safe Exploration
Play together!
Playing is learning and children learn best alongside caring, responsive adults. Maximize your experience by observing, facilitating and collaborating with your child. Pro tip: Take a break from that cell phone and play!
Be a role model for children.
Learning is a joyful, fun and lifelong endeavor. Be curious and show your kids how it’s done! Remember that you are setting an example for your children and others through your actions and words in the Museum.
Respect others.
We are a community space where people connect, conversations spark, and ideas grow. As you explore and play, be courteous to those around you. Please do not touch or verbally reprimand a child, not in your group. If you need assistance, ask a staff member.
Assume good intentions.
Please understand that children’s play with interactive exhibits is often joyful and exuberant. This may mean that another child’s play may unintentionally interfere with your child’s play. Touching, colliding and reaching for the same object may innocently occur between children.
Use positive language and actions.
Model problem-solving skills, critical thinking, curiosity, and empathy. Profanity, harassment, threatening language and physical interactions, abuse of any kind or other inappropriate public behavior are strictly prohibited.
The Museum reserves the right to refuse admission, revoke membership, control occupancy, or eject any person whose conduct is deemed by the management to be disorderly or fails to comply with this Code of Conduct.
Parking and Transportation
Parking near Thinkery is available at the McBee Street District Garage, with entrances off McBee Street and Robert Browning Street. Thinkery will be able to provide up to three hours of free parking in the McBee Street District Garage during General Admission operating hours. Simply bring us your parking ticket, and we’ll validate it for you! Please note, Thinkery cannot validate parking in the McBee Street District Garage for special events or programs occurring outside of our General Admission operating hours.
Pay-by-phone, credit- and coin-operated metered street parking is also available around Mueller Lake Park. Please note, parking in the lot next to Mueller Lake Park or in the AMLI at Mueller parking garage will result in towing.
Bike parking is available near the main entrance of Thinkery.
Traveling with a group? School buses must unload and load students at Thinkery’s Group Entrance, located on the east side of the museum.
Click here for more information about Mueller-area parking options.
Public Transportation
Capital Metro offers some routes within walking distance of the Museum: 37, 135 and 350. Visit capmetro.org for the latest information!
Refund and Exchange Policies
General Admission Tickets
General admission tickets are non-refundable. Exchanges may be made with a minimum 24 hours notice of the original date. In the event of an emergency closing by the Museum, the ticket purchaser will have the option of an exchange or refund.
Ticketed one-time programs
Tickets sold for one-time programs are nonrefundable. This includes Thinkery 21, Family Night, Noon Year’s Eve and the Very Nervous Caterpillar.
On-going camps
Camp fees include a $75 non-refundable fee. Refunds, less the $75 non-refundable fee, are given for cancellations made before May 18, 2020. There are no refunds offered for cancelled registrations after May 18, 2020. If you are registered for camp and need to change weeks or sessions, there will be a $50 administrative fee once the change is approved. If the camp you are registered for is cancelled due to low enrollment, you will be refunded your tuition payment in full.
If you are interested in booking additional camp weeks, please call (512) 469-6201 or register online! The camp you sign up for is uniquely yours—sessions are not transferable to other campers.
Memberships
Memberships are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Retail returns or exchanges
Museum Store returns or exchanges can be issued for most items within 30 days of purchase. Items must be accompanied by the receipt.
Contact Us
Want the scoop on upcoming Thinkery programs and events? Sign up for our e-newsletter.
Plan your next trip to Thinkery
We have tons of fun and exciting things to do, updated on a regular basis. Check out what we have to offer and see if you can join us!