Pennypickle's Workshop ~ Children's Museum (Temecula, CA)

I've been trying to make some really great memories for my kiddles while on vacation in Southern California and trying to do it with as minimal an expense as possible.  Let's just say that I scored BIG TIME when I remembered that Old Town Temecula had a hands on children's museum...Pennypickle's Workshop.

Children get to spend a 2 hour session adventuring through Professor Pennypickle's Workshop / Home.  It is brilliantly laid out with each room having a different  theme.  For example, the study is really a Time Travel Room and the basement is a Recycling Center.

Let me just quickly share that the wall all the way in the back of the house was my absolute favorite portion...it's just the artist in me.

Okay, now back on to our tour of Professor Pennypickle's Workshop!

As soon as you walk through the door you know that you're in for some fun.  In fact, your eyes quickly start darting around to try to take in all that is before you.  And yes, that is a hot air balloon basket in the hallway...and it has a VERY loud pull bell on it.

And there's plenty more along the halls to be found...I even found my Grandma Stella's workstation.  Think I could do this job?  (I don't think so...too many holes)

Can you imagine how many bad connections I would make?

I had never seen one of these before...and I know, outside of Pennypickle's Workshop, I never will again.

Grace was so excited to play with this old typewriter...she had seen one at a friend's house 2 days before and thought it was "awesome".

As you wander through the museum you can join the hunt for all of the hidden Penny+Pickle combinations...in honor of Professor Pennypickle of course.

Albert Einstein is here and there, everywhere...in news paper clippings, little sayings, displays and even his head!  (now I know how they made those statues watch you as you walk through The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland)

Even the bathrooms are packed with clippings to entertain you...yeah, even the bathrooms.

Part of the fun is the search for the Professor's pet mouse, Beaker.  It almost made me crazy.  I was looking on top of cabinets, in corners, ontop of all of the do-dads that were everywhere. Of course, right when I give up my little Rose spied Beaker with about 20 minutes to go in our session.  I would have never looked where she did way up in that grate.


I have this feeling that they move Beaker around so that the kids have to start the hunt all over again if they come in on another day.  Which means that I would be going batty looking obsessively for him as well.

My favorite room was the kitchen...of course it would be.  You would think that there wouldn't be anything very interesting in a kitchen, but then you haven't seen Professor Pennypickle's kitchen before.  If you look closely at the stove you'll even spy a lavalamp!

An who says that kids can't have fun in a kitchen?  Well, not the professor for sure...they get to twist and giggle their time away thanks to the stack of pizza boxes!

If you needed a snack, well the pantry was fully stocked...including a cargo net full of cereal!

This kitchen even had the most ingenious system for making a PB&J sandwich...if it didn't take up too much space I'd get the whole system installed.

And what's right next to the kitchen?  Why the Basement Recycling of course!  And you have to crawl through a dark little opening...unless you're the adult that finds the secret doorway to get in instead. (I was not that adult)

The Power & Electricity Room (a.k.a. dining room) is full of hands on fun too...my favorite was the electric window. (It was Rose's favorite part of the room too)  And the Professor's assistants are happy to sit down and help with questions and experiments too.

Grace just wanted to control all of the power for the Professor's house...she wasn't very successful though.

One of the favorite rooms for all of the kids seemed to be the Music Room where drums can be beat, a piano can be played and an organ can become a broadcast center...there's a bit to do in this room.

 

I almost felt bad for the other patrons...but then their kids started in right afterwards.

The room that my Grace chose as her favorite was suprisingly the Time Travel Room (Professor Pennypickle's Study).  When we first went in she cowered behind me because of how dark it was combined with flashing lights...but after mustering up the courage to go through the time travel maze it was 100% fun!

Just in case you aren't sure of the time, this wall has been equipped to help you.

 After the time travel light show...you'll come across this bright bucket of water making your way through the maze.

And somehow the kids always end up in this wardrobe here...hmmm.

There's a room set up with giant gears and a sit n' spin...plus a Morris Code station.  It's just SO much fun!

At the end of it all, and after hitting the gift shop for some magnifying glasses, bugs and rocks, our little crew of kiddles were already planning their next outing back to Professor Pennypickle's Workshop. I think they had fun, don't you?

So, if you're in the Riverside County area (California) and you're looking for some relatively inexpensive entertainment for the kids, head to Old Town Temecula and look up Professor Pennypickle's Workshop on Main Street.  You won't be disapointed and your kids will be well entertained.  There is SO much more to discover than what I have pictured in this post.

PLUS Professor Pennypickle has special events on Fridays during the summer months! (event tickets are $5/person)

Our crew at the end of our adventure.