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St. Louis Museum Offers Thrills, Chills, and Lawsuits
theodp writes "Despite the whiff of danger, or perhaps because of it, the WSJ reports that the City Museum is one of St. Louis's most popular attractions. Housed in a 10-story brick building, the City Museum shows none of the restraint or quiet typical of most museums. It boasts a five-story jungle gym with two real-life jets kids can climb on, an enclosed Monster Slide that drops riders the length of three staircases, and a rooftop Ferris wheel. Sure, there are the occasional severed fingers and skull fractures, but museum founder Bob Cassilly contends that it is as safe as it can be without being a bore. 'They [lawyers] are taking the fun out of life,' says Cassilly, adding that 'when you have millions of people do something, something's going to happen no matter what you do.'"
I have climbed through their jungle gym and I must say it is quite scary. You definitely feel right on the edge of safe. Yet it stands out like no other "museum" I've been to. As such, it is quite provocative and truly unique, but contains minimal content and only satiates perhaps an hour of curiosity.
It appears to be slashdotted. Service Unavailable. I guess the web administrator is in the jungle gym...
It boasts a five-story jungle gym with two real-life jets kids can climb on, an enclosed Monster Slide that drops riders the length of three staircases, and a rooftop Ferris wheel.
Kids? Every time I've been there there has been a significant percentage of 20-somethings in addition to the little ones.
SOOO tired of "oh noes Little Timmy is gonna bump his knee on that, need more padding!" parents.
Quit taking the fun out of being a kid. Having fun as a kid is inherently a little risky. All these nuts trying to apply "five 9's" to public safety on playgrounds need to go live in a bubble somewhere and stay out of everyone else's lives.
The day they try to take trees out of the park because a kid may climb them and fall and get hurt, I'm gonna flip out.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I've been there twice each time for 3-4 hours. I recommended it to some friends. They spent 45 minutes. The reason why. Because they are boring. They did absolutely no exploring. So didn't even find over half of the place. You have to EXPLORE. You want to know what they do at barbecues and parties. Sit and played x-box with a blank look on their face and grunted occasionally when they noticed you were talking to them. This is in no way aimed at the guy who said he was only there for an hour. Actually wait. Yes it is.
Two dozen injuries out of 3.5 million people since 2005. That means over 99.999% are fine. I'll take those odds. Besides I've been there, nothings wrong, isn't anymore dangerous than any children's playground.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
I just wish that the US population would get over the general reaction to anything is to sue someone.
If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid. Q - "Q Who" Star Trek the Next Generation
One of my favorite quotes.
This is one of my favorite destinations in St. Louis. I have been in San Francisco for 10 years and traveled extensively, and it stands out as amazingly unique. A night of hanging out the the museum and drinking a nice Schafly's beer is pretty great even for this Dad with 2 little girls.
is awesome. If you think you can climb or crawl to a spot, you probably can.
My mother, age 71, manages to get around just fine with my nieces and nephews. It may take her a little longer to follow the kids, but she always has her eye on them. The place is so big, I doubt I'd let less than a ten year old run around by himself.
You obviously haven't been to a child's play ground in awhile. I remember when they were filled with sheet metal equipment you could burn yourself on in the summer sun and the ground was covered with sharp-as-razors gravel. Typical kid's park now has wussy plastic equipment with shredded tires on the ground. Bah!
The City Museum is awesome. I can't wait to take my nephew. I'll probably have more fun than he will!
I have spent way too much time in this wonderland and I must say that with proper adult supervision the danger is minimal compared to the kinds of stuff we did as kids. We used to leave in the morning and come back when the streetlights came on, build treehouses with exposed nails and rotting wood, jump down from said treehouses with nothing but a pile of leaves to catch us.
This place has its share of dangers, but wow. Worth it and then some. If ever there was a place that took all my favorite childhood memories and tried to stuff them into one building it would be this one.
I met Bob Cassily a few years in St. Louis (where I've lived for 5 years) and I asked him how they deal with lawsuits. He answered: "We have a huge liability policy." Having been there at least half a dozen times, I have to agree that it can be dangerous—if you're stupid. Yes, you can climb over the railing and onto the airplane wing where you might fall 5 stories onto the parking lot. But if you're dumb enough to climb over the railing, then maybe you're doing us all a favor by removing your genes from society. If you've ever seen this place in real life, you'll have to agree that it's just so incredible that it should be kept just as it is. It is absolutely astonishing!
It appears to be slashdotted. Service Unavailable. I guess the web administrator is in the jungle gym...
after a quick googling: http://www.citymuseum.org/3D.html (have fun with quicktime)
I've been to the City Museum several times, and I must say there is really no other place like it on earth. If anyone finds the museum lacking in content, I'd have to say that you're missing the point. The CM is all about interaction; you're not meant to just see everything in the plain sense, you're meant to climb, explore, and seek out the little hidden places tucked away all over the place. Almost everything about the place is entirely free-form, and that's part of the thrill. If you find that the place only satisfies curiosity for about an hour, well then I bet you're probably a pretty boring person that's way too grown up for their own good.
Meanwhile, it's so refreshing to see a place disregard all of the idiot tags we're so used to seeing everyday. Given that 99.999% of the population doesn't need to be told not to do stupid things, it's really that tiny fraction of people that makes everything always suck. The ones that make you wonder who the fuck would be stupid enough to eat the silicate pellet packs you find in new shoes, but also have the ability to read. The only place remotely similar to the CM where I live is so padded, safe, and banal by comparison. Yes, there is the risk of getting hurt in the CM, but the same thing is often true of places kids play. Even a simple jungle gym can result in a broken bone (as it did with me in the 3rd grade), but the point is to not generate boring people by sacrificing a fun life for complete and utter safety. Learning how to deal with potentially dangerous environments, yet still enjoy yourself, should be a crucial part of any kids upbringing. You have to use common sense to NOT INTENTIONALLY PUT YOUR FINGERS OR BODY IN A GIGANTIC MOVING METAL DEVICE. You shouldn't need a sign explaining why this is a bad idea. Nowhere in the CM will you find spots where good old fashioned common sense will keep you from getting hurt, and at the very least are no more risky that other theme parks/playgrounds.
I'm the parent of 3 youngsters, and we go there all the time. Without a doubt it is one of the most engaging and fun places to take a kid in St. Louis. My kids play to exhaustion every time they go. As a matter of fact, so do I. We always comment (or hear people around us commenting) on how amazing it is that, considering the risk, they have the sort of place where nothing is off limits, and if you can get to it, you can go and climb on it and play on it. Is there danger? Yes, but you can drown in a bucket of water if you try hard enough, and the fun more than outweighs any problems.
I'm just amazed by how little the WSJ article actually said about the place, seeing as how they only mentioned 1/10 of the things you can do there. And they were incorrect about the big slide. It's actually about 9 stories tall, going from the 10th floor to the 1st. Bah, the state of journalism.
Anyway, cool place. Visit if you can.
I'm 43 and take my nephews there whenever I find myself in St Louis. I think I enjoy it more than they do. Definitely one of the most funky, fun, wondrous and creative spots on this planet. It's like a Disney/Tim Burton/42nd Street mashup really. Just watch your kids like a responsible guardian.
i got all your usernames, just from this post.
I want to add myself to the list of fans of this admirable place....
Here's a set of photos of the St. Louis Museum I took earlier this year.
The experience of climbing the spiral staircase, while listening to live music from the massive pipe organ was almost surreal...
Paul Gillingwater
MBA, CISSP, CISM
Everything has warning signs, so people are used to assuming things are safe unless posted otherwise. The city museum is slightly different. You have to assume (slightly) dangerous. If your kid can't handle a Steep slide, don't let them on it.
It took me a while to grasp the concept, let go and have fun. I have hit my head, I have almost gotten stuck, but that is why it is a Must See for any guest that visits St. Louis.
I love the city museum. Shame on anyone who would sue. Take some risk, go have fun and accept what you get when you come out of there: sweat, nicks, bumps and bruises.
If you want a "safe" playground go play at McDonalds.
I have been there numerous times to the City Museum. In my opinion, if you don't walk out of there with at least a bruise or two, you didn't play hard enough. There are rules, yes but the rest is common sense. It seems to me that these individuals that had gotten hurt didn't have any to begin with and decided to start suing.
City Museum in St. Louis is a safe place, again, you have to have common sense.
About the Alcohol part...that is only served outside in a little shack of sorts. It isn't served inside at all. Yes the little shack outside connects to the inside but there is a bouncer or two that states that you cannot go beyond a certain point with your drinks. ID's are checked to verify your age.
Museum is open late on Friday and Saturday until 1AM, that is the latest they stay open.
In cooler months, they have a fire pit inside the jungle gym of sorts where people gather to not only get warm but occasionally, roast marshmallows and have smores. The fire was maintained by an adult not of the City Museum, but an adult with common sense.
The City Museum in St. Louis is a great experience time and time again. Every time I go, I always find something new I had not seen before. I enjoy going there and will be returning again toward the end of this month for a birthday party so I cannot wait.
Friends help you move...
REAL Friends help you move dead bodies... ^_^
I seem to remember when I was a kid bumps, scraps, scratches and the like were part o growing up. My parents never sued if I fell out of my neighbors tree, and cut my arm. This just seems to be the continuing trend of "you didn't tell me it could be dangous, then it's your fault, pay me" I saw a while back that a fishing lure manufacture had to put a warning label on the package saying "harmful if swallowed" not because of the sharp hooks (as if sharp hooks aren't enough of a deterrent), but because it contained a small amount of lead. Look at how power tools have changed over the years to make them "safer" yet more difficult to use, all so that then you put your fingers in blade while it's on, the manufacture isn't liable of you being a dumbass.
"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security" --Benjamin Franklin
I have. I have even spent time with him talking about the museum, and what drives him.
Without a doubt, Bob is either bat $#!t crazy, or the greatest genius I have ever met. Depending on the day, different amounts of each.
City Museum is the only entity in St Louis to have made the transition from a non-profit, to a for-profit.
Its the only museum I have ever seen where they hand out flashlights and then turn out the lights at 10pm.
Its the only museum I have ever seen where they have books set out next to comfy places to sit and read.
This is the only museum I have ever seen where they hide works, and only those that climb to the right places are rewarded with a glimpse.
This is the only museum I have ever seen where all of the exhibitors are truly passionate about what they show, and what they teach.
This is the only museum I have ever seen where they have programs for at-risk kids run right in the building (everydaycircus.net)
And this is the only museum I have ever seen where they have to herd teenagers out by the hundreds at closing just about every night.
So the place is only about half as dangerous as a school playground. so what? Any way you look at it, bob is doing something right in that place. Some how he has built a place people love to go - and love to learn. Perhaps our public schools could learn a thing or two from him.
I lived in STL for 5 great years and took many, many visitors there. Every one of them was taken aback by the price of admission when they got there and every one was exhausted and saying it was totally worth every penny when they left.
Not only is the place a great playground for kids and adults alike, but some of the examples of architecture and industry that is displayed and incorporated into the Museum is beautiful and amazing to anyone who is into that kind of thing. The terracotta architectural pieces are totally rad.
One of the coolest 'exhibits' in the CM is "Caves". Nine stories of concrete and steel, molded into caves to explore. Walk along and see a hole in the wall...crawl in and see where it goes. Some spaces were tight enough to scare me, some passages went down and I found myself crawling through a rebar tunnel on a ceiling 20ft above people on the floor. There's a couple spiral slides that drop down through 4 or 5 stories. And the last time I went there was an automatic pipe organ that seemed to fill every spare inch of space in the building pumping out circus music, along with a bank of robotic percussion instruments behind some steel grate.
If you go to STL for any reason and you are between the ages of 1 and 101, you have to go. You won't be disappointed.
I've been to the City Museum several times, and it is an incredible place. They have an aquarium, a pipe organ, caves, a circus school, a ten-story slide, a bank vault door, and a hall of insects, and that's just scratching the surface. Here is a collection of pictures I took: http://gcanyon.posterous.com/st-louis-is-amazing and a few more: http://gcanyon.posterous.com/more-pictures-from-the-city-museum-in-st-loui
It's definitely true that this place leans more towards fun than safe: if you don't have bruises, you haven't seen the museum. But common sense will keep you from most harm, a
There's an old industrial site north of downtown that Casilly wants to turn into a water park with the same ethos. It's stuck in permit hell, but I'll continue to hold out hope.
I have been to the CM a couple times. It is definately a lot of fun. One word of caution though, there are some places there (that i found while trying to keep up with my son) that can trigger claustrophobia.
I have to agree with others that it is a must see.
They [lawyers] are taking the fun out of life,' says Cassilly
Wasn't lawyer-sacrificing the comment -of-the-day yesterday, as well?
If you are ever in St. Louis, the City Museum is a must see. For anyone thinking about going, I think it is $10-15 for a day pass and you can come and go as you please. We used to go to the museum around 6, go to one of the 50 bars within a couple blocks and then come back hammered.
Fair warning - most of the safety equipment is made for little kids, not drunk adults. I wound up inside of a fish tank last time we went....
I went there to see Fishbone. Combining a show with playing in the exhibits and having a few drinks makes for a really good time.
Jhyrryl
I have got to get to this place.
I've been to St. Louis. Why didn't anyone ever TELL me??
Yeah, it was great, but I always wondered how they avoided lawsuits. I hope the law doesn't get it shut down--it's just wonderful!
The rules are rigged and the game is rigged! BEWARE of any buzzwords that the political parties frequently SHARE - it means those are the best polled phrases to win you over the quickest from a broad political spectrum. It does not speak to the truth of the statement only that it is highly effective of robbing your thought by evoking emotions and conditioned beliefs they wish to exploit.
Legal terrorism is the game and the ones with the most "gunmen" tend to win the battle or by the threat; it is a "civilized" version of the wild west out there. Your odds are about as bad as your rifle is against the hired gunmen except now you have less options in the fight. We can do much better when opposing government; so I must concede that we've made a tiny bit of progress overall.
The lawyers have been destroying law for profit and promotion for a long time. The society has been going along with it as well, being sold on shallow reasoning and marketing slogans. Zero Tolerance is popular today; it should be laughably stupid (because it is.) So, then we regress into that mentality not necessarily due to actual support by politicians or the public but because that is the bill of goods people are sold under a brand name slogan (and lacking depth;) then later, it comes back as pressure for the politician to actually compromise and give people symbolic follow through while neither side really actually wants it. This is especially true when political enemies try to undermine or hijack symbols for their own use so even effective implementations (or lack there of) must be symbolically attacked. Again, not for the good of society or principle but for the GAME - and naturally, delivered behind a poker face.
The GAMING / HACKING of the society is ultimately to blame; the lack of applied of common sense is how foolishness slips bye and this finds its way increasingly into the legal system (which does partially reflect society) so we have judges and lawyers who go by the letter of the law allowing simplistic hacks that they can see but are unable to act against due to false principals emerging as a result of societal rot.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
I took my one year old daughter here on her first airplane trip and we had an absolute blast. I would rank this place as one of the coolest places I have ever been, and the absolute coolest museum ever. I did not encounter anything "dangerous" there that couldn't also be found on a standard playground. I'm looking forward to taking her back when she's 4 or 5 and can really enjoy it. I wish there were more places like the city museum.
Yeah, fun place. The glass blowing demonstration was really cool. Some of it's pretty kitschy, but oh well.
If you agree with the parent, and have kids of your own, visit Free Range Kids!
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
I'm guessing this is a amusement park THEMED as a museum.
Best place ever. We were there for 6 hours, did not get to see half of it. The kids were exhausted. Now there is a 10 story twirly slide, which takes some 40 seconds to get to the bottom.
Went on a Friday night at 10pm. They passed out flashlights, turned the lights off, and let you run amok.
I've been once or twice, and the place never ceases to amaze me. It's fun to play on, and the exhibits are cool too. Everything is so unique and fun, and yet it is all historical parts of St. Louis. I suggest it to anyone traveling there.