A hands-on science museum built for kids
Current admission is on the museum's own ticket page.
Official tickets →Opens the museum's own website. Book on the official site; nothing is charged on this page.
The rule here is touch everything. Papalote Museo del Niño sits in the second section of Chapultepec, built around hands-on science, a giant-screen dome and rooms children are meant to climb into, pull apart and run around. It reopened after a long renovation, and it is aimed squarely at families with kids rather than art lovers, so this page is written for the parent doing the planning.
Papalote is a hands-on museum where the exhibits are meant to be used, not watched. Children move between themed zones on the body and the senses, communication, expression and how a city works, running experiments, building things and pressing every button in reach. A giant-screen dome cinema and outdoor play areas round out the day.
The layout rewards letting kids lead. Younger children gravitate to the water tables, the ball machines and the soft climbing structures, while older ones get more from the science and technology stations, where the point is to try something and see what happens. Staff and student guides are usually around to nudge the experiments along.
The renovation refreshed the building and its exhibits, so a lot of what you will find is newer than older guidebooks describe. The dome show is the one part that can carry a separate charge, and it is popular, so it is worth deciding early whether you want to fit it in.
Papalote sells its tickets through its own box office and website rather than a booking platform, so the link here goes to the museum's official ticketing. General admission runs around 215 pesos, with combined packages that add the dome show priced a little higher.
Because tickets are sold as packages, it pays to decide before you arrive whether you want the giant-screen film included, since the bundled price is usually better than adding it on the day. Prices and the exact package options can change, so confirm the current ones on the official site when you book. There is no third-party skip-line product for Papalote; the museum's own ticket is the ticket.
If one science museum is not enough, or you are based in the south of the city, Universum is the other strong choice for children. It is the UNAM science museum in Coyoacán, with hands-on experiments, a planetarium and gardens, and general admission around 90 pesos, cheaper than Papalote.
The two suit different trips. Papalote sits inside Chapultepec, skews a little younger and pairs with a big park day. Universum is larger, leans toward school-age and older kids who want real science, and opens Wednesday to Sunday, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so it works on days Papalote is shut. Between them you can cover most ages and most days of the week.
Papalote is in the Segunda Sección of the Bosque de Chapultepec, the park's second section, west of the main museum row. It closes on Mondays and opens the rest of the week, with longer hours at weekends. Metro Constituyentes on Line 7 is the nearest station, then a short taxi or walk into the second section.
Typical hours run mid-morning to early evening on weekdays and a little later on Saturday and Sunday, but they shift, so confirm the day's times on the official site before you set out. Plan two to four hours; children rarely want to leave quickly, and the second section has space to run off energy afterward. The table below covers the basics.
| At a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Area | Segunda Sección, Bosque de Chapultepec |
| Nearest metro | Constituyentes, Line 7, then a short hop |
| Open | Tuesday to Sunday, longer at weekends |
| Closed | Mondays |
| Admission | Around 215 pesos general; packages add the dome show |
| Time needed | Two to four hours |
Chapultepec packs several of the city's headline sights into one park, so it is easy to build a full day around Papalote. The National Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec Castle are both in the first section, a manageable distance away, and both take timed or gate tickets you can line up in advance.
Neither is a children's museum, but older kids often take to the castle's hilltop views and the great halls of Anthropology, and the two anchor the park for the grown-ups. For the wider picture, our guide to mexico city museums sorts every collection by area so you can plan the day around the park.
No. Papalote closes on Mondays and opens Tuesday to Sunday, with longer hours at the weekend. Times shift through the year, so confirm the day's hours on the official site before you go.
General admission is around 215 pesos, and tickets are sold as packages, with the giant-screen dome show priced a little higher when you add it. Buy through the museum's own box office or website, since there is no third-party ticket.
It works best for younger and primary-age children, who take to the hands-on zones, water tables and climbing structures. Older kids who want harder science may get more from Universum, the UNAM science museum in the south of the city.
Plan two to four hours. Children rarely want to leave quickly, and the second section of Chapultepec gives them space to run around before or after the visit.
It sits in the Segunda Sección of Chapultepec, the park's second section. Metro Constituyentes on Line 7 is the nearest station, followed by a short taxi ride or walk into the second section.
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