Hands-on House, Children's Museum of Lancaster

Lancaster, PA · 38 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

handsonhouse.org|Day trips from Berks County

Hands-on House, Children's Museum of Lancaster

Plan the day

Drive38 minutes from Reading, 28 miles1 hour 7 minutes from Boyertown · 57 minutes from Hamburg · 37 minutes from Morgantown

Where721 Landis Valley Road, Lancaster, PAOpen in maps →

OpenThe site lists 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday, labeled as starting June 1; no seasonal closures are posted.9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, as posted from June 1.

AdmissionChildren ages 2 to 10 $12, adults $10.50, members free; SNAP EBT cardholders $3 at arrival; active military free from Memorial Day to Labor Day (posted on the visit page with no price date).

Plan onThe site says guests typically spend 90 minutes or more in the exhibits, plus time for a class or outdoor play; on busy days visits may be limited to 90 minutes.

Good forlittle kids, big kids

Hands-on House is a nonprofit children's museum on Landis Valley Road in Lancaster, PA, built for children ages 2 to 10, with indoor play exhibits and an outdoor adventure garden.

Kids run a pretend grocery market, vet's office, ice cream truck and post office in The Village, climb a two-story barn beside a life-sized tractor on The Village Farm and work a crane in the two-story ABC Construction Zone. The Play Lab rotates STEM and sensory activities monthly, STEM Explorers and art workshops come free with admission, and Mason's Active Adventure Garden adds slides, tunnels, a pirate ship and a sand pit outside.

Before you go

Pre-purchased tickets are strongly recommended; walk-ins are admitted as space allows. Lunch is eaten outside at the picnic tables, with only water allowed inside. Strollers are welcome, with limited adult seating on the museum floor.

Coming up

Make-Believe Masquerade Ball on Saturday, October 31, in two sessions, 10 a.m. to noon or 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Official site →Tickets →

Checked October 8, 2026 on the official site. Hours, prices and seasons change, so confirm there before a long drive.

More museums worth the drive

MuseumsChester County and the Brandywine Valley

Wharton Esherick Museum

Malvern, PA · 51 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

The Wharton Esherick Museum is the preserved hilltop studio and home of the American artist Wharton Esherick in Malvern, PA, a National Historic Landmark seen by reserved guided tour only.

MuseumsChester County and the Brandywine Valley

American Helicopter Museum & Education Center

West Chester, PA · 52 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center is a rotorcraft museum in West Chester, PA, with what the museum counts as over forty helicopters, gyroplanes and convertiplanes on display.

MuseumsBucks and Montgomery counties

American Treasure Tour Museum

Oaks, PA · 52 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

The American Treasure Tour Museum is a pop culture museum in Oaks, PA, a 100,000 square foot indoor showcase of band organs, animatronics, toys and classic cars seen from a guided tram.

MuseumsLehigh Valley

Allentown Art Museum

Allentown, PA · 55 minutes from Reading · Free

The Allentown Art Museum is a free art museum in Allentown, PA. Its galleries hold Italian, Dutch, Flemish and German paintings from the 1300s to 1700s, American art from the 1700s to the present, and a 1915 Frank Lloyd Wright library.

MuseumsLehigh Valley

America On Wheels

Allentown, PA · 55 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

America On Wheels is a transportation museum in Allentown, PA, with rare vehicles and hands-on exhibits in its galleries.

MuseumsLancaster County

National Watch & Clock Museum

Columbia, PA · 56 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

The National Watch & Clock Museum is a museum of timekeeping in Columbia, PA, run by the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, with more than 13,000 timepieces in its collection.

See every one of the museums on the list →