Getting ready forHands-on House, Children's Museum of Lancaster.
A play museum on Landis Valley Road for kids 2 to 10, with sensory kits at the front desk (noise-reducing headphones, sunglasses, fidgets and a sensory map), free noise-dampening headphones, a pre-visit guide with photos, and sensory-friendly hours with the lights and sound turned down and a calm-down room.
Sensory supports. Sensory kits, sensory-friendly hours, ages 2 to 10.
Hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 4 pm; closed Mondays, but museum admission is also sold on Mondays Nov 23 and Nov 30 and Dec 7, 14, 21 and 28 2026. No museum admission is sold for Thanksgiving (Thu Nov 26 2026), Christmas Eve (Thu Dec 24 2026) or Christmas Day (Fri Dec 25 2026); call (717) 569-5437 before a holiday or Monday visit. On particularly busy days, visits may be limited to 90 minutes. Noon Year's Eve, the museum's end-of-year fundraiser, is 9 am to noon on Thu Dec 31 2026; registration is required, $13 for adults and children.
“Sensory-friendly hours are designed for children with Autism and sensory sensitivities so that they can enjoy a calmer, lower-sensory museum environment.”
“Bright lights and loud exhibits will be turned down or off”
“Sensory kits are available to check out at the front desk. These including noise-reducing headphones, sunglasses, fidgets, and a museum sensory map”
“The sensory maps note which exhibits are loud, bright, have different textures, and may have unexpected smells”
“Currently we offer free noise-dampening headphones at the front desk for guests looking for a more sensory-friendly experience.”
The museum describes its sensory-friendly hours as Wednesday afternoons, 3 to 5 pm, with by-donation admission. The session sold with tickets on Thu Dec 3 2026 runs at a different time and has a ticket price (see the date card). Wed Nov 18 2026, 5 to 7 pm, is a ticketed Sensory Friendly Hours evening called the Connect & Thrive Resource Fair, for families who have children with disabilities, sensory sensitivities or other support needs: $7.50 for adults and for children; under 2 and members free; SNAP/EBT recipients can show their card at admission for a discounted admission. Call (717) 569-5437 to ask about either evening, and before you go on a Wednesday.
The pre-visit guide walks through the visit with photos: the parking lot and front door, check-in with the admissions staff, the sensory kit (it goes back to the front desk before you leave), the bathrooms near the lobby, each exhibit, the Play Lab (only open sometimes, where the playdough may smell like things you don't expect, like vanilla or pumpkin spice) and the black gate to the outdoor play space.
Sensory maps are in two spots in the museum and online, and a kit includes one. Paper copies of the museum map are at the front desk.
Sensory kits (noise-reducing headphones, sunglasses, fidgets and a sensory map) to check out at the front desk, plus free noise-dampening headphones.
Sensory-friendly hours: bright lights and loud exhibits turned down or off, a quiet, low-sensory calm-down room, and signs on exhibits that may still be bright, loud or have unexpected textures.
A pre-visit guide with photos of the parking lot, the front desk, the bathrooms and every exhibit.
For a full-size copy your child can use, open this page at squaredsteps.com, tap Make it yours, then print.
Ask before you go
where the calm-down room is
whether you can leave and come back the same day
whether a sensory kit costs anything
where first aid is
Call (717) 569-5437More about Hands-on House, Children's Museum of Lancaster
Quieter, in the museum's words
Calm-down room, during sensory-friendly hoursquiet zone
Admission: children 2 to 10, $12; adults, $10.50; members free. Pre-purchased tickets are strongly recommended; walk-ins are admitted as space allows.
SNAP EBT card holders pay $3; these tickets are bought on arrival, with your SNAP EBT card and license. Nurses or aides who come with a child with disabilities or other support needs and the child's family or guardian get in free with proper identification; an aide with a child and no other adult counts as the guardian and pays admission. Visitors with an ACM Reciprocal membership pay half price. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, military members and their immediate family get in free with a valid active ID.
No food or drink inside the museum other than water or for nursing babies. You can eat lunch outside at the picnic tables.
The museum is most full on weekends, holidays and weekday mornings. At times it may limit visit lengths or walk-in admission.
The museum is geared to kids 2 to 10 and recommends 1 adult for every 4 children; children must be accompanied and supervised at all times.
Strollers are welcome, but adult seating on the museum floor is limited. There are changing tables and a small nursing station.
The museum may photograph visitors; tell the front desk if you don't consent, and ask any staff member with a camera not to photograph your child.
