When you think of fun things to do with your children, the word “museum” isn’t often at the top of the list, and while your little ones might believe the only true fun that can be had in Niagara Falls is at indoor waterparks or arcades, the city is actually home to two different museums that are especially popular among children.

Whether you’re hoping to sneak some learning in on the sly during your family vacation or you just know how much your children love weird and fascinating facts and stories, here are two Niagara Falls museums your kids will love.

The Guinness Museum

Based on all the wacky, bizarre, and mind-blowing information found in the Guinness Book of World Records, the Guinness Museum showcases amazing and record-breaking facts in sections as diverse as Sports, Structures, and Animals. Watch footage from the world’s longest toppling of dominoes. Stand amazed at the amount of food extreme eaters can put away. See video of record-setting space adventures and exploration. Get your photo taken next to life-size models of some of the world’s most amazing people, like the world’s most tattooed woman and the tallest man in the world, Robert Wadlow, who stood almost nine feet tall. From interactive displays to fun games and trivia, the Guinness World Record Museum has plenty of galleries, photos, and facts to amaze you and your children.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is a place unlike any other — even other Ripley’s Believe It or Not!s since every one features its own collection. Open 365 days a year this attraction is one of the most unique “museums” you’ll come across.

Home to over 800 strange exhibits, optical illusions, one-of-a-kind artifacts and other curiosities, you’ll marvel over what’s here, from the world’s rarest egg to genuine shrunken heads, and the Niagara Falls Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is more than just a museum of eccentricities as it actually includes three different attractions:

• The Odditorium. The museum proper — it’s here at The Odditorium that you’ll find the dazzling collection of strange and fascinating artifacts. Since 1964, Ripley’s has been searching the world for items to add to its increasingly outlandish collection, and today, The Odditorium boasts over 10,000 square feet and 13 themed galleries.
• Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks. Over 100 life-like wax figures can be found in Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks, including many stars and starlets of yesteryear and today. Set inside a beautiful English Tudor-style building, the 16 galleries inside the wax museum make for plenty of hilarious photo opportunities for you and your children. From the casts of The Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter to movie stars like Daniel Craig and Robert Downey, Jr., you’ll be amazed at how alive they all seem.

So, bring the kids to Niagara Falls for your next family vacation, and be sure to take in these two kid-friendly museums.