Tin Marín Museo de los Niños

Lonely Planet review

Where to start? This gem of a museum has so many interesting hands-on features, your little one may need a return trip. Roughly divided into four sections - health, environment, technology and culture - exhibits include a miniature supermarket (to learn about food groups), a huge artificial volcano (complete with smoke and red lights for lava) and a papermaking area (to learn about recycling).

There's a cockpit and fuselage of a real Boeing 727 airplane, and a real VW Beetle that kids can handpaint to their heart's delight - part of an exhibit on color and senses, it looks like an Andy Warhol piece. Another kid-favorite is the Casa de Gravedad (Gravity House) - a small house built at a 23-degree angle to demonstrate balance and perspective. Add to this a butterfly cage, a puppet theatre, a mini TV studio, a huge brushable and flossable mouth, a computer area - all in all, it's a fun place to spend an afternoon. Everything's in Spanish, but that probably won't inhibit English-only youngsters. The rules are: no kids without an adult, no adults without a kid. There's a small cafeteria on-site, and shady Parque Cuscatlán - with its excellent sights - is right in front.