From humble beginnings in a small storefront location, the museum provided exhibits that gave children a safe place to learn and play.

Kid City served over 750,000 visitors from the Tampa Bay Area and became an important part of the cultural and educational fabric of the community.

After conducting a feasibility study and gathering input from more than 400 people, plans were drawn for a new 53,000-square-foot state-of-the-art children's museum in downtown Tampa's new Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

[3] In its first year of operation, the museum served 250,000 guests, donated more than 25,000 admission tickets to underserved youth populations, and saw approximately 26,000 children during school field trips and educational programs.

In January 2023, the museum announced it would host a three-year public exhibition of Big John, a fossilized Triceratops, on loan for Tampa-based businessman Siddhartha Pagidipati.