Our mouths were agape at the view. The entrance sign led us down along a giant serpent fence.

"You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So ... get on your way!"

I could hear the lizard gargoyle, in my head, quote Dr. Seuss as we walked to the entrance of the City Museum in St. Louis. I reached for the door but kept missing the handle; the wondrous jumble that stood before me captured my attention. Old airplanes, towers and castles, ladders, slides and mazes, giant pits full of playground-sized balls, and so much more awaits as you enter.

Through the door, my children and I were transported into the world of imagination likened to the Mad Hatter's mind.

Old airplanes, towers and castles, ladders, slides and mazes, giant pits full of playground-sized balls, and so much more awaits as you enter. (Image: Facebook/City Museum)

Brilliant and busy, crazy and creative we spent the day swallowed up by a whale, traversing tunnels in the sky and under fish. We climbed into an old airplane where a toddler was steering us through a dogfight.

We descended into a dungeon, and we climbed an endless maze of recycled, repurposed wrought iron and bits of architecture to heights that usually send the adult me into vertigo or worry. But the adult got left at the door — I was a kid again!

Climb three stories up on rebar (secure and safe) and shoot down a slide where I can't see the bottom? Yes! I'm in!

There are several slides like this — inside and out. Hurricane, straight and long, straight down and fast, and there is even a 10-story slide. Another mom and I needed a break to pant heavily around floor six and laugh at how much fun this was.

There are tree forts and tunnels that would make Peter Pan crow. Swiss Family Robinson and even Dr. Doolittle came to mind as I weaved and explored. These creations were these stories' places coming to life.

Then, there is the bus on the roof, hanging off the edge. No, really, there is a bus on the edge of the roof, and you can go in it. A school-time nightmare and a dream come true at the same time. Do we want to scream for joy or out of fear?

There is the bus on the roof, hanging off the edge. No, really, there is a bus on the edge of the roof, and you can go in it. (Image: Facebook/City Museum)

Transport yourself into tree forests, caves, oceans and wormholes that travel under the entire floor. Marvel at a room full of bugs. There is something for everyone. Only your energy level limits your experience at the museum, but you can rest on many sitting spots, refresh and start up again.

The City Museum is a collection of salvaged material and items of interest — mass quantities of architectural preservation. What else can one do with 29,000 gears, but pair them with marbles and make columns out of them, or a wavy wall made from more than 1,000 stainless steel pans?

The mosaics are outstanding throughout; the creativity is endless. Turn a corner and be faced with St. George slaying a dragon, a limestone carving from 1899, breathtaking to say the least.

The museum offers exploration for every age and ability; no one is left out. There are plenty of food areas; a coffee shop tucked back in with robots, a grill outside and even a bar.

Everything works in the City Museum. The mixture of old and new, beautiful and grotesque, all in the hands of some creative, imaginative people who make you want to stay for hours and come back for more because, as Dr. Seuss would say, "Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!"

For hours of operation, and any other information on planning your trip to the City Museum, visit their website: www.CityMuseum.org.