Included on our Summer List was a trip to the Children's Discovery Museum in Normal. I have been wanting to take the boys to some kind of hands-on museum for a while, but was waiting until Reed was a bit older to really be able to participate and enjoy the experience. I learned about the Children's Discovery Museum from our local PBS station - it is our morning channel of choice now that we don't have cable and, therefore, no more of the preferred Disney Junior. {Poop.} From the museum's pamphlet: "The Children's Discovery Museum is three stories of amazing hands-on fun. The surprising array of exhibits and programs keep curious children and playful grown-ups happy for hours on end!"
I wouldn't say we played for hours on end, but we did spend a couple hours there the morning of July 18.
Level 1 included wooden car play,
the Toddler Backyard,
and Sugar Creek Waterplay.
The boys could rearrange the PVC piping to make the water flow in different directions, and then set their boats to sail.
The first level also had the "Healthy Kids, Healthy Future" exhibit, where the boys could put together a puzzle on their plates that included foods of every color.
They also shopped at the Fresh Market,
and made their own pizzas.
Drew made several pizzas so he could put them in and pull them out of the stove.
The "Inside Me" exhibit had a giant Operation game!
On Level 2 we found the "Oh Rubbish" display, where the boys pretended to be a worm in the compost pile.
Onto "AgMazing"...
where we milked a cow...
and got to tour the fields...
from inside a giant combine!
The boys also ventured inside the "Luckey Climber", which is this incredible jungle gym with numerous entrances and exits and ways to slither and sneak through. It was pretty cool.
Onto the giant ball machine, where we learned about wind and air,
and then a quick game of chess before heading up to the third floor.
On Level 3 we found the Imagination Theater, where kids could put on a play and dress their own puppets.
There was also a Jam Room where my future musicians could rock out
and see themselves on screen via a body heat camera.
Our favorite part of Level 3 was the Artsink Gallery, where the boys got to express themselves artistically - on the windows!
Their work in progress.
A masterpiece!
We finished off our visit by making a craft in the art studio
and then making a little more music before we headed for the door.
We stopped by Wendy's for a late lunch on our way out of town, topped off with a chocolate frosty for four.
I really enjoyed our day, and I think the boys did too. I loved how many hands-on exhibits there were, which were both fun and educational. There was a lot to see and do, and we could have easily spent another few hours there, making more pizzas and milking more cows.
Children's Discovery Museum - cross it off the Summer List!
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