Children can discover the world of science by participating in a variety of activities at museums.
Museums throughout the United States offer a variety of regular educational and entertaining activities for kids. While visiting different museums, children can learn about the workings of the universe and explore geology as well as participate in story-telling and art sessions. These interactive programs are included in the admission price, so plan a trip with your children to the museum and take advantage of these stimulating instructional activities.
Construction
Children who are curious and love to build things at home will be delighted with the construction activities available at a variety of museums across the U.S. Children can learn how buildings work and explore engineering and physics at the same time, in a hands-on environment. The Children's Museum of Houston offers kids the chance to explore the techniques used to construct buildings and work with pulleys; the Louisiana Children's Museum allows young ones to plan, draft and even design cities and buildings; and Boston Children's Museum gives children the opportunity to drive a compact construction tractor, balance on a construction high beam and play on ramps, bridges and in tunnels.
Storytelling
The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and the Geology Museum in Madison, Wisconsin, offer free story-time sessions to children on a weekly basis. Pre-schoolers as well as school-aged children learn about the planets, astronauts and minerals during a story-time that is included with museum admission. Astronaut suits, spaceship crafts and moon rock displays are presented at the Air and Space Museum, while the Geology Museum features geological specimens as well as crafts for children to create and take home. Reservations are required at the Air and Space Museum, while bookings at the Geology Museum are required for groups of 10 children or more.
Experiments
Children who are excited by science can take advantage of interactive experiment stations with topics including magnets, weather, motors and optics on offer at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Children will receive guided instructions from volunteers on how each activity operates and learn more about the way the world works by participating in activities at stations such as the wave tank, a steam power plant and a simulated tornado. According to its website, the Science Museum of Minnesota, where 1.75 million artifacts are on display, is the most visited museum in the five-state region surrounding it.
Crafts
Some museums offer craft time where children can get creative and explore a range of tools and techniques. KidsQuest Museum in Bellevue, Washington, offers a one-hour Play and Paint activity session. Kids are invited to try a range of paintbrushes and tools that "splatter, roll and stamp," in craft sessions held on the first and third Wednesday of each month. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles holds Saturday Family Drawing Hours, where children are led by a professional teacher. Materials are provided for this activity, but space is limited, so the museum requires sign-up on the day of participation.
Tags: Children Museum, Geology Museum, Space Museum, buildings work, children learn
