LA County Natural History Museum

Life with my three year olds often revolves around negotiation. I try to convince them to eat their vegetables, pick up their toys, and behave in public. In return, they bargain with me for trips to the zoo, cookies, trains, and dinosaurs. The majority of the time, our negotiations go nowhere but every once in a while, one of us gets lucky. This time, the kids got their dinosaurs.

The Natural History Museum is a Los Angeles institution. Its located in the heart of LA, next to the Coliseum, in Exposition Park (and yes, its worth the traffic to get there). The gargantuan staircase out front leads you into a world of paleontology, dioramas of African mammals, and California history. Walking through the museum’s grandiose halls swept me back in time to the days of elementary school field trips and excited exploration.

The diorama halls are old fashioned but still entertaining. Its nice to be able to stand so close to wild (stuffed) animals and actually get a feel for their true size. Even with that mid twentieth century feel, we still had plenty of fun indentifying the African and North American Mammals.

Of course, my kids came with expectations to see dinosaurs. Unfortunately, most of the dinosaurs are currently not on exhibit. The Dinosaur Hall is undergoing major renovations for a state of the art exhibit to open in 2011. You better believe we will be there for that! In the meantime you can still see a Trex and Triceratops battle it our in the Grand Foyer or peek inside the windows of the Dino Lab to see real paleontologists hard at work during the restoration process. 

The Bird Hall was another fun place to explore. There were stuffed birds everywhere! Dioramas of birds. Birds behind glass cases. Eggs from different species of birds. It was avian madness!!!!! My favorite display was the hummingbird egg next to the ostrich egg. It really put into perspective just how diverse nature can be.

We quickly walked through the Gems and Minerals, Shells, and ancient Latin American Art because quite frankly, my three year olds just weren’t that interested. We spent a bit more time in the American and California History because it involved swords, cable cars, and model ships. But what really excited my kids was the Discovery Center.

The Discovery Center is geared towards children and gives plenty of hands on opportunities. Ben could have spent the rest of his life building the Trex and searching for bones in the Paleontology Dig Pit.  Mari enjoyed the pit as well but she also loved searching for tiny creatures inside the many terrariums they had set up inside the center. She found everything from snakes, to beetles, to giant hairy tarantulas! Eek!

All in all, I think the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has something to offer for everyone. Are interested in spending some time exploring those great halls? Looking for details? The museum is located at 900 Exposition Blvd in Los Angeles and is open from 9:30 to 5:00 seven days a week. Adult admission is $9, Children 13-17 are $6.50, 5-12 years old are only $2 and Children under 5 are FREE. Such a bargain! 

Family Vacation
Los Angeles

Arizona Natural History Museum

My kids wanted dinosaurs. It was all they could talk about since watching The Land Before Time for the first time. We saw them at the San Diego Wild Animal Park during the summer but months had past and the overwhelming call for dinosaurs (mostly in the form of ROARS!) once again filled our house. After a little bit of internet research I came across the Arizona Natural History Museum in Mesa.  I will be honest. I wasn’t expecting much. But I can’t tell you how pleasantly surprised I was. The Arizona Natural History Museum provided us with over two hours of entertainment and I literally had to drag my kids out of there!

The first stop on our museum tour had to be the dinosaurs. The kids went over the moon when they stepped inside Dinosaur Hall  and were immediately encountered by life size skeletal replicas of the animals they had been so excited to see. Dinosaur Hall, I expected. Dinosaur Mountain, I did not. There were replicas of dinosaurs from different geological periods in different areas of the “mountain”. Many of the dinosaurs moved and made sounds. The best part was every 23 minutes a flash flood occurred on the mountain. You can see Dinosaur Mountain from many different levels inside the museum and your kids are bound to discover something new when they visit each floor.

Sorry about the quality of my photos of the dinosaurs. It was very hard to watch two very excited three year olds in a museum and take pictures at the same time!

The Arizona Through Time area of the museum includes gem collections, asteroids, some interesting reptiles like the snapping turtle, fossils from the days when parts of Arizona were inland seas, and a special exhibit about the evolution of the pronghorn antelope.

The Southwest Gallery had some very nice exhibits about traditional southwestern cultures complete with replica villages, historical artifacts, and a place where kids can move discs to make their own examples of coil pots. 

Another really cool part of the museum is the jail. The museum was built on the original grounds of the Mesa Jail. The actual cells are still available and open for tour. It is amazing just how tiny and uncomfortable those cells are!   This jail was so secure that no prisoners ever escaped. If the jail conditions today were as bad as they were back then, maybe people would be less willing to commit crimes!

In addition to the pioneer jail, there is a replica mine that you can walk through and a place for gold panning outside. I think my kids could have done that all day long. Water, sand, and bowls to put water and sand into. What’s not to love?

After a couple hours of exploring, I literally had to drag my kids out of this museum. If you are in the Phoenix/Mesa area I highly encourage you to check this museum out.

 The Arizona Natural History Museum is located at 53 N. Macdonald in Mesa, Arizona. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 10-5, Saturday from 11-5, Sunday from 1-5 and closed Mondays. Adults are $10, kids 3-12 are $6 and students 13 and up are $8 with ID. For more information and current exhibitions click here.

Family Vacation
Mesa

Family Vacation
Phoenix

Birch Aquarium

You know what one of my favorite things about Southern California is? That it can be 75  at the beach in February. This past weekend was filled with absolutely perfect weather. We knew that we had to get in the car and head west (well technically south west…)! We decided to spend the day in La Jolla, a gorgeous seaside community just north of San Diego. In addition to being home to world class beaches and upscale living, it is also home to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Birch Aquarium.

Birch Aquarium is a small but wonderful aquarium run by Scripps. What this aquarium lacks in size, it makes up for with quality exhibits and plenty of hands on educational opportunities. The tanks in the Hall of Fishes are filled with plenty of beautiful examples of the wonders of the ocean. Here, your kids can get eye to eye with clownfish (if Nemo is as popular in your house as it is in mine, this is a BIG deal), various small sharks, eels, creatures of the kelp forest, along with many more inhabitants of the sea.  If you plan your visit right, you can  watch a good old fashion feeding  at the huge kelp forest tank.  There is also a cute little fish nursery where you can see some aquatic life in their most infantile state.

Outside, there is a nice tide pool exhibit where kids can get hands on with some creatures that call the intertidal zone their home. As beautiful as the tide pools are, it is hard not to be distracted by the incredible views from the deck. Birch Aquarium is perched on the cliffs above the beach and the view is just amazing. I could spend all day just gazing out at the never ending expanse of ocean. Unfortunately, my three year olds don’t exactly have the same attention span so we had to head back inside to check out the rest of the exhibits.

Once inside, we discovered an interesting exhibit about CO2 levels and the effects of climate change on our oceans. I believe it is an important exhibit because it provides some nice evidence for climate change skeptics and helps educate children about the importance of conservation and environmentalism. My kids had a blast turning the crank and finding out how much more energy it takes to power a traditional light bulb as opposed to a compact fluorescent.  Another fun exhibit was the Wonders of Water which allowed kids to send plastic boats down a track of their creation and learn about the force of ocean currents.  I think my kids could have played there for hours.

We ended our visit in the sea horse exhibit. I don’t know what it is about those delicate little animals but they do seem to peak the interest of everyone who walks by their tanks. I especially enjoyed the video of the male sea horse expelling hatched sea horses from his abdomen. It was satisfying to finally see a man experience some labor pains.

The Birch Aquarium is located at 2300 Expedition Way in La Jolla, CA. Adult admission is $12.00 and child admission is $8.50. Children under 3 are free. This month is Museum Month in San Diego. If you visit any Macy’s in San Diego County, you can pick up (at the cash register) a free museum pass good for half off ALL participating museums (listed here) in San Diego County for the entire month of February. Each pass is valid for up to four people so if you have more than four people in your party, just ask for more passes. Its that easy. We are planning on using our pass as much as possible to explore some of the fantastic museums San Diego has to offer. I hope you pick yours up too!

Family Travel Tips
San Diego

Aquarium of the Pacific

It has been raining in Southern California. No, I take that back. Its has been POURING in Southern California. The kind of weather you expect to see in Texas or Florida but not here. We are not equipped for the rain. Our schools are outdoors, our play areas are outside, and sometimes finding something to do that is inside can be a challenge. Luckily, there is the Aquarium of the Pacific. Its not completely insidoors but you can still see most exhibits without so much as getting a drop of rain on your head.

We headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific during our last big patch of rain. Mari had won a free ticket  at a beach clean up and Ben had been talking about sharks non-stop. As soon as we walked through the entrance we were taken aback by an enormous whale hanging from the ceiling. Immediately my kids started squealing with excitement. We continued on over to a huge tank filled with fish. The kids pressed their noses up to the glass and got up close and personal with some of the animals that reside in the Pacific.

I glanced out a window and noticed that there was a break in the rain so we hurried to check out the outdoor activities. Ben was immediately drawn to the play area where he could pretend he was a pirate on the ship and climb on some sharks. We were able to coax him away once he realized there were real sharks and rays in the big tank and he could touch them!

 

Our reprieve from the rain was short lived so we headed back inside. Luckily the seals and sea lions were ready and willing to put on a show for us. The kids were absolutely thrilled to be so close to those adorable pinnipeds.  If you choose to visit the aquarium on a sunny day, you can also view the seals and sea lions from outside (though I happen to prefer the underwater view).

We went from tank to tank, learning about the wonders of the Pacific from jellyfish to otters to sea dragons to puffins.  We visited the freezing cold waters of the Pacific Northwest and then oggled the brightly colored sea life of the tropical Pacific.

In addition to the sea life exhibits there is also a really cool 3D movie that you can watch at the aquarium. We passed on it during our most recent visit because Mari gets a little freaked out by 3D but I have seen it in the past and its well worth your time. If you would like more information on the Aquarium of the Pacific click here.

Family Travel Tips
Long Beach

Pretend City

I am not sure who is more in  love with Pretend City, me or my kids. The newly opened children's museum in Irvine allows children to  live, play, and work in a town of their own complete with a grocery store, farm, bank, beach, marina, art studio, doctor's office, fire station, and restaurant. The town is not only a fun and safe environment for  kids to play, but is also very educational.

Take the grocery store for example. Kids can either shop in the store, work as stock clerks, or be cashiers. They can make pretend sandwiches in the pretend deli or sell produce that they have picked from the pretend farm behind the store. In exchange for the produce (or lobster and fish they "catch" in the marina), children receive play money that they can use to buy things in the store or restaurant.

At the pretend restaurant kids can take their parents order's for pretend sushi or dumplings or noodles. Then they can go back in the kitchen and prepare the meal, serve it, and take the payment using the pretend cash register. The kids had an absolute blast serving their parents and I think it was my kids favorite spot in the whole Pretend City.

In the center of town there is a stage complete with microphones, costumes, music, and lights for the kids to perform with. There is even a pretend sound board for the kids to find their inner mix master.

In the play house kids can help prepare meals on the pretend stove, put babies to bed in the pint sized crib, or  give the babies a bath in the pretend bathtub. Everything is built in child sized proportions from the height of the pretend sink to the length of the pretend bed. They can also help put on an addition to the house with toy tools, plumbing parts, and shingles.

 

Kids have a blast driving the toddler sized cars on the pretend roads all through town. They can even stop at the gas station.

In the doctor's office kids can check out xrays, give baby a well check including weight and temperature, and check out their own heights. Its a great place to help doctor shy kids become more comfortable with the medical field.

The marina is like a water table on steroids. Kids can build and sail their own boats, learn about currents and wind, and just have a great time splashing.

The art studio is a great place for little ones to discover their inner artist and express themselves. Plus it gives them a nice little souvenir to take home with them and place on the refrigerator.

3 hours after we entered, I had to drag the kids out of there. They had an absolute blast. I highly recommend Pretend City for the toddlers and primary graders. If you would like more information on Pretend City click here.

Family Travel Tips
Irvine

Discovery Science Center

I have been a Bank of America client since the early 80s. Back then my mom set up a savings account for me and my birthday money slowly accumulated in that account until I blew it all my first year of college (damn you beer!) Well all my years as a loyal BofA customer are finally paying off. Finally something free! Bank of America has a program called Museums on Us which gets you in to museums for free just by showing your Bank of America card at  the ticket window on specified days of the month. There are museums from California to Maine participating in this promotion. One of the museums in our area participating is the Discovery Science Center. It is located only a couple miles from Disneyland and its a great place to take kids to learn about science and have lots of fun in the process.

The museum has many of great exhibits such as the hurricane wind tunnel, a stream where kids can build levees or form lakes using sand (or throw the sand into the water no matter how many times you tell them not to...), and a rock wall.

Where else can you lie on a bed of nails?

Here is what Paul looks like pushed into the pinwall. Pretty creepy but oh so fun to do.

And don't get me started on all the ball exhibits. Too late. You already did. There is a place where kids can put balls into a thing that lets them spin down, down, down, into a hole. My kids could have done this all day. While they did this we checked out the air and space exhibits. Then we literally dragged Ben from the spinning ball vortex of fun, kicking and screaming. The fit lasted for quite some time. Yep. If you were there on Saturday he was the kid on the floor screaming. You know. The one who's parents stuck him in front of the Zamboni because they wanted to get a picture of what looked like him about to get run over. Yeah. That kid.

Have no fear. The were more balls to eventually bring the boy out of his fit. From the Science of Hockey Exhibit (yes, I know its technically a puck. But to a two year old, round is round) to testing the speed of your pitching arm to creating a track on a giant magnetic wall, to learning how hot air balloons work (Its round. Its  a ball) to virtual volleyball, there is more balltastic fun for everyone.

Balls not your thing (Ben must not be your name)? Well how about driving a bus or creating a touch screen work of art or testing your strength on a pulley or a grip tester?

But that's just the stuff inside. Outside there is a huge dinosaur exhibit where you can go on a dino-scavenger hunt and have fun playing in the cave of the Tyranosaurus Rex. Finally during April 4-19 is Bubblefest. There are tons of bubble exhibits and Fan Yang (an international bubble superstar) is putting his Mega Bubble Show for an additional fee. Good stuff!

So next time you are in town for a Disney vacation consider taking a break from all things Disney and try having some educational fun over at the Discovery Science Center. If you live in Socal, next time the weather outside is less than desirable, head on over for some indoor fun. Whether you are 2 or 92, I think you will have a great time.

PS- Once again I have to thank Just Spotted for the tip! Check out their April calendar for more great ideas.

California Academy of Sciences

Before we made our big move we just had to make it to San Francisco one last time. It is such an amazing city and I already miss being in such close proximity to all things SF. Recently the California Academy of Sciences reopened its doors after a 3 year closure for remodeling.  It is one of the largest museums of natural history in the world and one of the oldest museums in the country.  The remodel allowed the engineers to integrate tons of environmentally friendly features into the design of the new building. These include a system which results in the production of 50 percent less wastewater, 60 thousand solar cells for electricity generation, a 2.5 acre living roof, over 20,000 cubic yards of recycled concrete, natural lighting in 90 percent of occupied spaces, one million pounds of recycled steel, and wall insulation made from scraps of recycled denim. Hopefully the example that the engineers of this museum have set will encourage others to incorporate more environmentally conscious design into their future endeavors.

We made it out to SF on a rainy Monday while my mother in law was in town and met up with our friends Amanda, Kierran, Nick, Matt, and Owen. The museum has been a mad house since it opened and I think the weather helped keep the museum only moderately crowded while we were there. 

First we encountered the manta rays swimming in the water below us on our way to the African Hall. I love how they turned a normal walkway into a place for discovery.

The African Hall is the only portion of the original museum that was kept intact. It features taxidermy animals from Africa and a colony of South African penguins.  It is nice to have a touch of old in a museum so cutting edge.

From there we headed over to the Galapagos exhibit. It demonstrates how evolution can take place in such an isolated area. There was also this really cool floor that had a computer generated jungle floor on it. Little bugs would pop out from the leaves and the kids had a blast trying to stomp on them.  I think the real object was to kick the right kind of food over to the right kind of bug but we liked our version just the much.

Another highlight of the museum is the Rainforests of the World dome. It has a spiraling path that takes you from the forest floor all the way up to the top of the tree canopy. There are beautiful tropical butterflies and birds flying free throughout the dome which resulted in plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" from the group.

The entire bottom floor is an aquarium complete with tide pool touch tanks, bizarre alligator gars, and enormous aquariums depicting different ocean zones.

There are plenty of things that we just didn't have time for such as the planetarium, and the weather prevented us from making it up to the living roof, but overall it was a very full day and there was something for everyone to enjoy and explore.   I would highly recommend make time for a visit the next time you are in San Francisco.