Places to Visit in California with Kids – Kidspace Museum

Today I am joining a group of California bloggers to share some of our favorite places to visit in California with kids.

I know, I know, a lot of you don’t actually live in California. Don’t leave just yet! You just might find a good reason (or two) to come visit… the weather is always nice. 🙂

A couple of weeks ago my sister and I piled all 5 of our kids in the car and drove to Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. It’s actually right next to the Rose Bowl. For us it was quite a drive… and trust me worth every mile!!!!

Kidspace was kind enough to provide us with complementary tickets.

Places to Visit in California with Kids – Kidspace Museum

Big M and his cousin T loved the Imagination Workshop. In the Imagination Workshop creative exploration meets science. I couldn’t get enough (I mean Big M and T couldn’t get enough. 😉 ) With handy materials, recycled tidbits and tons of containers full of little treasures kids can spend hours creating.

In addition to the free creation portion, Educators (that is what the staff is called) run a project. In the morning the project is on the simple side and in the afternoon they take the same idea up a notch. While we were there the morning project was playing with electricity. (Did you know that play dough conducts electricity?) In the afternoon the play dough was swapped out for switches.

The Educators had such an amazing way of explaining the experiments. (You know how important talking to kids is!)

Kidspace is full of incredible experiences. (We didn’t even see everything.) This post would be way too long if I told you everything in detail. Here’s a run down of some of the stuff we couldn’t get enough of!

• Tucked in the corner of the museum is a full size land cruiser. A dinosaur exhibit surrounds it. The kids had a great time pretending in this area.
• There’s an ant hole. I didn’t go in but the kids climbed up through a dark tunnel, feeling their way through large ant eggs.
• Two huge (and unique) climbing structures were the perfect way to exert some of that LONG drive energy.
• The bee observation center is very, very cool AND has a tube for the bees to leave and return.
• Of course our bug lovers loved the bug dining room.
• The Galvin Physics Forest is BEYOND cool. It’s full body science and the trail of notes that guide you help add to the learning. (My tip is to visit this part first. We went around noon and it was way too hot.)

Kidspace is celebrating National Dance Day on July 26, 2014. Free Family Night is happening on August 5, 2014. You can find more information about event dates here. 

 

Places to Visit with Kids in California:

Sunshine Kids Blog Hop 2014

Summer is a great time to explore with your kids – and you don’t have to travel far to do it! California has so much to offer to families. Take a great staycation this summer by visiting your local treasures! In our second annual Sunshine Kids Blog Hop, we are focusing on our favorite places to visit with kids in California. Enjoy! And be sure to add your own family-friendly California posts in our linky at the bottom. You can also check out even more California posts on our collaborative Kid Friendly California Pinterest board!

Participating Blogs:

And now it’s time to see what everyone has been up to: