I've been a bit lax in updating this blog the last few weeks, not because we haven't been going anywhere, but more because we've been going everywhere! We had a whole 10 days straight of heading out an about. Some of the places I've already written about, like the two zoos, and Ackerman/Boy Scout Park. And of course we've been off visiting friends. We did check out some great new places!
One of those was the Acton Discovery Museums. Wow! Can I just say, this was probably the best place I've taken these kids! It was a little bit of a drive, about 45 minutes from Wenham, but it was so worth it! Can you imagine, we spent three hours at this very small museum, and didn't even come close to seeing half of it? There are two small buildings, and actually, we didn't even see all of the smaller building. There were upset children when it was time to go, and sleeping children the entire ride home. :)
So we met up with two friends and their (combined) 4 children. Driving down the road, I literally drove right past it. I was looking for a 'building', not a 'house'. Thank goodness for the giant dinosaur in the lawn! We turned around and found the parking lot. It's not a huge parking lot, but I think it gets the job done. We didn't have a hard time finding spaces. I was surprised to notice a sign that said "30 Minute Wait". A museum with a wait? So we got our tickets. (Free if you have the Children's Museum Reciprocal pass or a library pass, and can be discounted if you have the Entertainment Book) We headed back outside to explore. There's a lot to do in the parking lot. We hovered around the tree house and ship area, and also the painted 'road' they could drive tricycles on. I noticed there were other things around the parking lot, but the kids weren't interested in heading there. They also have a 'classroom' that has some toys in it, and a bathroom!
The wait ended up being much less than 30 minutes, and when we got in, I could see why there was a wait. It's a small victorian style house that's been converted into this amazing playspace/museum. No strollers allowed in the museum, and I'm not sure it's fully handicap accessible.
The first room was the train room, complete with a large train the kids could go on, a train table, and a ticket counter. Nothing high tech, and for me not all that exciting. The kids on the other hand had to be dragged out and into the next room, the ball room. Now I thought this room was great! There was a 'loft'-type structure for the kids to climb, some stage type areas, and a fireplace converted into a cozy reading nook. The entire room was outfitted with different 'tracks' for the balls. There were large lacrosse balls that you had to climb into the loft to put in the tracks. The tracks went around the room and hit different obstacles like keys, or dominoes. This was great for Patrick, and Cecilia loved the lower level tracks for golf balls scattered throughout. Room 2 was were we lost one set of friends......they stayed here almost an hour! The next room is the water room. Pretty simple. Giant water table, and this giant bubble set up where the kids can stand in a bubble. They do have 'water aprons' but I would definitely recommend a change or two of clothes per kid!
Then come the stairway, also full of fun for the little ones. There's a giant lighthouse they can climb in with a periscope and switches to turn on the light. Under the stairs is a seat and a TV that showcases an ocean scene. (No, not a Sponge Bob ocean scene! ) We headed upstairs, there's a bunch of rooms up there, and I know that with the three of them, I didn't really get to explore all the rooms, because it was hard to keep track of them all! I do wish there was a gate at the top of the stairs. The first room we went in was exploring colors with a huge wooden puzzle along the wall, and some neat color mixing containers and wheels. There's also a big wooden bridge that has light-up steps. The next room was a restaurant set up. This pretty much speaks for itself, but just picture a play kitchen on steroids! Complete with restaurant booths for us parents to sit and enjoy their creations. Here is also an unimpressive infant corner. There weren't too many toys in it, but I appreciated a chance to put Riley down so I could keep a better eye on the bigger two. Then we worked over to an eclectic area. There was a puppet theater, dollhouse, and they could climb up into an adventure fort.
The two other rooms on this level were the safari room, which also had climbing structures and a sensory room. I didn't get to spend much time in there since I could be in the hallways and keep an eye on them. Oh, and very important to note: Bathroom is located on this floor too, with a changing table!
There is a third floor, but we didn't make it up there. At this point, we'd already been inside about 2.5 hours! We slowly headed back outside and went to the 'front yard'. We grabbed some lunch at the picnic tables and the kids played in the sandbox and on the dinosaur.
I can not wait to go back! Not only did we miss the third floor of the smaller building, there's the entire 'science museum' that didn't open until 1 that we missed. Some of our friends had been here before and the kids really wanted to go there as well. But rush hours was fast approaching. We will be going back and planning a full day, so look for the Part 2 post.
Discovery Museums,
177 Main Street (Route 27)
Acton, Massachusetts 01720
Phone: 978.264.4200 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 978.264.4200 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
fun@discoverymuseums.org
Parking: Ample
Bathrooms: Classroom building by the Children's Discovery Musuem, and on the second floor of the Childrens' Discovery Museum. (I don't yet know where in the Science Building)
One of those was the Acton Discovery Museums. Wow! Can I just say, this was probably the best place I've taken these kids! It was a little bit of a drive, about 45 minutes from Wenham, but it was so worth it! Can you imagine, we spent three hours at this very small museum, and didn't even come close to seeing half of it? There are two small buildings, and actually, we didn't even see all of the smaller building. There were upset children when it was time to go, and sleeping children the entire ride home. :)
So we met up with two friends and their (combined) 4 children. Driving down the road, I literally drove right past it. I was looking for a 'building', not a 'house'. Thank goodness for the giant dinosaur in the lawn! We turned around and found the parking lot. It's not a huge parking lot, but I think it gets the job done. We didn't have a hard time finding spaces. I was surprised to notice a sign that said "30 Minute Wait". A museum with a wait? So we got our tickets. (Free if you have the Children's Museum Reciprocal pass or a library pass, and can be discounted if you have the Entertainment Book) We headed back outside to explore. There's a lot to do in the parking lot. We hovered around the tree house and ship area, and also the painted 'road' they could drive tricycles on. I noticed there were other things around the parking lot, but the kids weren't interested in heading there. They also have a 'classroom' that has some toys in it, and a bathroom!
The wait ended up being much less than 30 minutes, and when we got in, I could see why there was a wait. It's a small victorian style house that's been converted into this amazing playspace/museum. No strollers allowed in the museum, and I'm not sure it's fully handicap accessible.
The first room was the train room, complete with a large train the kids could go on, a train table, and a ticket counter. Nothing high tech, and for me not all that exciting. The kids on the other hand had to be dragged out and into the next room, the ball room. Now I thought this room was great! There was a 'loft'-type structure for the kids to climb, some stage type areas, and a fireplace converted into a cozy reading nook. The entire room was outfitted with different 'tracks' for the balls. There were large lacrosse balls that you had to climb into the loft to put in the tracks. The tracks went around the room and hit different obstacles like keys, or dominoes. This was great for Patrick, and Cecilia loved the lower level tracks for golf balls scattered throughout. Room 2 was were we lost one set of friends......they stayed here almost an hour! The next room is the water room. Pretty simple. Giant water table, and this giant bubble set up where the kids can stand in a bubble. They do have 'water aprons' but I would definitely recommend a change or two of clothes per kid!
Then come the stairway, also full of fun for the little ones. There's a giant lighthouse they can climb in with a periscope and switches to turn on the light. Under the stairs is a seat and a TV that showcases an ocean scene. (No, not a Sponge Bob ocean scene! ) We headed upstairs, there's a bunch of rooms up there, and I know that with the three of them, I didn't really get to explore all the rooms, because it was hard to keep track of them all! I do wish there was a gate at the top of the stairs. The first room we went in was exploring colors with a huge wooden puzzle along the wall, and some neat color mixing containers and wheels. There's also a big wooden bridge that has light-up steps. The next room was a restaurant set up. This pretty much speaks for itself, but just picture a play kitchen on steroids! Complete with restaurant booths for us parents to sit and enjoy their creations. Here is also an unimpressive infant corner. There weren't too many toys in it, but I appreciated a chance to put Riley down so I could keep a better eye on the bigger two. Then we worked over to an eclectic area. There was a puppet theater, dollhouse, and they could climb up into an adventure fort.
The two other rooms on this level were the safari room, which also had climbing structures and a sensory room. I didn't get to spend much time in there since I could be in the hallways and keep an eye on them. Oh, and very important to note: Bathroom is located on this floor too, with a changing table!
There is a third floor, but we didn't make it up there. At this point, we'd already been inside about 2.5 hours! We slowly headed back outside and went to the 'front yard'. We grabbed some lunch at the picnic tables and the kids played in the sandbox and on the dinosaur.
I can not wait to go back! Not only did we miss the third floor of the smaller building, there's the entire 'science museum' that didn't open until 1 that we missed. Some of our friends had been here before and the kids really wanted to go there as well. But rush hours was fast approaching. We will be going back and planning a full day, so look for the Part 2 post.
Discovery Museums,
177 Main Street (Route 27)
Acton, Massachusetts 01720
Phone: 978.264.4200 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 978.264.4200 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
fun@discoverymuseums.org
Parking: Ample
Bathrooms: Classroom building by the Children's Discovery Musuem, and on the second floor of the Childrens' Discovery Museum. (I don't yet know where in the Science Building)
| Children's Discovery Museum (The smaller front house) Tues-Sun 9-4:30 | |||||||
| Science Discovery Museum Tues-Fri 1-430, Sat-Sun 10-4:30 | |||||||
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