Discovery Museum at the Gateway

Yesterday we spent the morning at the Discovery Museum up in Salt Lake. We have been there before, but not since our second was a baby. My boys had a great time. They literally ran from place to place. This museum is built for children. The first room has a large "beehive" where you can send balls through different tubes and watch them move around. Then they have a large room with kid's size activities. A store, a house, a farm, a construction site, and a large water table. They have dress up clothes at each place, and lots of hands-on toys to play with. The downstairs is definitely for ages 8 and under.

The beehive. Our oldest sent a ball up the tube.

What cute construction workers!

The boys loved using the crane to lift the stones. They worked with some other kids.

Our 3 year-old spent more time in the kitchen. He emptied all the cupboards
and the fridge for dinner.
Don't worry, he put it all away. I think the milk is under the sink!

They got wet, but the loved the water activities.

 He went back to the food only this time he is loading it for the grocery store.

They wanted to ride the horse.

Once you head upstairs, the activities are geared for older children (6-12), but my boys still had a great time. One section lets you put on your own play or create your own movie. They also have a newsroom where you can pretend to give the weather forecast. The biggest part of the upstairs is more science related. They have many different kinds of blocks (wood, magnetic, pipes, etc) for children to use their creativity. They also have a train table and a wind tunnel where you can try to fly different types of paper creations. Outside on the roof, they have a helicopter which is always a hit.

Our 6 year-old loved these magnetic blocks.

Both boys loved flying papers up the tube.

The helicopter. Everyone wants to be the pilot!

The downside of this museum is the cost. It's $8.50 for anyone older than 1, which is why we haven't been there in a few years. Luckily this time, I had 1/2 price tickets so the cost didn't seem too bad. But $8.50/person is a lot of money to spend for any size family. It is almost worth it to buy a membership if you decide to go. For a family of 4, it costs $65 for six months and that gives you unlimited entry, plus some other benefits. If you went twice, it would cost more than that. The other downside is that it's far away. It only took us about 40 minutes to get there from Lehi-- It's to far to be a "Utah Vally Family Adventure."

We also tried something new. We signed up for one of their free classes. Each day they do something different--we were there on Thursday so it was a science class. They read a book and talked about seeds, showed some plants that were sprouting, then each child painted a picture using carrot stamps. It was only about 15 minutes, but it was fun to have a little structured play along with the other free play throughout the museum. They do the classes every hour, so if you go make sure to ask where you can sign up.

This is a great adventure. Everyone I have ever talked to has told me how much their children love it. If you have the time, and the cash, I would recommend taking a trip to Discovery Museum at the Gateway.