Fade Into the Mist at the Museum of Life and Science
As a mom in Durham, the No. 1 place that I head with my kiddos is the Museum of Life and Science. There's so much to do, and it's such a great resource to have. You can wander inside for hours exploring the North Carolina wildlife, space exhibits, kids' play area and much more. Or, head outside and visit the farm animals, train, butterflies and bugs, dinosaurs, wind or outdoor animals. Those are all fabulous parts of the museum and are great fun to explore, but, believe it or not, there is more. I wanted to tell you about a few great new parts to the museum and one that you just might not have known about.
The newest feature that just opened at the end of June gives everyone something else to do outside at the museum, especially a way to beat the heat. Head out past the dinosaurs toward the wind exhibits and you'll soon find the museum's newest attraction - Into the Mist. The exhibit lets kids explore and interact with clouds and water by running through mist sprayers both coming up from the ground and in the air. They can also climb through tunnels and play in sandboxes. My kiddos wore bathing suits when they went, but you could really go either way - we got a little went running through the mist, but we weren't soaking. The kids had a great time, and we'll definitely make the trek back to the mist next time we return.
On the way back from your misty experience, check out the museum's other new addition. This spring, the museum opened up Sprout Cafe in their old cafe location. Sprout Cafe serves a great combination of fresh and local food with local favorites like The Original Q-Shack, Celebrity Dairy cheese, and Mad Popper popcorn. We sampled their lunch fare, and I had a delicious turkey sandwich with Celebrity Dairy cheese while my sons enjoyed their mac-and-cheese and PB&J's. One of the best touches was the choice of cookie or banana pudding with each kids' meal. The delicious new offerings at Sprout Cafe gave us something else to look forward to at the museum.
We couldn't fill you in on all of the museum's new attractions without reminding you of one of our favorites. If you've been to the museum, I'm sure you've headed outside, past the farm animals, to the butterfly pavilion. Both my sons love watching all of the butterflies flitting in and out of the trees, landing on the flowers and then flying off. And if you head to the butterfly house at either 11am or 3pm, you can have some extra fun. At those times, they release all of the butterflies that have recently hatched from their cocoons. You can watch the museum staff catch them in the cocoon room and put them in their little box, then bring the box out and let them all fly into the air in the pavilion. When they are first let out, they sometimes linger a few minutes and many times will perch on your shoulder or sit on your kid's finger. It's great fun.
Those are this mom's current favorites at the museum. However, there's always so much going on and many other exciting places to explore. So head on over, have your own adventure and find your new favorite spots!
