Crazy, cool science experiments at Discovery Place, Charlotte fun things to do with kids

On a bed of nails she makes me wait…

Some wacky, educational, yet always cool stuff at Discovery Place downtown Charlotte. I love this place! Admission is $12 adults, $10 seniors and $9 children 2-13.

Amazing frogs! Discovery Place Charlotte where natural science is always fun

The Fantastic Frogs exhibit at Discovery Place science museum in Charlotte features exotic live frogs from all over the world with striking survival capabilities. Here you can immerse in the wild, colorful world of amphibians and see how frogs use disgusing techinques to attract mates, deceive predators and survive.

Playing the frog lifecycle game

There are several interactive stations kids can play at, scientific videos and of course plenty of frogs. Free with museum admission ($12 adults, $10 seniors, $9 children (2-12))

The Marine Cane, Bufo Marinus, can survive almost anywhere in the southern hemisphere.

The toad that conquered most of Australia

Also known as the Cane Toad, it was brought from Hawaii to Australia in a failed attempt to control sugar cane beetle population.

With no natural enemies the toad has flourished and destroyed much of the habitat it was meant to protect.

It is now considered one of the world’s worst invasive species.

The Pacman Frog, Ceratrophys Ornata, can puff up to considerable size and has a large mouth (half as big as the body) with sharp teeth lining the bottowm jaw which deliver a powerful killler bite.

Dont mess with the Pacman Frog!

The Mighty Poison Dart Frogs
• The Dying Poison Dart Frog, Dendrobates Tinctorious, according to legend was used by Amerindians from Guyana and Amazon to change the green color of a young parrot’s feathers by plucking the desired area bald and then rubbing with the living frog. When new feathers grew in they will be magically dyed bright yellow and red.

• The Blue Poison Dart Frog, Dendrobates Azureus,

The most fierce dart frogs females will defend territory and mating rights to their death

is considered one of the most territorial frogs, with females fiercely defending against other trespassing females.

During the breeding season, a victorious females wins the mating rights with the male of choice.

Two weeks after laying her eggs she must transfer them to separate pools as the growing tadpoles are cannibalistic.

• The Black-Legged Poison Dart Frog, Phyllobates Bicolor, is one of the three frog species whose toxin was used to poison the spears of Columbian Choco Indians hunters.

• The Green and Black Poison Dart Frog, Dendrobates Auratus, possesses a natural compound called epibatidine that has powerful pain-killing properties. It is 200 times stronger than morphine and is non-addictive.

It packs a pain killing toxin that is 200 times stornger than morphine

• The Golden Poison Dart Frog, Phyllobates Terribilis, is the world’s most poisonous frog, 4 times as toxic as the Blue Poison Dart Frog and 40 times more toxic than the Black-Legged Poison Dart Frog.

More incredible frog trivia:
• The Hairy Toad, Trichobatrachus Robustus, has bony protrusions that shoot out from the toe pads like claws to scare away predators; it’s not yet clear if they can also retract.

• Frog freeze! The Wood Frog turns its flesh from flexible to frozen during winter. The “popsicle” frog remains in a frigid state until the temperature rises, when it thaws back to life.

• The gliding-ator, Polypedates Dennysi, takes a leap of faith through the rainforest canopy to escape predators and to find mates.

• The tomato frog produces a sticky slime that is 25 times stronger than cement.

Visit Discovery Place to enjoy and learn about world’s most interesting creatures.

Think it up at Discovery Place! The best kids things to do in Charlotte

Everyone is an artist at Think It Up, the arts and crafts exhibit at Discovery Place museum downtown Charlotte. I wrote about Cool Stuff science and World Alive nature exhibits.

Admission to Discovery Place is $12 adults, $10 seniors and $9 children 2-13 (plus $7 to park in the garage unless you’re lucky to find a spot on the street).

The museum is open daily, 9-4 Monday to Friday, 10-6 Saturday and 1-5 Sunday.

This post is about being smart and creative. You start with foil sculpting…

Then you move on to make your own fancy shoes and trendy leather accessories.

Explore the grace of moving air. Create your own air symphony using wind sockets!

See how far can paper objects fly. Build your own UFO and let the wind turbine do the rest.

Finish up with a well deserved break on the dance floor.

Are you ready for some fun?

Wild about animals at Discovery Place, Charlotte fun kids things to do

I strongly believe the completely redesigned Discovery Place downtown Charlotte is the coolest science museum in the Southeast! Discovery Place is open daily 9AM to 4PM (6PM Saturday, noon to 5PM Sunday). Admission is $12 adults, $10 seniors, $9 children 2-13 and free for those under 2.
This post is about the “Rainforest” and “World Alive” exhibits, filled with North Carolina native as well as exotic animals from around the world.

Its so smooth!

It’s a jungle out here! Look out for python, dart frogs, macaws, sloth and cheerful birds. Make sure to attend the A World Apart free live show (daily at 3PM, free admission)

Walking a tight rope in Charlotte...

At “Touch a Tank” children can pet horse and hermit crabs, star fish, and sea urchins. How cool is that?

Hello Patrick!

The aquarium consists of 15 tanks featuring diverse ecosystems: Indo-Pacific coral reef, North Carolina coastal habitat, and a seafloor reef with small sharks, stingrays, jellyfish and more.

Salt marsh habitat in North Carolina

We spent the most time in the science lab. Lana was trilled to look at all sorts of objecs under the fancy microscope and to manipulate the images on the computer.

Your keys look huge mommy!

Yes, it’s real! Come enjoy an assortment of fresh wild animal poop, courtesy of black bears, bobcats, deer, raccoons and more…It stinks in here!

Yuk, smelly bear poop!

Dare to flex your bear muscles?

Arrrr...they look fierce!

I was drawn to the carnivorous plants…good think they were behind the glass.

Tough as nails...watch out she will bite you!

A trip back in time. It’s a small world really…

Whos your daddy?

Be forever childish at Discovery Place in Charlotte!

Cool stuff kids! Discovery Place in Charlotte blows your mind

The wait is finally over! The Discovery Place science museum downtown Charlotte made it to the 21st century! Recently we spent over 4 hours exploring the newly renovated museum. Admission is $12 adults, $9 children 2-13, and free for those under 2.

Our favorite exhibit was “Cool Stuff”, an action-packed gallery dedicated to fun scientific experiments. Here is a virtual tour:

Kids pull all the ropes at Discovery Place

Wanna get a lift? Hop on the air chair! Kids get to see how a small difference in air pressure can have a pretty big, and in this case, cool impact. It’s the same principle when you drink water with a straw…

Up in the air!

Get in line for a tug of war! See what’s all the fuss about giant levers, fulcrum, mechanical forces, and momentum.

Who do you think will win?

Sleeping beauty? Dare to lay down on the bed of nails (metal spikes)! It actually felt quite comfortable…

On a bed nails she makes me wait...

Snap circuits, create your own robots, mechanical arm and catapult. Design a computer program and see your robot go! Indeed, this is fun science learning at its best!

I robot...

This was by far the most popular station. Kids push, pull, shove, lift, and spin all sorts of mechanical contraptions just to move some sand around!

A construction boom in Charlotte?!

Feel the weird power of spinning motion with the gravity defying Gyro Briefcase! Rocket ships, bicycles, frisbees and yo-yos all take advantage of the strange gyroscopic motion.

It doesn't even budge mom!

Get higher and higher…kids use their muscle power to lift themselves up in the air. Experience first hand the properties of friction, pulleys, and levers.

Learn about friction and resistance

Ready, set, aim! Blast air at various targets or at your parents (if they’re standing in the way)! See a mini-tornado in action and learn about the power of a vortex.

Vortex power

Want more? There is also:

• Laser spy
• Lariat chain
• Dancing trees
• Sail racing
• Fiber optic illusions
• Hydraulic contests

Are you a wild thing? Then, spend some time at the Word Alive exhibit on the first floor. There are live exotic animals in the rainforest and the aquarium, and even a petting zoo!

Little ones have fun too inside the Kids Science exhibit, featuring a water table, race track, wind tubes, drums station and a protected area for infants and toddlers.

Be smart, have fun at Discovery Place in Charlotte NC!

Good times roll at the Greensboro Children’s Museum!

My 5 years old daughter loved this place! She made me promise we will come back to Greensboro just so she can play there again…

The Greensboro Children’s Museum is located downtown, across from the public library. Admission is only $6 (free for kids under 1), however you can get in for just $3 every Friday evening 5 – 8PM.

Lets go, lets go, lets go! There is a fire going on!

The museum has a plethora of fun, hands-on exhibits geared at children younger than 10 (although I had as much fun as she did…)

Kids can’t get enough playing at the:
• Real fire engine, police car, NASCAR car, mail truck
• Miniature train with a steam-engine locomotive
• Doctor office and nursery
• Grandma’s house and kitchen
• Performance stage and TV station
• Fresh super-market and oven-fire pizza restaurant

While in Greensboro make sure to visit the super cool, wildly fun Natural Science Center where dinosaurs come to live! Their Animal Discovery Zoo is one of the best small size zoo I have ever seen.

From Charleston to Savannah with love…Favorite places to visit with my kid in the Lowcountry

Here are the most surprising places I have found during my travel adventures in South Carolina (all approved by my preschool daughter). Today I’ll go over the Lowcountry: Charleston, Edisto, Beaufort, Hilton Head and Savannah.

The American LaFrance Fire Museum in North Charleston

This place is FUN with capital letters! Best of all its free for kids and only $6 for adults.

Drive a real fire truck at the North Charleston Fire Museum

Children can climb-on a real fire truck, go through a full-fledged emergency response, including a simulated street driving, honk horns, talk on the radio and push all sorts of buttons.

You get to see an amazing display of legendary fire engines from the 1700s to modern days.

I loved learning about the fire fighting history and its technological marvels, the fire trivia (i.e. Benjamin Franklin started the first successful fire insurance company in US) and the most devastating fires in the world (from AD 64 in Rome to 1906 in San Francisco).

The museum is open 10AM – 5PM (1PM on Sundays) and is located near the Tanger Outlets.

Charles Towne Landing Historic Park and Animal Fores Zoo

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Charles Towne Landing, the birthplace of America, is a wonderful place filled with educational, recreational and fun things to do for everyone.

17th century justice is served

The park is open daily 9AM to 5 PM. Admission is $5 adults, $3 children 6-15 and free for 3 and under.

Start at the Visitors Center to see how life was like in the 1670s for the Lord Proprietors, settlers, native tribes, indentured servants, and slaves.

Visit the Animal Forest zoo home to pumas, bison, alligators, black bears, otters, bobcats, wolves and a variety of birds.

Be a captain aboard Adventure, a life-size 17th century trading ship replica.

Walk, stroll, jog or bike along the marsh or through the 80 acres of magnificent gardens, featuring thousands of azaleas, camellias and centuries old oak trees.

Edisto Island Serpentarium

Gigantic alligators, deadly snakes, funny looking lizards and snappy turtles “with a face only a mother could love”…

Edisto's best buddies

The park features beautiful indoor and outdoor exhibits filled with native species as well as weird reptiles from around the world.

Make sure to attend the live snake education programs (at 11, 1, 3 and 5PM) and the alligator feedings (12 and 4PM).

Some may not have the stomach for it, yet we were thrilled!

Kids really enjoy digging through pre-historic bones from once native saber tooth cats, whales, mammoths and giant bears.

Edisto Island Serpentarium is open May through Labor Day Thursday to Saturdays from 10AM to 6PM (Monday to Saturday in the summer).

Admission is $12.95 adults, $9.95 children (6-12), $5.95 children 4 and 5, free for those 3 and under.

Old Sheldon Church Ruins

A deeply moving and inspirational historic site remnant of the 1745 Prince William Parish.

Twice burned, once during Revolutionary War and again during the Civil War March to the Sea and yet still standing…

Amid tragedy there hope and rebirth. The ruins have become a very popular site for outdoor wedding ceremonies and a photographers composition dream.

Mark your calendar! Once a year, on the second Sunday after Easter, the prestigious St. Helena Church holds a public service at the ruins.

The church ruins are located on Old Sheldon Road right off highway 21 between Beaufort and Yemassee.

Hunting Island Lighthouse and State Park – Breath-taking views, romantic beach and lush maritime forest. Hunting Island State Park is the most popular park in South Carolina, and for good reasons.
The park jewel is South Carolina’s only publicly accessible historic lighthouse. Dating from the 1870s, the Hunting Island Lighthouse shoots 170 feet into the air, rewarding visitors magnificent views of the Lowcountry marshland and the Atlantic Ocean.

Enjoy 5 miles of soft sand beach, a wonderful lagoon home to seahorses and barracuda, thousands of acres of marsh and tidal creek, a fishing pier and some of the state’s most desirable campsites.

Admire up-close loggerhead sea turtles, alligators, pelicans, dolphins and deer, Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and the rare coral snakes.

The loggerhead turtles nest on the island in the summer months.

Park daily admission is $4 adults, $1.5 children age 6-15 and free for children 5 and younger. Lighthouse ticket is an additional $2.

Parris Island Museum near Beaufort

An extraordinary place honoring the US Marines history, life as a recruit, and military accomplishments.

Here I am!

Admire hundreds of unusual weapons and enemy captures from legendary battles, laugh at the “good life as a recruit” posters and learn about the inspiring US Marines history.

Little ones can earn the “Junior Recruit” title by successfully completing the museum exploration challenge.

Admission is free and the museum is open daily from 10AM to 4:30PM. If time permits take the island driving tour.

Coastal Discovery Museum in Hilton Head

This place has it all! A rich display of the Lowcountry heritage, an incredible saltmarsh ecosystem, world-class history walks and nature tours

Delicate beauty at Coastal Discovery Museum in Hilton Head

and a brilliant Butterfly Pavilion.

Admission to the museum, outside grounds and the butterfly enclosure is free (guided tours range from $5 to $20 per person).

Coastal Discovery Museum is open year around Monday to Saturday from 9AM to 4:30 PM, Sunday 11AM to 3PM.

Here is an overview of the fun things you can do with kids outdoor.

Fort Pulaski National Park near Savannah

A memorable Civil War battle marked the end of masonry fortifications after the “indestructible” Fort Pulaski fell after 30 hours of cannon firings.

Fort Pulaski, an incredible Civil War battle and military marvel

Admission is free for kids under 16 and $3 for adults and is good for 6 days. The Fort Pulaski National Monument has a plethora of educational family activities.

Learn about the tragic story of the Immortal 600 Confederate officers, and mind-boggling military strategies and weapons deployed at the time.

Make sure to attend the live musket and cannon fire demonstrations that are held each weekend.

Walk the scenic 0.75 mile Overloook Trail to the Cockspur Island Lighthouse, originally built in 1837. The lighthouse escaped untouched during the 30 hours attack on the Fort despite the fact it was positioned straight in the line of fire!

Life is beautiful in the historic Lowcountry!

Fun things to do with kids in Wilmington: learn, play, explore at the Children Museum!

On our 3rd visit to historic Wilmington my daughter and I stopped by the

Black Beard wannabe

Children’s Museum.

After some online research I figured it will take us little over an hour to go through all the exhibits.

Well 3 hours later we were still strong into it…

Admission is $8 (free for kids under 1).

The museum is located one block from the awesome Cape Fear Serpentarium and is open 9AM – 5PM (1PM Sundays).

What kids like to do at the museum

Get their hands dirty and create masterpieces. This is one of the better organized and supplied “Arts and Crafts” room I’ve seen.

Little Picasso

Be a rock star, play in the glow room and try on many cool outfits.

Lets dance!

Drive the magic school bus, climb the Spider Man’s web and play inside the little cottage.

Hop on in kids!

Put on your scientist hat and discover all the wonderful things of Mother Nature.

Future biologists under the miscroscope

and the list goes on… play doctor at the Teddy Bear Hospital, test your Circus skills, shop at the supermarket and go camping and kayaking.

More fun places to visit the family downtown

• Check out Southeast’s largest museum-quality model layout at the Railroad Museum ($7 adults, $3 children 2-12).

• Get a thrill at the Cape Fear Serpentarium, featuring the world’s largest collection of deadly venomous snakes like the black headed bushmaster, Gaboon viper, Tropical rattlers, Fer-de-lance, and King Cobra ($8 admission, live feedings in the weekends around 3PM).

• Be awed and inspired aboard the most decorated WWII Battleship, The North Carolina ($12 adults, $10 seniors and military, $6 children 6-11, free for children 5 and under).

There’s always something fun going on downtown Wilmington!

Rock on, Blastoff, Action! A tour of Greenville’s coolest family attraction, The Children’s Museum of the Upstate

The Children’s Museum is finally open! Downtown Greenville is now sizzling with another fun family friendly attraction.

Lights, Camera, Action!

It’s a modern, cool and truly entertaining action-packed museum. Adults have as much (if not more) fun as the kids.

The museum is open Monday – Saturday 9AM to 5PM and Sunday 1 – 5PM. Admission is $12 (free for kids 1 and under).

TIP! Get in for just $2 on following Tuesdays evenings (from 5 to 7PM): September 17th, October 15th, November 19th and December 17th.

Tickets will be sold in advance on a first-come, first-served basis beginning the Monday prior to each “Two for $2 event”.

Fun things to do

Kids can be pop stars in a live recording studio, land a space shuttle airplane, race a Formula One car, climb a mind-boggling 2 stories high structure, shop in a real supermarket, play doctor, scientist, architect, environmentalist and much, much more…

Here’s an exciting sneak peak of the exhibits:

Life is good at Sea Pines! Hilton Head free fun things to do with kids

On our second Hilton Head vacation I finally got a chance to explore the amazing Sea Pines Forest Preserve.

On the Buggy Gut swamp trail

Admission is free, however visitors need $5 all day guest pass to get inside the Sea Pines Plantation.

In less than 2 hours we came close to alligators, anhingas and blue herons, and stepped back in time along the old Lawton rice fields and the prehistoric Indian shell ring.

That’s about all the outdoor trekking my 5 year old could take…so I drove to the Harbor Town playground, her favorite spot at Sea Pines.

Fun things to do and see

• Walk or bike on the historic trails through lush maritime forests and around pristine lakes. The most popular one is the 1 mile Boggy Gut board walk that takes you along an 1840 rice fields operation. Here is a detailed map along with the preserve overview.

• Admire the abundant wildlife, plants and trees. Common reptiles: alligators, snakes (copperhead, cottonmouth, black racer, Eastern King and yellow rat) and yellow-bellied turtles. The forest is a bird paradise, home or winter rest to over 200 species. Popular plants are the cat tail, saw grass, swamp willow, duck weed and marsh perry-wart.

Cute baby alligator resting on a log at Sea Pines

• Fish at one of the several freshwater lakes inside the preserve. Only children can fish at Lake Joe. You can drive or walk to Fish Island. There are picnic tables, a shelter and restrooms. Permits can be for free obtained at the CSA Security Office. More info by phone at (843) 671-7170.

Organized “catch and release” fishing is provided by Sea Pines Plantation guides on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 10:30 AM. Fish for large mouth bass, crappie, bream and catfish with tackle provided by Shakespeare. Reservations are required, call (843) 842-1979.

Family fun fishing at Lake Joe

• Walk around a replica of a 4,000 years old Native American ceremonial site made out of oyster shells. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Indian Shell Ring remains a mystery as no signs of permanent settlements have been found to date. Experts believe the area was used only for celebrations and hunting rituals.

In the middle of a 4,000 years old shell ring replica

Tips to know before you go
• Bring a bug spray! No see ums and mosquitoes really own the place. Apply sunscreen generously every 2 hours.
• Make sure to carry water with you, there are no water fountains around (at least none that I could see / use)
• Expect the unexpected…you never know what wildlife you may encounter. Some attractions look better on paper (like the shell ring)… while pleasant surprises pop up at every corner (we ran into a Christmas Present poem, a funny buck head like tree stomp and a baby gator)

Hi there Anhinga bird!

Spend an hour with the earth and her nature
And I promise that you will surely see
The truest meaning of the season
The one best present you could receive – The Christmas Gift

Make sure to also visit the rewarding Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn plantation for nature and turtle walks, exclusive history tours and beautiful butterflies! (admission is free, donations welcome)

Here is a virtual tour of our favorite historic sites you can visit on Hilton Head Island.

Live curious in the South Carolina Lowcouuntry!