Ever since Cole and I had the opportunity to visit McWane Science Center during a school field trip last Spring, we have been wanting to go back! So we decided to surprise Evan and Cole with a family trip to McWane for Labor Day last weekend! We had so much more time to play and explore this time, and of course, we had a wonderful time!
If you've never been, there's something for all ages, from babies through adults. I certainly had a great time exploring exhibits while the boys were busy building motorized cars and other activities with their Dad! Here's just a few of the things we enjoyed during our trip:
Lower Level - World of Water and Shark and Ray Touch Tank
Being a former biologist from Georgia Aquarium, I was quite surprised and delighted to discover the large aquarium section at McWane, right here in Birmingham! They even have a species of octopus I'd never seen before! What a great opportunity to see and touch ocean critters without having to travel far.
Evan liked the moon jelly aquarium!
Evan was brave enough to pet a sting ray in the touch tank. Cole preferred to watch.
Level 1 - ScienceQuest and Bubble Room
Lots of interactive exhibits on this level. You can blast a bottle rocket, build and race a robotic car, explore all kinds of optical illusions, play with giant bubbles and so much more! Here are a few of the things my guys liked.
Braving the bed of nails.
Exploring different pulley systems to see which ones make it easiest to haul yourself up the poles. The guys wanted to do this several times!
Level 2 - Sea Monsters, Dinosaurs, NatureScope, Itty Bitty City and More
I love a great natural science museum with lots of bones and artifacts to explore and see. This floor of McWane is full of such exhibits, and will especially thrill dinosaur enthusiasts! My guys love interactive exhibits, so Itty Bitty City was right up their alley. LOTS of great opportunities for pretend play in Itty Bitty City. There's a restaurant, fire truck, vet hospital, automotive shop and more. Also, lots of loose parts building and designing opportunities, and a water play area. SO much fun! Head here first if you have babies and toddlers, there's even a special area within Itty Bitty City just for them.
Checking out a massive sea turtle skeleton in the Sea Monsters exhibit.
We loved this mini restaurant with bar stool seating around the edges for adults to play too. Look at this amazing lunch I got to "eat." 
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Lots of loose parts in this foam block building area.
Cole and I loved zooming the fuzzy balls around this crazy contraption and watching it spit them out at us. You can switch levers around the bottom to change the course of movement through the maze.
We love a good water play area and McWane's is super fun.
Level 3 - Art and Tech and Traveling Exhibits
The Art and Tech exhibit features some fun interactive exhibits! I will post some videos on facebook, since photos just don't do some of these exhibits justice.
We caught the very last day of McWane's "Design Zone" exhibit, and now they are featuring "Fall Into Science," for Fall. Read more about that HERE.
After spending five hours playing together as a family (we had to leave when they were closing for the day!), I can safely say that McWane Science Center is an awesome place for families. And there are plenty of things we didn't get to see, that warrant another trip soon. We'll definitely have to check out the new, temporary exhibit!
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