It also turns out that our Discovery Science Center museum membership from Sacramento is good at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. I knew the membership was good at various other museums - it's part of a network of museums around the country. We've been to the San Jose Tech Museum for free because of our membership. I didn't know the Natural History Museum was going to be so fun. They have a butterfly house. It's amazing! A smaller version of Marine World's butterfly house. And it's just big enough for my kids to enjoy it without getting too hot, or being in there too long. I really like it because, hello, butterflies are gorgeous. Although when they are sitting still they look kind of creepy. I prefer them when they are flying.
There are exhibits on rocks and minerals. Nicholas got to see a bunch of minerals and crystals that he likes to read about. We spent more time in that room than almost anywhere else. They also have a kids' play area - right now it is themed with conservation and forest rangers. So there is a play house - with a play kitchen - that pretends it is about good farming practices and conserving water in the kitchen. Really it's a play kitchen. I appreciate the theme, but it's a fun area for the kids to play in. The kids aren't reading all the signs or are concerned about conservation. They just want to play with the boat, the fish, the balance beam, and the kitchen. Not to mention the ping pong ball race course.
They also have a "backyard" area. Well, it's an amazing area.
There are sticks to build forts with. Lots of sticks. Most of them are made of bamboo. The kids really enjoyed playing with the sticks. Shocking I know. Sticks and kids. Lots of fun.
The backyard also has a little play river. The water runs from the top of the river down to the bottom. Abby wasted no time in removing her shoes and then walking in the river. Nicholas took a bit more time climbing on the rocks around the river before jumping in.
There are wooden boats and lots of small boulders around the river. Kids are encouraged to just play. So my kids built dams, then crashed the wooden boats into them to make the dams crumble. Too bad it didn't work.
So then they rebuilt the dams in another part of the river. Nicholas was excited to watch how building dams makes the river go faster in a different area. He built lots and lots of dams. Then he unbuilt them all so that he could float wooden boats down the river. Abby simply spent a lot of time in the water. And walking around the river. For some reason, she really liked walking up stream.
We tried taking a family picture at the beginning of the hike to the backyard. The hike is called boulder alley. It is a path between lots of boulders - and there are signs encouraging the kids to climb on the boulders. And by hike I mean about a 300 feet path. But it was a lot of fun to walk through and have the kids climb all over the boulders.
We really enjoyed our time here as a family and will be visiting the museum again. And again. After all, they have story time with the butterflies and star gazing. Two things my family really likes.
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