Children's Museum

The Denver Children's Museum-  We have only visited twice but my daughter loves it so much that we just purchased a membership so I am sure we will be visiting on a regular basis now.  There are a number of different rooms that all have their own theme- Fire Station, Grocery Store, Train Station, Bubbles, Nature Zone, and Construction.  There are also an art studio where your child can paint and get messy, a dress up area, music/dance area, a puppet theater, and a large magnetic board area full of letter, word, and shape magnets. 

They also have rotating exhibits.  The first time we went, January of 2011, the rotating exhibit was a Vet's Office.  This last time, February of 2012, it was a Physic's lab with wind tunnels and plane launchers.

A large part of the first floor is dedicated to the really young children.  It is designed for the infants and toddlers in mind.  There are cushioned areas to sit, places to let babies crawl, and play structures that are easy for young toddlers to climb on.

Here are some pictures from our first visit right before my daughter turned 2.


Baby/Toddler Area Slide

Rubbing plates in the Nature Area


Watching bubbles

Playing Trains
Dressing up in the music/dance area
Fire station dress up
Driving the fire truck


Here is a link to the Denver Children's Museum- http://www.mychildsmuseum.org/

Butterfly Pavilion

The Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado is another great field trip idea.  You can wonder through a large room full of different types of butterfly's.  You can get up close and really examine them when they land on branches next to the walkway and even on the walkway itself.  There is a room full of other interesting insects and spiders (luckily these are all in cages).  Another room has starfish and other little sea creatures.  My daughter's favorite area is the large playroom.  There are large 3d insect puzzles, insect rubbing plates, a climbing structure that looks like a section of a bee hive, and more.  They do story time in the butterfly area on a regular basis but we have not been so I'm not sure when it is or for how long it lasts.

We have only visited once, shortly after my daughter turned two.  I really enjoyed it and my daughter loved the play area and sea life room but at the time she was scared to get too close to any of the butterflies.  She would get upset when the butterflies landed on the walkway in front of her and would turn around and go the other way.  So as much as she liked the playroom and other areas I cannot bring myself to pay admission if she will not even walk through the butterfly area.  Now that she just turned three I think we will try and take her again (One of her little friends has a membership and goes all the time so hopefully she will get caught up in excitement with him).


Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Entrance

Sea Life

Sea Life


Walkway in Butterfly Area



Walkway Again

Play Area Activity


3D Ant Puzzle


Butterfly


Climbing Structure that looks like Bee Hive


Here is a link to the Butterfly Pavilion- http://www.butterflies.org/

Colored Sand Art

After Christmas I picked up a couple of Sand Art kits for about $1 a piece which is a lot cheaper they buying the colored sand packets individually. 

They came with four different colors of sand, funnel, and containers shaped like a Christmas Tree and a Snowman.  I put everything in a tub, cut open the sand pouches, and let my daughter do her thing.

Filling the Snowman


Filling the Tree
 

"Mommy, can I take it out?"  "Of course!"

 
Making swirls
 
Burying hands


My daughter previously had an indoor sand box for activities.  It was full of regular brown sand but she loved this sand so much because of all the colors that now this is the sand box we use for all our activities.