Lied Discovery Children's Museum

How would you like to take pictures of your shadow, see your friends on TV, sing in a studio, and play more than 100 musical instruments with a swipe of a hand?

At the Lied Discovery Children's Museum, both children and adults can enjoy more than 100 different interactive science, art and humanity stations.

Even if you found yourself daydreaming during science class in grade school, you'll be intrigued with all the different stations the museum has to offer. The 22,000-square-foot facility opened in 1990 and is considered one of the larger children's museums in the country.

The first floor is ideally for children five years old and younger, but teenagers and grown-ups can definitely enhance their science and history knowledge. Young ones can also take "make-believe" to a whole new level. They can choose from a variety of dress-up clothes and perform plays on the stage. For some serious playtime, children can work at a bank as a teller and even withdraw money from an ATM. Children can either purchase groceries or work as stock person or a cashier.

Just a few steps away, tots can enjoy "Desert Discovery," a station designed exclusively for the little ones. This area includes a bedroom and living room, a crawling area and even a mining area where kids get to drop ore in buckets and send it across the "mountain." Just outside the "Desert Discovery," kids can romp around at the Toddler Tower, a huge jungle gym offering plenty of space for climbing, jumping, sliding and more.

For those opting to take the stairs to the next floor, there are fun echo tubes to play with. Have your friends listen to you from upstairs as you talk inside the tube.

The upstairs level has exhibits for athletes, music lovers and much more. To put yourself in someone else's shoes, the Lied Discovery Children's Museum has a station called "What if you couldn't?" Visitors can try their best to shoot a basketball through the hoop while sitting in a wheelchair.

Nearby, kids can see how a green screen works and even star in their own mini-movie. The backgrounds constantly change, which makes it interesting to watch each time. For another fun group activity, kids can gather inside a booth and experience a hurricane, with winds blowing up to 70 miles per hour.  

One of the most unique exhibits is the "stringless" music station. This allows you to wave your hand and play more than 100 different musical instruments. By simply swishing your hand back and forth, you'll experience different sounds each time. Another innovative station is the K-KID in-house radio station. This is a great way for future Justin Biebers and Demi Lovatos to practice and brush up on their vocal skills.  

If you want to express all the excitement you experience at the museum, make sure to stop inside the shadow wall booth. Here, you can lose all your inhibitions and do all sorts of goofy poses. High-five yourself. Flash a peace sign. You can do as many poses as you want.

Designed to highlight the importance of healthy eating habits, "It's Your Choice" is an intriguing exhibit for the entire family. The messages offers a wide range of foods that inspire parent and child interaction and conversation about healthy eating habits. The exhibit features interactive components tailored to educate kids while making it fun at the same time. 

The Lied Discovery Children's Museum truly brings out the kid in everyone and allows its visitors to appreciate science, art and humanities in a whole new light.

The various exhibits and experiments rotate often, and older ones are frequently replaced with new ones. Birthday parties and group art classes are also available. Please call for more details.

-- Review by Jeannie Borbe