It’s summer in Middle Tennessee, so if you’re looking for something to do inside to beat the heat with Pre-K Littles, check out the new “Early Explorations” area at the Adventure Science Center.
This learning space opened last month and is geared toward children 5 and younger. While your older kids are exploring the rest of the Adventure Science Center, divide and conquer as your little ones enjoy their newly dedicated space.
Right outside the entrance, there’s a large light exhibit (reminiscent of the light bright toy of the 80s) that my daughter loved. The door into the new space is also kid-proof, making it hard for children to enter or exit on their own.
FOUR AREAS OF EARLY LEARNING!
Once inside, the room is divided into four areas, which employees say “mirror” the other learning experiences, but are more age appropriate for smaller scientists. There’s a gated play area made for crawlers. Part of the room is also set up as a hospital, equipped with white doctor coats, an ambulance children can sit inside, microscopes and a radiology area. She looked like a little doctor as she donned a white coat and studied X-rays of animal and human bones.
The next area is all about the solar system where kids can put on a play space suit and crawl inside a space ship. There were Lego tables (where kids can build their own space shuttles), and control panels where they can use imagination to pretend they are blasting into space!
Finally, there’s an engineering area where kids can work by putting on a construction vest and hard hat. There are gears to pop on and off the wall and a miniature architectural model of some of Tennessee’s landmarks.
Each of the areas has a book shelf featuring themed titles for each space. Families can read these stories as they relate to the activities the kids are enjoying.
All in all, my 4- year-old still spent most of her time running through the “big kids” part of the museum. She traveled all the way up the beehive, enjoyed a show in the planetarium and (much to my surprise) has outgrown most of the Pre-K activities. However, if you have kids age 3 and younger, this age range will be thrilled to spend time in the new early exploration area.
For more information, visit adventuresci.org.
Rebecca Bright is a school teacher, a mom and a Nashville Parent Mom Reporter.
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