Lynn Meadows Discovery Center

We lost my grandfather at the end of May. So our family packed up and traveled the 15 hours (we have kids, remember?) to the Mississippi Gulf area.

Our first day there we met up with my friend Tiffany of As For My House and her littles, Jewel and R.T.

Our family purchased a reciprocal children's museum membership to the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry a couple of years ago. And since then, we renew it every year with money that the boys get for Christmas. It's the gift they get over and over throughout the year! Since we travel so much, the reciprocal membership has taken us to many different museums! We have been to the museum's in Atlanta, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale/Davie, and Columbia, SC.

The first time we met Tiffany, Jewel, and R.T. in real life was at the Miami Children's Museum while they were living in Homestead, FL, and we were visiting. It was a planned meet up since Tiffany and I were "online friends." So, now that they live 30 minutes from my grandparents, we were able to meet up again! This time we met up at the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center. Our boys enjoyed it so much, that we went two days in a row. The second day, we took my nephew Merlin. And after we had left on Sunday afternoon back to Charleston, my nephew was still begging to go back!

At each museum, there are exhibits that I like at each one. This one seems to be our favorite all over museum.

My train loving boys LOVED the Dolan Anvenue Depot!! It had a child sized train, complete with a ticket booth, an engine where you could shovel "coal", and even a dining car where you could serve and be served. Trunks along the platform encourage dressing up!

"Ticket Please, Daddy!"

Joshua enjoying the Bear Camp Bayou toddler area

All of the kids loved the Tree House Village!! Here Jewel is helping John-Michael down the stairs.

We got all 4 kids to climb on one of the structures for a group picture! Joshua, R.T., Jewel, and John-Michael.

Joshua learning about working on a Shrimp boat.

Pa is showing Joshua how to use the rigging to open the nets for the shrimp to fall out

Joe and John-Michael are scaling the Super Colossal Climbing Structure. On the second day, I actually had to have a kid inside the structure help John-Michael navigate his way out. LOL

Jewel wearing a Mantilla in the Celebrate the World We Share - Mexico exhibit. She and John-Michael both dressed up and fixed Tacos. Although the boys seemed to like playing in the child sized airplane the best.

Jewel dressed in attire from the 1890's in the Mississippi History City Hotel exhibit

Joe, Joshua and my dad ("Pa") working at WLMDC-TV. They had cameras and a desk, weather backdrop, on site backdrop, and a control panel you could choose which cameras to use. See? Even the big kids had fun!

Joshua is learning about Hurricane force winds in the A Matter of Science room.

Beside the WLMDC-TV station, was a green room with a kayak. Cameras filmed and played in real time a video of the children super imposed in a looped film of a floating river. So they got to see themselves paddling down a river in a kayak.

On our second day, we got to go to the art room. There they had displays of native orchids, exotics and Pitcher plants. The art teacher explained what the plants where and what they did. then each child got to draw the pitcher plant, and then color it in using water colors.

John-Michael working on his masterpiece.

My nephew, Merlin, working on his art.

All of the boys and my husband and the art teacher working together.

Back in Bear Camp Bayou, John-Michael was playing in the doll house.

Joshua discovered a table of African animals. He liked playing with the giraffes and telling his dad that the Bracheasaurus was similar to the giraffe.

Upstairs in the Mississippi History City Hotel, Joshua went ahead of us and began to shine the shoes on his own. I snapped this as I came around the corner. I guess he has helped his daddy shine his shoes before. :)

back over in the Mexico exhibit, John-Michael was dressed up as an Amigo.

1890's bedroom set up for the MS City History Hotel exhibit

the hotel parlor where we had a tea party.

My husband the news anchor.

We caught up with my brother and nephew in A Matter of Science room. Here they are discovering velocity

In the What It's Like to Be Me exhibit, Joshua discovered what it is like to live with a disablility. They had set ups for Hearing and Visually impaired, as well as physically impaired. Joshua got right in one of the wheel chairs and started maneuvering it up and down a ramp and turning it around like he had done it all of his life.

All in all, this was a great museum with lots of different exhibits. The exhibits weren't as large as some of the other museums, but for their size, the exhibits sure did pack in a bunch of stuff!! It was a well rounded museum and we would love to go back. I hope if you are ever visiting the Mississippi gulf area, you will go and enjoy the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center!

Please also excuse the pictures. I had a very hard week with Blogger trying to upload them. After the first 4, I had to use links from Facebook pictures instead!