Museums: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science

The Denver Nature and Science Center is a great place for your little one to explore nature through out time… with exhibits displaying large dinosaurs of prehistoric times (I mean what little explorer doesn’t like dinosaurs? and you can even talk to a real paleontologist !)

To their modern day ancestors like the powerful birds of prey…

There is a fantastic geology section where you can learn about the rocks that make up our world.

My little explorer really enjoyed the interactive displays where you can see the world through the eyes of a snake… COOL!

Walking and reading the signs with your little explorer will open their minds to big thoughts :o)

This museum also participates in the Blue Star Museums Program that offers large discounts and often free admission for military families from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Toy Review

We love brain-building toys! So we checked out a few that your little adventurer may be eyeing at the toy store.

the Ultimate Spy Watch by Spy Gear looked so cool! with its ability to decode secret messages, tell time in different time zones and stop watch capabilities!!!! Sounds Cool, Right?! ... but we could not get it to work :o(

Elenco EDU-37329 T-Rex Skeleton Kit is AWESOME!!!!!  It is 3 ft long when fully assembled! it looks like something right out of a real dinosaur museum... a must have for the dino-enthusiast!

The Smithsonian Microscope is a lightweight beginners microscope for the budding scientist. It comes with all the equipment needed to start micro-exploration... and we found it at Michael's 50% off :oD

The Sonic Sleuth is not just for ease dropping on your big sister's conversations... it can be a great tool for listening to all the little creatures on your afternoon nature walks...and this is really cool too!

Legos are the ultimate brain workout for any kid, it builds math skills, creativity and just may turn your kid into the biggest pint-sized architect on the playground.

Dino Dig in the Kitchen

Who knows what it feels like to have "Dino Crazy Kids" and live nowhere near an excavation site...?

Never fear, the Kitchen is here?

We made a mini excavation site right in the kitchen with a large plastic container that we filled with rice (but I think grits would have worked better... they look more like sand)  then I buried toy dinosaurs in the rice and gave the kids paint brushes and told them to discover the dinosaurs in the "dirt" ...

... they had a blast, I had to clean up a mess... but the looks on their faces was so worth it :oD

Discovery + Exploration  + Education = FUN

Tip:
This activity is also fun if you replace the toy dinosaurs with different sized uncooked pasta and after the kids dig up the "pasta dinosaur bones" they can create a "pasta dinosaur" on a piece of construction paper.