The Children's Discovery Museum in Normal is a special place.
Ever since we painted her baby sister’s room, my daughter has been obsessed with wanting to paint on walls. A few weeks ago, she finally had her chance. The Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal is the kind of place where kids can experience things that they don’t necessarily get to do at home.
The Children’s Discovery Museum, located in downtown Normal, is three stories and 24,000-square feet of kid heaven. The exhibits are uniquely catered to learning while having fun. That is, the kids are having so much fun, they don’t even realize how much they’re learning!
We spent most of our time at the Paint Wall, where kids can paint on an acrylic wall. Paint, water, and smocks are provided; all the kids have to do is bring the artist inside them. The kids also ventured several times into the dancing room, a dark room filled with interesting light patterns, where they danced their sillies out. Of course, no visit would be complete without playing at the huge water exhibit, the Sugar Creek Water Play area.
We started our visit at the Luckey climber, which is a two-story climbing contraption suspended in mid-air, but my daughter wanted no part of it. By the end of our time there, my little girl was feeling adventurous and gladly went up into the climber. That to me spoke volumes about the confidence she gained in just a few hours.
Whenever I visit the museum I wish we lived closer. They have wonderful programming and classes for children of all ages, in addition to the regular exhibits. The staff is warm and engaging. When my friend’s almost 5-year-old son got separated from us, within a minute of her informing a staff member they had tracked him down and delivered him back to us.
My Picasso in training at the Paint Wall.
Cost for admission is $6 for anyone 2 and over. There is space to eat your own food, if you want to bring a lunch. If you want to go out for lunch (there are several cute places nearby) you can get your hand stamped so you can return that day at no extra charge. We went there before our visit to The Gingerbread House, as featured last week.
The Children’s Discovery Museum is about an hour away from Champaign-Urbana. Click here for driving directions. Visit the Children’s Discovery Museum on Dec. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and get in for half price ($3)!
Have you been to CDM? What was your child’s favorite exhibit?
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