Day 48 - Halle Heart Museum

Backstory: We were going to check out the Tempe Historical Museum and their family friendly summertime events. BUT we drove all the way up there to find a sign on the door saying they were having power issues and the museum was closed for the rest of the day. So now we're up in Tempe with nothing to do. I had a groupon that I'd let expire for the Halle Heart Museum, so that was plan B.

The Halle Heart Museum is hidden in the corner of the American Heart Associate building. It's a cute little museum and a fun place to spend a hour or so. You can read my review from the first time we went here:http://www.trekaroo.com/activities/halle-heart-museum-tempe-arizona

Children 3 and under are free, 4 and up cost $5.

Discounts:

Halle Heart Museum participates in a free lunch program. If you come his summer between 11AM and 1PM you get free admission and kids 18 and under get a free lunch.

If your library participates in the Culture Pass program, stop by and pick up a pass for 2 free admissions.

Day 33 - Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Center & Lake Tahoe

We loved Lake Tahoe last time we were here, but we didn't have a full day to enjoy it today. While Daddy was at work we played at The Discovery.

This was our second time at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum. We love using our Arizona Science Center pass to get into all these fun places. This location only covers a family of 4 and charges for everyone over one-year, so we had to pay $10 for one kid. Much better than $50, though.

After Daddy got off work we headed over to Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe. The water was a lot lower than when we came last year. It was still lots of fun. The kids caught crawdads with some new friends almost he whole time we were there.

I always try to find the cheapest way to do everything on vacation. To see my money saving tips go here.

Day 28 - Tracy Aviary & The Leonardo

Today was supposed to be the hottest day of our week here in Salt Lake City, with temps reaching around 100 degrees. We had an outdoor activity planned for the morning and decided to keep things air conditioned for the afternoon.

Tracy Aviary is part of Liberty Park, which is Utah's much smaller equivalent of Central Park. The aviary is fairly small but pretty cool you can see a lot of rare birds close up. And the High Flyer show is a lot of fun, despite the fact that you are sitting in direct sunlight. To read my full review go here.

Today was our first time experiencing The Leonardo. I had been skeptical about going here in the past because they don't charge for ages 5 & younger. It sounded like maybe it would be more educational and less fun. Boy was I wrong. This plan was lots of fun. It's part science, part art, part combo. My kids are artists and scientists (as I think all kids are) so they thought a The Leonardo was fabulous. To read my full review go here.

The Leonardo is also part of the ASTC passport program. In case you haven't been keeping track, that's all the museums at Thanksgiving Point, Clark Planetseium Dome show, Discovery Gateway, and The Leonardo that I have received free admission at, thanks to my Arizona Science Center pass. 

Now I know you're wondering if I paid for the Tracy Aviary. Of course not. Unfortunately, you have to take up travel writing to get my discount. Since I write for Trekaroo, Visit Salt Lake hooked my family up with 3-day Connect Passes. These passes allow you to visit 13 venues, one-time-each, within a certain time period that you purchase. You can have the pass be active for 1,2, or 3 days, OR one year. The days of use have to be consecutive, which is why I didn't start using the Connect Pass until today. The Connect Pass also includes admission to all of the above mentioned ASTC passport participants, except you can only visit the Museum of Ancient Life and The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point AND you als get free admission to an IMAX 3D educational film at Clark Planetarium.

Day 27 - Clark Planetarium & Discovery Gateway in SLC, Utah

It's very convenient when two great attractions for families are located across the street from each other. It also makes for a full day.

Clark Planetarium and Discovery Gateway Children's Museum are both part of the wonderful ASTC passport program I've mentioned before. Because we are members of the Arizona Science Center we got free admission to Discovery Gateway and free tickets to a show at Clark Planetarium. Love it.

We started our day at Discovery Gateway, took a break at the mall food court (McDonalds) for lunch, headed over to Clark Planetarium for the 12:30 show we wanted to see, explored the free exhibits there, then walked across the street back to Discovery Gateway for a few more hours of fun.

You can read my reviews of Discovery Gateway Children's Museum and Clark Planetarium by following the links or heading to my passport on Trekaroo.com.

Life Flight Exhibit at Discovery Gateway

Day 26 - Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT

If you've never been to Thanksgiving Point in Utah, you are missing some great museums. Today we experienced dinosaurs, farm-life, gardens, and adventure.

The Museum of Ancient Life has always been one of our favorite dinosaur museums. We all love the huge dinosaur skeleton displays and the kids especially enjoy the water table and Dino dig areas. This summer they are doing a cool exhibit of balloon artistry. There was a huge replica of a Greek temple made entirely out of balloons. The creator was on exhibit as well getting the next masterpiece ready of Zeus of a thone. He said it takes him a whole week to make these sculptures. It was amazing.

Farm Country is a little time filler. It is fun, but also small. We like to visit the animals here and the kids like the pony rides. Today, Kid One got to learn a little about male horse anatomy when she saw the horse's nether regions before being petted and then again after. We love to add education to our outings.

The Museum of Natural Curiosity was amazing! I didn't know it existed. I had planned to spend a little time at the end of our day enjoying the splash pad at the Children's Gardens only to find it replaced by the best children's museum ever. It was a little hard to keep track of all the kids, but they were really enjoying themselves. I wish we had known how great this place was so I could have planned more time to spend here.

And how much did I spend to go to all of these museums? NOTHING! 

Thanksgiving Point is a participant in the ASTC passport program. We are members of the Arizona Science Center and so the Thanksgiving Point museums offer us free reciprocal admission. And how much did I pay for the Arizona Science Center family membership? Again, NOTHING. There was a LivingSocial deal for a family membership and I got three people to buy off of my link, making my purchase free. Breakfast was free at the hotel, lunch was PB&J's made from the free hotel breakfast, and our hotel also has free dinner 4 nights a week (although some nights it's more of a snack) so tonight we had free carnitas nachos. I spent $2 total on popcorn and a squished penny souvenir from Farm Country. I love making my own free days.

Day 22 - Fingerprints Children Museum

Hemet, CA is not a tourist destination, but it happened to be part way between my sister's home and my parents'. We met up with cousins today in Hemet for free lunch at the local library and a visit to Fingerprints Youth Museum.

Fingerprints is a fun play area with a lot of pretend play stations. They also host special events. Today we arrived just in time for their Creature Show, which consisted of a coup,e guys sharing their animals and letting the children (and adults if they wanted) hold and pet them. There were over 10 snakes which they allowed the children to pass around. I think all the kids now want a pet snake. To read my full review of Fingerprints Youth Museum go here.

We try to never pay full price. Today, our discount of choice was the group discount (and she let the 2-year-olds in for free as an added bonus). Almost all venues offer a group discount but the terms vary. Always check the website for group discount details. Most groups have to be scheduled in advance. 

How do you find a group?

 The easiest way is to have a regular playgroup that you can go to places with. Another easy choice is to join your local MOMS Club. They have a calendar of events for parents and children to attend every month. I was a member of The MOMS Club of Weber County for about 5 years. Part of the benefit was that we had non-profit status which let us get great group rates. You can also find moms groups on meetup.com or local Facebook groups. If you attend church, you could organize a "field trip" group within your congregation. Or, if you have a big family like my friend AP, your family may qualify for the group discount all on their own.

Day 12 - Slickables & Downtown Mesa

I had to run an errand in Downtown Mesa, AZ. I hated to drag the kids all the way down there without a reward, so I found this cute new ice cream sandwich shop called Slickables. You can read all about it here. Turns out, it was just across the street from the i.d.e.a. Museum so we stopped by there for a couple hours as well.

I love the vibe you get when visiting Main Street in any town we visit. I love the little local shops and storefronts, I love the sculptures and festivals. Downtown Mesa is no exception. It is home to many family-friendly venues. They are even hosting "Kidtastic" events every Wednesday in May & June. Here is a list of what I love and what I'd love to try in Downtown Mesa.

Downtown Mesa, AZ for Families

• i.d.e.a. Museum-A children's art museum with fun play areas and crafts for all ages of artists
  
• Arizona Museum of Natural History-The local "dinosaur" museum. Also has Arizona specific history and panning for gold 
  
• Mesa Arts Center-Home to great performances, art, and festivals
• Sculptures-Cool statues that kids can climb on and pose with for fun pictures
  
• Sweet Cakes Cafe-I've heard great things about this bakery
• Farmer's Market-Every Friday, stop by to shop from local farmers and artisans
• Light Rail-Coming soon, we'll be able to hop on the train to Tempe or Phoenix

What do you enjoy doing in Downtown Mesa?

Day 7 - i.d.e.a. Museum

It's starting to get hot. That means we need more indoor activities. My oldest daughter hadn't been to the children's art museum, the i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa, AZ and had been begging to go. We used my membership I bought with a groupon deal ( admission for up to 4 people) and Kid One's Pogo Pass (discount pass for multiple Phoenix attractions) for a free, fun outing. Read my review of the i.d.e.a. Museum here.

Why I Love Children's Museums

My kids love to craft, but I hate the wasted glue, tape, and paper and even more, the mess. That is why the I.d.e.a. is so great! The museum provides all the craft supplies and the glue and scraps don't get on my table. My kids can make all the junk they want and we can leave it on the table for other visitors to admire instead of bringing it home to clutter up the house.

Speaking of messes, I love that the employees are wandering around picking up stray trash and toys while I just get to play with the kids. I don't need to worry about the clutter around me when we are at a children's museum. I can enjoy my children without the stress of household responsibilities right in my face.

Another thing I love about children's museums is that everything is a novelty to my kids. We don't have a light bright wall at home so they think it's extra special and sit and and stick pegs in holes for half an hour. The toys are all new to them so it takes longer for them to get bored.

I like that there are areas specifically for babies. Kid Five gets attached my her brothers all day at home but in the baby zone, big brother's aren't even allowed. I know she is safe from bigger kids who do t know to watch out for little hands. I also know she has age appropriate toys that she can't hurt herself on.

Last but not least, I love that I can have fun too. I also like to create things out of old scraps of cardboard, but I don't have time at home. I enjoy putting on a puppet show with my son or doing puzzle on a giant touch screen while the kids play around me. I like interactive museums as much as my children.

What do you love about going to children's museums?