Creative Discovery Museum with Cousins, 2018

Since there was a cold snap while the kid's cousins were here, we decided to visit the Creative Discovery Museum and the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

We have been visiting the CDM together since Jack and his cousin Levi were toddlers and we always try to make a stop when they are in town.

The upstairs level at the CDM has a revolving exhibit that changes several times throughout the year. It recently changed to an exhibit about Muslim People from around the world. It is always interesting to learn about different people and cultures.

The kids just enjoy being together.

I actually dropped off all the kids with my sister and brother and ran to get my car inspected. When I joined back up with them, we decided to sit outside on the museum steps and have a picnic.

Thankfully it had warmed up enough to be outside! When we went back in, we went up to the roof and enjoyed playing on the movement contractions there.

Jack's favorite spot is the Make It! room. He always makes a beeline to the hammer and nails. Cousin Izzy enjoys sewing and spent almost the entire time working on a project.

Isaac is a fan of river (water) play, and digging in the sand (I had to drag him away). While Levi is pretty laid back and seems to enjoy doing a bit of everything.

We always enjoy our time at the CDM and are always happy to go, especially if we get to visit with cousins or friends!

From America to Zanzibar at the Creative Discovery Museum

Sometimes you just need to change things up. It's been cold, but not snowy and the kids have been asking to go to the Creative Discovery Museum. So, that's what we did.

We saw the new exhibit “From America to Zanzibar” that shows how Muslims live in various parts of the world.

Jack did a building project in the Make It Lab, and Isaac wanted to paint.

The boys enjoyed digging for dinosaurs and figuring out ways to configure chutes and locks in the river play area.

And we couldn’t leave without beating on the drums and stopping to make life-size bubbles on the way out.

The CDM continues to be one of our favorite places in Chattanooga and it's the perfect place to visit if the weather outside is cold or rainy.

First Friend Day of 2018: CDM

Technically this occurred on a Thursday instead of a Friday, but it was an outing with friends, so I'm counting this as our first Friend Day of the year.

If you haven't been, the Creative Discovery Museum is the perfect activity to do with younger kids, especially if it is cold or rainy.

The upstairs exhibit "RUN, JUMP, FLY" is about to be over (they rotate exhibits through the year), so we enjoyed another chance to do it again. Jack really loves the snowboard/surf activity. And the kids all had fun "skating" in their socks.

We moms even helped the kids with a kinetic activity involving a bicycle that made wings flap.

After the kids were tired of the exhibit, we went downstairs to do our usual things: building with scrap wood, learning about electricity, playing musical instruments, and digging for dinosaur bones.

I love how sneaky the CDM is in getting kids to love learning. It is all play, but it is all education too... just like how we do a lot of our homeschooling!

And if you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web 

November: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Pioneer Days at Audobon Acres 

December: Christmas Cookie Party ⎮ Christmas Cookie and Bird Ornament Party

Friend Friday: CDM

It's Friday, so you know we are spending time with friends. And if it is cold and rainy out (or too hot), you can often find us at one of our favorite kid places in downtown Chattanooga: the Creative Discovery Museum!

We have had a annual pass for the last four years and it is one of our favorite kid-friendly places.

Upstairs at the CDM is a space for revolving exhibits that change several times through the year. The current exhibit has to do with moving your body and the kids love it!

Jack and Isaac and their friends did their best surfing and snowboarding demos (actual board with a screen in front of you). They also had fun testing their strength on monkey bars, an indoor rock climb, and various exercise stations.

As we played we were drawn downstairs by the sound of music in the main hall. They were having an all out party with music and all of the kids had ribbons to dance with. My boys and my friend's girls got their groove on with all the other kids and had a blast.

We also checked out some of our other favorite spots in the museum: the river section, digging for dinosaur bones, and painting. We didn't make it to every spot in the museum this week, but that is ok, I'm sure we will be back soon!

Note about Isaac and paints: The painting lab was open during our visit so we popped in to paint and the assistants working in the lab were cracking up at Isaac. He was very meticulous about getting one paint jar out at a time and putting it up when he was done. They said they had never seen a two-year-old paint like that. I just said that was how we do it at home. I guess I'm training him right!

Check back on Fridays to see what we have been up to!

And if you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web