Montana

A Carousel for Missoula Review – Missoula, Montana

September 23, 2014 by danawyyc 1 Comment

Location: Missoula, Montana http://carouselformissoula.com/
Address: 101 Carousel Drive

Ride Cost: $0.75 children under 16, $.075 seniors over 55, $2.25 for adults, $1.50 for an adult and a child sharing a seat.
Age Range: all ages
Estimated Stay Length: 30 minutes longer if you visit the Dragon Hollow Playground too.
Food Services: Concession from June-August selling hot dogs, popcorn pretzels and other snacks and drinks.
Worth the Trip?: Absolutely. The combination of the Carousel, Dragon Hollow Playground and the nearby Children’s Museum Missoula make this area an excellent play for families visiting Missoula.

Gordie’s Review (3 years old): “It went fast!”

Overall: This carousel was put built in 1995 as a real labor of love by the community. A local cabinet maker spearheaded the efforts to make ‘A Carousel for Missoula’ carved ponies himself and purchased the antique frame. Each pony and chariot has a unique story. The Midnight Rose pony was donated by the Midnight Rose Carvers from Calgary, AB. Lucky the dragon dispenses rings that you can grab – if you get the brass ring you get a free ride.

One of the things I really liked about this carousel is that the horses are big enough for an adult to comfortably ride with a child. This was came in handy even with our three year old. He was nervous about riding, but more than brave enough when he could ride with his Daddy!

If you are visiting Missoula with your family, this area should definitely be on your list.

The Dragon Hollow Playground is right outside.

Have you been to A Carousel for Missoula? What did you think?

Museum of the Rockies Review – Bozeman, Montana

September 8, 2014 by danawyyc 9 Comments

Location: Bozeman, Montana http://www.museumoftherockies.org/
Address: 600 West Kagy Blvd

Day Pass Cost: $14 adult, $9.50 kids 5-17, 4 and under is free. (You may be eligible for free or reduced admission if you have a pass to a Science Center elsewhere)
Food Services: Limited but there are vending machines downstairs.
Age Range: All ages.
Estimated Stay Length: 90 minutes to half a day.
Worth the Trip?: Absolutely. The dinosaur exhibits are excellent, the children’s discovery centre is great for younger kids and they have interesting travelling exhibits too.

Gordie’s Review (5 years old): “I liked playing with my new friends.”
Nicky’s Review (2 years old): “Fish!” (She loves the fishing game in the Children’s Discovery Centre)

Overall:

Bozeman is about 90 minutes away from Yellowstone National Park. The Museum of the Rockies makes a great stop on the way to or from the park. We went 2 years ago and enjoyed it so much we came back again this year.

Martin Children’s Discovery Center

This section is located upstairs and is geared towards kids 8 and under.

It features the science of Yellowstone National Park and is actually better than what is available inside the park. There is a ton of things to play with, touch and even smell.

At the front you can pick up a backpack filled with things you can use to explore the centre. It is fun but totally not necessary for you to enjoy your time there.

There’s an area just for kids 2 and under with age appropriate toys and soft mats to crawl around.

Nicky liked it there both as an infant and a 2 year old.

In the center there’s a model of the Old Faithful Geyser. The noise can be a little startling when it ‘erupts’. If think this may bother your kid, it doesn’t run between 10-noon daily. There is another geyser that you pump by hand too.

There’s a number of other hands on features that help explain the science of Yellowstone to kids as well.

They also have a mini model of the Old Faithful Inn with books and dress-up clothes. Gordie really enjoyed playing there with another kid he met while we were there.

On the other side the have a campground with lots of fun accessories.

On this visit our kids’ (2 and 5 years old) favorite thing was the fishing bridge. The have fishing poles with a little magnet on the end that you can use to catch the fabric fish. They would have happily played their for ages.

Siebel Dinosaur Complex

This is really the main attraction of the Museum of the Rockies. It houses one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils in the world. Even if you’ve been to a dinosaur museum before, you will not be disappointed. We’ve been to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, DC – this exhibit is of comparable quality.

The museum houses the most T.rex specimens in the world (currently 13) including the largest T.rex skull in the world (Custer T.rex). At the time of this post the Custer T.red head is not on display as it is currently part of the travelling dinosaur exhibit in Japan.

One of the other highlights is the amazing displays on the growth and behavior of the Triceratops. That was my favorite part for sure. So interesting!

Some of the displays showed the dinosaur bones or muscles on one side and what the dinosaur might look like when it was alive on the other.

In each exhibit they also have kids areas set up with books and toys that fit the theme of the exhibit.

Paugh Regional History Hall

This exhibit features historical items and stories from the region from early exploration through World War II. I found this area to be a little less well suited to younger kids, but the large relatable artifacts like planes and other vehicles help hold their interest. There is also a children’s area with books, toys and costumes.

I really liked the house exhibit set up inside like an actual house with cut outs so that you could see the different rooms inside.

The Enduring Peoples exhibit is found between the History Hall and the Dinosaur Complex. It feature the life and culture of the Northern Plains Native Americans. No photography was allowed in the exhibit at the time we were there.

Special Exhibit: Geckos – Tails to Toepads. Closed September 7th

The Museum of the Rockies has a large area for travelling exhibits as well. On our first visit they had an exhibit on Napoleon. This time it was about Geckos.

Inside the exhibit you could see enclosures featuring many different kinds of geckos. The kids loved trying to find the geckos in each one. Some of them were pretty tricky.

Living History Farm

In the warmer months (this year has extended dates to celebrate the 25th anniversary – May 24 – September 21) just outside the museum, you can find the Living History Farm. The historic Tinsley house was relocated to the museum grounds and now serves as a window into the past. You can see costumed interpreters, bake and cook using recipes from the 1890s, grow an heirloom garden and work in the blacksmith’s shop. This year (2014) admission of the Living History Farm is free (regular admission still applies for the rest of the museum. Have you been to the Museum of the Rockies? What did you think?

Great Northern Carousel Review – Helena, Montana

August 29, 2014 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

Location: Helena, Montana http://www.gncarousel.com/
Address: 989 Carousel Way

Ride Cost: $1.50 per ride
Food Services: Ice cream shop located inside the building. They have dairy free options available. They also serve hot dogs, pizza, pretzels and nachos.
Age Range: all ages
Estimated Stay Length: 30 minutes.
Worth the Trip?: Yes, particularly in the area. The carousel is fun, the ice cream is good and it is right across from Helena’s science centre Exploration Works and a lovely open air park.

Gordie’s Review (5 years old): “I liked the ice cream. And riding on the dinosaur.”
Nicky’s Review (2 years old): “horse! again!”

Overall: We were staying at the nearby Best Western – Great Northern Hotel (it has a train theme my son LOVED it) on our way to Yellowstone National Park. Since we found ourselves in walking distance of the carousel we decided to stop by. The kids loved it, we ended up going again in the morning before we left. The carousel features animals from the area and stained glass work at the top with scenes from Helena. The carousel also has the rings that you can try to grab and you get a free ride if you get the brass ring. The ice cream was delicious and my kids (who don’t handle a lot of dairy very well) were thrilled that they had dairy free options.

Have you been to the Great Northern Carousel? What did you think?

Exploration Works – Helena, MT – Science Centre

August 18, 2014 by danawyyc 4 Comments

Location: Helena, Montana http://www.explorationworks.org/ Address: 995 Carousel Way

Day Pass Cost: $9 adult, $5.50 kids under 18, under 2 is free.
Food Services: Cafe serving snacks and drinks
Age Range: 10 and under
Estimated Stay Length: 1-2 hours.
Worth the Trip?: Yes, particularly if you are in the area and have younger kids. It’s also right next to a open air park area and the Great Northern Carousel.

Gordie’s Review (5 years old): “I liked the thing you squished your face in. [the giant pin art] and the thing where you put the scarves in and they whooshed around.”
Nicky’s Review (2 years old): “slide!”

Overall:

Exploration Works is Helena’s Science Centre. It’s located next to the Carousel and a beautiful outdoor park area. This is a great area for families visiting Helena. Exploration Works is a bit smaller than I had expected, but we had a lot of fun.

The Exploration Garden

Just outside the building is the Exploration Garden. There’s an enclosed garden space on one side.

Beside the garden is a pathway with outdoor musical instruments

Both of my kids loved these. You can access them without paying admission.

First Floor

Inside the building there are two floors. Here, you can find some classic science centre experiments like the one below.

On one side is space for small travelling exhibits. While we were there the travelling exhibit was Get Up and Groove.

Right by the doors is a water play area which is always a big hit with kids. They have water jackets to protect the kids clothes but you may want to have extra clothes handy especially if you have younger kids.

Little Sky Country

On the opposite side is an exhibit designed specifically for kids 5 and under.

My kids loved it here. I ended up practically having to drag them out so that we could see the rest of the exhibits. Nicky’s favorite part was climbing up the steps, dancing at the top and then sliding down the slide. Gordie spent most of his time with a set of building bricks.

The space is attractive with lots of opportunities for pretend play.

They also have a lot of features highlighting the animals and geography of the area.

2nd Floor – Science Cafe

On the second floor you’ll find more hands on science experiments. These exhibits rotate so they may be different from the ones that were there on our visit. But it will still give you an idea of what you may expect.

At one exhibit you can try to build a house out of little wooden logs and then test your buildings against a wind machine.

One of the most attractive features was a huge set of tubes with pressurized air that you could manipulate and put scarves though.

There was also a bee colony that you could look at.

This huge pin board was also a big hit with both of my kids. It’s pretty funny to see the kids squish their little faces in it.

Have you been to Exploration Works? What did you think?

Children’s Museum Of Montana Review – Great Falls, Montana – Travelling with Kids

March 10, 2014 by danawyyc 2 Comments

Thanks to Corrina for this guest post! Corrina is a busy mom of three kids under 4 who writes at the Celestial Nest.

Location: Great Falls, Montana http://www.childrensmuseumofmontana.org/
Address: 22 Railwood Square

Day Pass Cost: $4 per person (all ages)
Food Services: You can purchase coffee at the cafe.
Age Range: Children 12 and under.
Stay Length: 2 and 1/2 hours wasn’t enough time for us!
Worth the Trip?: Absolutely.

Overall:

There was not enough time in one visit to do and see all that was offered at the Montana Childrens Museum. I am just going to scratch the surface of the fun activities available at the museum. Before we even entered the main area the staff had my daughter gluing and building a space ship out of a plastic cup and plate.

We spend 2 1/2 hours there. I recommend going on a week day if possible. We went on a random Wednesday and we were the only ones there. The website suggests their activities are suitable for ages 4 months to 12 years and I would agree they do have something for every developmental stage up to 12 years.

The building is located in the older historic district and it’s brick wall interior is quite artistic. Downstairs they have a specific gated area for ages under 4. This is a safe space with lots of toys and educational games appropriate for smaller tots.

They also have many activities for older kids, ages four and up. My daughter especially enjoyed the fossil dig, which is an area filled with beans where children can excavate for fossils with shovels. This is gated off from younger children and requires parental supervision.

They also had lots of lego upstairs along with building educational tools complete with large PVC pipe which the children (and dad) had fun connecting.