Not all museums are created the same! Some times you find a museum that the kids and parents find educational AND fun. My family loves science, so getting to visit a science museum is always a good time for us.
McWane Science Center is such a place for our family. Located in downtown Birmingham Alabama at 200 19th St N.
We are more than an hour from this awesome children’s science museum, but we still make it a point to visit a couple of times a year. And every time we seem to find more to do and learn something new. We have a membership at our local museum, which is a member of the ASTC. Using our local museum membership we can get free or reduced rates at McWane. Check out my earlier post on museum memberships.
McWane’s Itty Bitty Magic City
McWane has so much to see and do I can’t imagine it would be possible to get to it all in just one day. Especially when you have kids that love Itty Bitty Magic City like mine do. Itty Bitty City is a make-believe city for the little ones that are Kindergarten aged or younger. Don’t worry about leaving the older kids behind if you get to visit, older siblings are welcome to join in on the fun. This section of the museum has a climbing area, a farm, a firetruck, a vet’s office, a small house, a mechanic shed, a water table for playing in the water, train tracks suitable for tiny hands to build, a diner, a grocery store and more. When I mention going to the McWane Science Center my kids immediately get excited and ask about going to Itty Bitty City, as if we would ever skip that part.
Itty Bitty City has so much area for hands-on learning for pre-school aged children, as well as an area set aside for toddlers that want to tumble around or play with soft blocks. Itty Bitty City also has it’s own restroom located in the back of the play area so parents don’t have to run out and search for one in a hurry… whoever thought of this must have been a parent!
Hands-On Learning
There is so much hands-on at McWane. Most every exhibit is an experiment you can do on your own. You can read about why/how something works or does what it does and you can do it on your own. You can make massive bubbles, lay on a bed of nails, dig for fossils, stand in hurricane force winds, and so much more.
Going to any other museum and reading about science and seeing pictures wouldn’t be hardly as interesting, and my kids wouldn’t be begging to go back so often. I have read that we learn 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, and 80% of what we personally experience. And I can assure you if I had read that laying on a bed of nails wouldn’t hurt I would have thought you were crazy, but now that I have experienced it… I understand it isn’t so crazy!
The Many Levels of McWane
The McWane building is HUGE. You come in on the main level with the ticketing area, IMAX theatre, and lots of hands-on activities. In the basement level you can visit the ocean, kind of. Downstairs (or down the elevator) is an area where you can pet stingrays or sharks. There are many different tanks of fish and sea life from the different oceans.
The top level of McWane has a changing exhibit area. For Christmas they have a Christmas theme set up with toy trains, a train the kids can ride on, and even a zip-line. We have come up here and seen older toys on display and even sat in a static car display that resembled the Monopoly car. It is always fun to see what will be going on upstairs when we are visiting.
McWane IMAX Theatre
And so as not to leave anything out… they have an IMAX theatre. Before the movie it is interesting to take a look at the massive projectors and huge reels that they have set up. I am not sure if this is what actually projects the movie, but my kids think it is one of the neatest things.
The last time we went in for an IMAX movie we were impressed that before the movie even started they pointed out some of the interesting parts of this particular theatre. The IMAX movie does change and currently there are two separate movies playing.
Some Extra Tips
Wear comfy shoes! It is a lot of walking! The museum is wheelchair/stroller accessible.
There is a cafe area with a Subway, Pizza place, Dippin Dots and a few other food spots. We carry our food with us and have gone to the car to have a picnic in the car. Outside food is not allowed in their cafeteria area.
If you have ever considered purchasing a museum membership to your local ASTC museum, purchase it a few weeks in advance in order to have your membership card when you visit. My membership has paid for itself many times over each year.
McWane Location, Hours, Admission
The McWane Science Center is located at: 200 19th Street N Birmingham, AL 35203.
(Hours and Admission as of September, 2022.)
The McWane Science Center hours are
Monday and Tuesday: closed
Wednesday-Friday 9am-5pm
Saturdays 10am-5pm
Saturdays 12pm-5pm.
The admission to the museum is $16 for adults, $13 for kids (2-12), and $15 Seniors (65+). The IMAX tickets are $9 for adults and $8 for kids and seniors. A Combo Ticket is $21 adults, $16 kids, and $19 for seniors. Kids under 2 are free!
As you can see our family LOVES the McWane Science Center and we always enjoy our visits! Do you enjoy a museum membership and check out other museums as well?
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