There's big fun awaiting your family at at EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia. The South's largest children's museum is home to more than 350 hands-on activities, and unlike stodgy look-don't-touch museums, you can touch everything here. It's a museum made for a great family adventure.
When you first walk in the door you are greeted by EDDIE, the world's largest 10-year-old boy. He is 40-feet tall and weighs 17.5 tons. Visitors can learn more about how the human body works by crawling through EDDIE's brain and down his spine, into his beating heart, and then bouncing around in his tummy with bits of food. You can even slide out his intestines, complete with sound effects.
In the World of Work exhibit, learn what it takes to be a scientist, builder or mechanic. Down on the EdVenture farm, you see where your food comes from and how it gets to your table. You can pretend to be a check-out person or customer at the market, and then sit down for a healthy pretend meal at the café.
In the Wags and Whiskers exhibit learn what it means to be a veterinarian or groomer and how to care for your pets. And take a peek inside Dalmatian Station, where your kids will love dressing up like a fireman, crawling around on a real fire truck and meeting the in-house fire and life safety expert dressed in full fire gear.
Bang out some tunes with your family in Mission Imagination, and then anchor your own news show or weather report in the WEDV-TV news station.
In the Great Outdoors, EdVenture's outdoor gallery, learn how to reduce trash, how energy can be harnessed and take a look at how we interact with our environment.
Don't forget to stop at the water table where you can create lakes and dams, float boats through rapids downstream and make use of buckets and pumps to transport water. Then stop by the Aha Factory, where you can glue and glitter your way to an artistic masterpiece using recyclable materials.
For kids three and younger the My Backyard exhibit is the perfect place for an adventure. It's a tactile wonderland with interactive environments to stimulate their little senses. Learning to walk? There are plenty of surfaces for pulling up, climbing, sliding and hiding. They can set sail on the Little S.S. Shrimpy, and explore a tree house. There's also a family bathroom and nursing area in the exhibit to make your adventure as effortless as possible.
There's something for everyone at EdVenture. There are adult programs, after-school programs, camps for when the kiddos are out of school, early childhood programs and birthday parties.
The museum has a Fire and Life Safety program taught by educators on the museum's staff who teach children what to do in case of an emergency. For more information on how you can book fire and life safety programs for your family or for a group, please call (803) 400-1151.
On the first Monday of each month, little ones gather from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Toddler Take Over. Enjoy a puppet show at 10 a.m., create works of art, play in the sand, and enjoy story time at 11 a.m., followed by a character appearance. Pre-registration is not required. Toddler Takeover is $3 for members and $8.50 for non-members. Children ages 12 months to 5 years only allowed.
Another popular program is Family Fun Night, which is on the second Tuesday of the month from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is $1.
The museum also offers seasonal and visiting exhibits, so there's always something new to do at EdVenture.
The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $11.50 for children and adults; $10.50 for seniors (age 62 and older) and military (with ID); and $8.50 for groups of 15 or more with reservations. Members and children younger than one are admitted free.
For more information about EdVenture visit their website at www.edventure.org or join the conversation on Facebook.
