{"id":466,"date":"2016-10-14T19:30:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T19:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/?p=466"},"modified":"2016-10-14T20:52:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T20:52:51","slug":"birmingham-al-mcwane-science-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/2016\/10\/14\/birmingham-al-mcwane-science-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham, AL: McWane Science Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

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My kiddos love visiting\u00a0the\u00a0 McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 It is a great place to let kiddos run around for a few hours (for us, it’s usually about 3-4 hours).\u00a0 We are members and visit several times a month. The kids see and learn something new every time we go.<\/p>\n

The great thing about the McWane Science Center \u00a0is\u00a0that\u00a0the kids are\u00a0learning so much\u00a0while they are playing.\u00a0 It is a great place to take kiddos for an interactive\u00a0learning experience that is also\u00a0a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

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Above:\u00a0 photo via<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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LEVEL ONE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Level One is where you first enter the McWane Center. This is where you can find the IMAX Movie Dome, the Smart Caf\u00e9, and The Really Cool Stuff Store.\u00a0 The lobby and ticketing area is located here as well. The kiddos always have a lot of fun at the exhibits on Level One – like the Construction Zone, the Bubble Room, and the Body Challenge (plus several more educational & interactive activities). There are also restrooms and elevators located on this level.<\/p>\n

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Below:\u00a0 My son could watch this all day…The Vulcan Dream Machine… right next to the lobby and ticketing area.<\/p>\n

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Below: Laying on a bed of nails (we first laid on a flat plastic bed and then the nails slowly rose and lifted our bodies, until we were lying on a bed of nails).<\/p>\n

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Above: Photo via<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Below: The Bubble Room is always a big hit!<\/p>\n

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Below: Mindball – Move a small ball with your MIND!!<\/p>\n

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Below: The Demonstration Station. We have learned how to balance 17 nails on the head of 1 nail and we also learned to make music with pipes here.<\/p>\n

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LOWER LEVEL: World of Water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below: We headed down to the World of Water Exhibit. We were able to learn about Alabama’s rivers in the River Journey section and see a few fish from\u00a0different oceans in the Ocean Journey. This area also has a Shark and Ray Touch Tank and an Aqua Scape Theatre. There are restrooms located on this level, as well as a cafeteria with vending machines.<\/p>\n

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Below: In the World of Water Exhibit, there is the Shark and Sting Ray Touch Tank. The kids really like getting to “pet” the sharks and rays here.<\/p>\n

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LEVEL TWO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below: The High Cycle located on Level Two at the McWane Center<\/p>\n

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Below: My kiddos LOVE Itty Bitty Magic City<\/strong> and they\u00a0are sad that they are too old to play here anymore. It is designed for pre-school aged children (kindergarteners and younger), but older siblings are allowed to enter with their younger brother or sister.\u00a0 There is a mini diner, a playground, a small vet office, a tiny grocery market, a little mechanic shop and lots of other small activities. There is even a water section and small “raincoats” are provided.\u00a0 I must admit, if I were a few feet shorter and *cough* *cough* pounds lighter, I would have a blast in here! It is a dream playroom for young kiddos.<\/p>\n

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Above Photo via<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Below:\u00a0On the same floor as Itty Bitty Magic City is the Dinosaurs of Alabama Exhibit.\u00a0This area\u00a0displays actual dinosaur fossils discovered around the state of Alabama.\u00a0 The kids\u00a0were able to learn about the Appalachiosaurus, whose fossils were discovered in 2005.<\/p>\n

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Below: The Dino Race is one of the kids favorite activities. The sit in a stationary\u00a0bicycle and try to outrun a digital dinosaur by cycling.<\/p>\n

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Below: The Dig Site is locate on this level. The kiddos can use a paint brush to pretend to be paleontologists and uncovered bones underneath the “sand” (I think it is actually rubber pellets).<\/p>\n

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Below: The Explore Museum Collections Center<\/p>\n

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LEVEL THREE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Level Three is known for its Art and Tech Gallery.\u00a0 It features a huge piano, a face merger, and several other interactive exhibits.<\/p>\n

This area holds the\u00a0Traveling Exhibits. When we were there in the Summer, the exhibit was The Hall of Heroes. Then,\u00a0in the early fall,\u00a0there was a maze and Nano area. In November there is usually a Winter Wonderland and Traveling Trains Exhibit here on Level Three.<\/p>\n

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Below: Summer 2016 Featured Traveling Exhibit was The Hall of Heroes.<\/p>\n

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Below: Air Flow Maze<\/p>\n

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Below: Spinning colorful sand<\/p>\n

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Below: Experimenting with Light<\/p>\n

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Below: Nano Exhibit<\/p>\n

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Below: Catching digital butterflies<\/p>\n

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We always have a great time at the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, AL.<\/p>\n

Have you guys been there yet?\u00a0 What is your kiddos favorite exhibit?<\/p>\n

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McWane Science Center\u00a0\u00a0\/\/\u00a0 200 19th Street N\u00a0– Birmingham, AL 35203\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 205-714-8300<\/em><\/p>\n

Website<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    My kiddos love visiting\u00a0the\u00a0 McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama.\u00a0 It is a great place to let kiddos run around for a few hours (for us, it’s usually about 3-4 hours).\u00a0 We are members and visit several times a month. The kids see and learn something new every time we go. The great […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[101,100,120,121],"class_list":["post-466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-museums","tag-activities-with-kids-in-birmingham-alabama","tag-birmingham-alabama","tag-mcwane-science-center","tag-museum"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/MCW-20.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7QoNz-7w","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":876,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466\/revisions\/876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/have-kids-will-travel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}