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Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Cookeville Children's Museum - Cookeville, TN
A day out with my baby girls...
Cookeville Children's Museum
Cookeville Children's Museum
Marbles Kids Museum - Raleigh, NC
Pirate Ribby Sailing the Seas at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame - Dawsonville, GA
Awesome Bill from Dawsonville?
Yep, it's the Bill Elliott Collection at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame!
From Moonshine to NASCAR, come get your race on!
INK (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids) - Gainesville, GA
INK (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids)
"Our Experience Was Pretty Rough"
999 Chestnut Street,
Gainesville,
Georgia 30501
Gainesville,
Georgia 30501
"Our Experience Was Pretty Rough"
I've seen a slew of solid 5 star reviews on this place, so I'm hoping our bad experience was just an anomaly. But, it was a bad enough experience for me to feel the need to comment.
First, upon entering, the woman at the counter seemed nice. I explained to her that I was interested in purchasing a membership. We didn't need it specifically for this place, we were just on vacation and wanted a membership with ACM reciprocal benefits to save us money on other stops along our journey.
I asked if they had the ability to prepare our membership cards that day. Some museums from which we have purchased memberships in the past do have the ability to prepare cards immediately. Some don't. That's fair.
At first, she ensured me they could have our cards ready. Then after filling out the forms while negotiating a toddler anxious to get started in the museum, she decided that the woman who makes the cards was "too busy" and "didn't feel like making the cards today" so I would just need to come back later in the week.
Since we were on vacation and coming back was not possible, we just paid the full admission price and continued on our way.
Upon entering the museum itself, you can quickly tell this place is in the category of a very hand-made museum. It reminds me a bit of the Children's Museum of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana, which we actually adore.
But beyond being hand-made, everything just felt very dirty. And dingy. And worn out. And dirty. And broken. And dirty.
Through the first few rooms, the kids had a pretty good time. There is a dedicated infant/toddler room, a construction area, a grocery store, a bank, dentist's office, hair salon, motorcycle, train tables, and a cafe.
We had a pretty big group playing all together in the cafe. Taking orders, cooking, serving, eating, cleaning... My children love when they can get other kids to all join together to participate in a creative scenario.
After that, though, it got rough pretty quick. I'm not sure if it was a large school/camp group, or just a busy summer day; but there were HORDES of unruly kids, with nary a chaperone in sight.
I wouldn't normally be so quick to blame this on the museum, but there wasn't a single employee in sight either. The place rapidly became a dangerous free-for-all. My 1-year-old was thrown off the motorcycle, and then pushed and shoved away from the trains. Kids were throwing toys and fighting. Everyone was running and screaming.
It was a little quieter around the corner. There were a few more toys. Nothing specifically museum quality, just a handful of things we own at home. The airplane in the back of the museum was pretty awesome; but by the time we got ready for take off, the crowd found us, so we decided to get in the van and take off from the premises instead.
I asked if they had the ability to prepare our membership cards that day. Some museums from which we have purchased memberships in the past do have the ability to prepare cards immediately. Some don't. That's fair.
At first, she ensured me they could have our cards ready. Then after filling out the forms while negotiating a toddler anxious to get started in the museum, she decided that the woman who makes the cards was "too busy" and "didn't feel like making the cards today" so I would just need to come back later in the week.
Since we were on vacation and coming back was not possible, we just paid the full admission price and continued on our way.
Upon entering the museum itself, you can quickly tell this place is in the category of a very hand-made museum. It reminds me a bit of the Children's Museum of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana, which we actually adore.
But beyond being hand-made, everything just felt very dirty. And dingy. And worn out. And dirty. And broken. And dirty.
Through the first few rooms, the kids had a pretty good time. There is a dedicated infant/toddler room, a construction area, a grocery store, a bank, dentist's office, hair salon, motorcycle, train tables, and a cafe.
We had a pretty big group playing all together in the cafe. Taking orders, cooking, serving, eating, cleaning... My children love when they can get other kids to all join together to participate in a creative scenario.
After that, though, it got rough pretty quick. I'm not sure if it was a large school/camp group, or just a busy summer day; but there were HORDES of unruly kids, with nary a chaperone in sight.
I wouldn't normally be so quick to blame this on the museum, but there wasn't a single employee in sight either. The place rapidly became a dangerous free-for-all. My 1-year-old was thrown off the motorcycle, and then pushed and shoved away from the trains. Kids were throwing toys and fighting. Everyone was running and screaming.
It was a little quieter around the corner. There were a few more toys. Nothing specifically museum quality, just a handful of things we own at home. The airplane in the back of the museum was pretty awesome; but by the time we got ready for take off, the crowd found us, so we decided to get in the van and take off from the premises instead.
Maybe it wouldn't have been as much of a disappointment had we not paid full admission to enter, and instead put our money towards a membership that held a financial value to us for the rest of our trip.
And, again, it's not INK's fault if parents were not minding their own kids, but I don't see how you can run a museum with no floor staff whatsoever. Surely that's a catastrophe waiting to happen. A catastrophe for which we weren't willing to subject ourselves.
Of all the dozens of kids' museums we have visited, this is the first one my kids have begged to leave. I'm usually dragging them out at closing time. Here, they were dragging me out after less than 90 minutes.
National Corvette Museum - Bowling Green, KY
"Awesome History of America's Favorite Car!"
By nature, we're not specifically Corvette fans. But this museum is such a top-notch representation of all things Chevrolet, Corvette, Auto Racing, and Mechanical Engineering, that it's impossible not to appreciate the collection of beautiful exhibits.
Upon entering the building, you'll likely see a parade of fresh-off-the-assembly-line Corvettes awaiting "factory pick-up" from their proud new owners. Watching someone take possession of their brand new car is a red carpet affair for everyone in the room! Make sure you catch one of these babies heading out the door!
Also in the lobby is a late-model Corvette in which you can sit, take photos, and otherwise let the kids enjoy.
Once you purchase tickets, you begin your adventure with a short film, and the background of Louis Chevrolet and his company that would go on to produce the Corvette.
As you work your way through the perfectly preserved cars in their gorgeous displays, you'll eventually come to an awesome play area to keep little hands busy and little minds engaged. Kids will enjoy hanging out in the drive-in, serving up meals in the 50's style cafe, and learning all about car maintenance as they use a variety of tools to work on a life-sized model car on a lift!
Changing tires, checking under the hood, and experimenting with tools will put a smile on everyone's face. My kids could have sat here for hours working on cars, but luckily they were just as fascinated with the exhibits; so after a while, on we continued.
Next, you'll come to a few rooms on Chevrolet racing history. From Le Mans to NASCAR, and a little bit of everything in-between, you'll see racing suits, trophies, posters, paraphernalia, and, of course, RACE CARS!
The last permanent exhibits cover Corvettes through the years, complete with unique body types and histories, and then an exhibit on the materials and construction of these iconic automobiles.
There is a section available for traveling exhibits, and many of them are very kid-friendly. Be sure to check this area out. You never know what you might find!
If you watch the news, you've possibly heard that a giant sinkhole opened under the museum and swallowed 8 of the 28 rare cars on display in the Skydome in February of 2014. We visited while they were still retrieving cars from the sinkhole, and were able to capture some rare photographs of the damaged floor and the mangled vehicles.
In the past year, the floor was filled with limestone and refinished to its original condition. Most of the cars have also been painstakingly restored to as original condition as possible. I have included some of our photographs so you can see what happened. If you visit now, everything should be safe, secure, and completely as it was.
In addition to the museum, you will find a huge gift shop selling everything from toy cars to limited edition collectors' merchandise. Great gift ideas for kids, all the way to Corvette Connoisseurs...
There is also a 50's style cafe serving burgers, sandwiches, and great ice cream and milk shakes. The staff here seemed like they had better things to do than serve us, and we were the only people in the place as closing time was approaching; but the food was good for a quick bite to eat after spending most of the day immensely enjoying the museum.
*As a side note, if your family is into letterboxing, come prepared. There are several gems to be discovered throughout the museum.
Overall, whether you are a Corvette Enthusiast, a car lover, or just a kid along for the ride, there is great deal of enjoyment to be had here at the Corvette Museum. If you're in the Bowling Green area, take your family for a spin!
Upon entering the building, you'll likely see a parade of fresh-off-the-assembly-line Corvettes awaiting "factory pick-up" from their proud new owners. Watching someone take possession of their brand new car is a red carpet affair for everyone in the room! Make sure you catch one of these babies heading out the door!
Also in the lobby is a late-model Corvette in which you can sit, take photos, and otherwise let the kids enjoy.
Once you purchase tickets, you begin your adventure with a short film, and the background of Louis Chevrolet and his company that would go on to produce the Corvette.
As you work your way through the perfectly preserved cars in their gorgeous displays, you'll eventually come to an awesome play area to keep little hands busy and little minds engaged. Kids will enjoy hanging out in the drive-in, serving up meals in the 50's style cafe, and learning all about car maintenance as they use a variety of tools to work on a life-sized model car on a lift!
Changing tires, checking under the hood, and experimenting with tools will put a smile on everyone's face. My kids could have sat here for hours working on cars, but luckily they were just as fascinated with the exhibits; so after a while, on we continued.
Next, you'll come to a few rooms on Chevrolet racing history. From Le Mans to NASCAR, and a little bit of everything in-between, you'll see racing suits, trophies, posters, paraphernalia, and, of course, RACE CARS!
The last permanent exhibits cover Corvettes through the years, complete with unique body types and histories, and then an exhibit on the materials and construction of these iconic automobiles.
There is a section available for traveling exhibits, and many of them are very kid-friendly. Be sure to check this area out. You never know what you might find!
If you watch the news, you've possibly heard that a giant sinkhole opened under the museum and swallowed 8 of the 28 rare cars on display in the Skydome in February of 2014. We visited while they were still retrieving cars from the sinkhole, and were able to capture some rare photographs of the damaged floor and the mangled vehicles.
In the past year, the floor was filled with limestone and refinished to its original condition. Most of the cars have also been painstakingly restored to as original condition as possible. I have included some of our photographs so you can see what happened. If you visit now, everything should be safe, secure, and completely as it was.
In addition to the museum, you will find a huge gift shop selling everything from toy cars to limited edition collectors' merchandise. Great gift ideas for kids, all the way to Corvette Connoisseurs...
There is also a 50's style cafe serving burgers, sandwiches, and great ice cream and milk shakes. The staff here seemed like they had better things to do than serve us, and we were the only people in the place as closing time was approaching; but the food was good for a quick bite to eat after spending most of the day immensely enjoying the museum.
*As a side note, if your family is into letterboxing, come prepared. There are several gems to be discovered throughout the museum.
Overall, whether you are a Corvette Enthusiast, a car lover, or just a kid along for the ride, there is great deal of enjoyment to be had here at the Corvette Museum. If you're in the Bowling Green area, take your family for a spin!
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