People that I live with here in the United States of America (this is the first time that I do not have international flat mates) told me that it is pretty common here that every bigger city has a museum, dedicated to children, and the city of Dayton is not an exception. The museum has quite a weird name – it is called Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. And it is named after someone, so Boonshoft is apparently a last name. Yay, my last name is not the weirdest anymore.
The museum entrance looks pretty inviting. And different.
And since I act like a kid from time to time, I decided to check it out. Besides the fact that I have never been to a children museum before, I had nothing to do on a rainy day and I decided to take the kids I am taking care of with me, even if it was a Saturday and I was not working. Well, I took them with me because I thought only families with kids will be there and I did not want to be the only grown up person there on her own. Because, after all, this is a children’s museum!
But as soon as we entered the building, I quickly realized that I was wrong about being the only adult in the children museum. There was actually a lot of young people without kids and they seemed to have a lot of fun. It is true that most exhibits are targeted towards children, but they are focused on adults too.
What is this place?
In Europe, children museums are more of an exception than the rule. But not here in the States. Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is very popular among families in the area and it has quite a long history – it was apparently opened in 1893. And, same as everything else in America, it is huge. If you want to see every single thing in there, you will be there the whole day. To just briefly check out most of the exhibits, you shold plan to spend at least three hours in there.
Most of the exhibits at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery are permanent, but you might notice some temporary ones as well from time to time. Sometimes, they are displaying animals that are native for this area. Do not worry, this part of the museum is not a real ZOO.
The animals that you will see in the temporary exhibit, are either wounded or incapable of living in the wild on their own at the moment. So, instead of killing them, they bring them to the museum where veterinarians take care of them, make sure they are healthy and they release them back in the nature when they are ready to return into their natural habitat.
How do I get there?
To get to Boonshoft - museum of discovery, you have to drive through a shady part of Dayton, and my employer warned me that it is not a good idea to drive through that part after dark, if you have a reasonably new car. That also means you should not walk there unless you are not alone.
Boonshoft is situated on 2600 DeWeese parkway. The museum itself is not very hard to find, because the way there is clearly marked. Well, except on the last intersection where you have to turn. I passed the sign and had to turn around on someone’s driveway.
If you are driving to Boonshoft from Oakwood or Kettering, which is where I currently live, simply drive through Dayton. At some point, you will cross the river, and the view from the bridge is pretty stunning. After crossing the river, you will drive for approximately five more miles before reaching the first Boonshoft sign. From there, simply follow the signs - you will have to turn right, then immediately to the left, drive for approximately half a mile, and then turn right to the museum's parking lot.
What exhibits can you see at Boonshoft - Museum of Discovery?
The museum has two floors, and both of them are equally awesome. Right after you enter, there is the main desk where you can purchase tickets, or show your annual pass if you have one. If you plan on going to the museum more than three times in a year, it is already cheaper to buy an annual pass. Plus, you get some benefits with it, such as a ten percent discount in the museum’s store, which is, by the way, situated just next to the main desk. And they are selling some pretty cool things there.
If I could, I would probably buy half of the things in that store. My favourite item in there, that is also food, is astronaut food. Basically, this is freeze - dried ice cream and you can pick several different flavours.
And how does freeze - dried food taste like? I think a good answer to this question is - different! It tastes like ice cream, but it is not cold and you have to take bites of it, because it is solid. Definitely a cool thing to try. A pack of freeze - dried ice cream costs around five dollars. I do not recall the exact price, but it is around that amount.
The package of the astronaut food looks inviting. But what is in there?
Looks like a regular ice cream sandwich. Tastes like it, too. But you can eat it as slowly as you want, because it will not melt.
I could write about Boonshoft’s gift shop all day, because it has so many cool gadgets, but I am going to move on. On the left side of the main desk, there is a big room, dedicated to space, and it is one of my favourite parts of the museum. In there, you can find out various interesting facts about space, all through different games and tasks.
All the exhibits in this museum are very interactive, not just the space one. I guess this is why it is called museum of discovery – you find something out on your own. This exhibit also has an IMAX cinema, which is free, and the movie they are showing, takes you on a journey through space. You almost feel like you are really flying in a spaceship!
Next to the IMAX cinema, there is a planetarium and I am addicted to that place! There are several times throughout the day when planetarium displays space presentations. It is super cool.
And the presentations are not pre - recorded - what you see on the ceiling of the planetarium, is actually happening in real time! If that does not satisfy your space exploration cravings, you are in for a real treat. Boonshoft hosts Friday night astronomy club. You can bring your own telescope (if you have it, of course) or borrow one of theirs. There is a small fee to participate if you are not a member, but it is totally worth it.
Next to the cinema and planetarium entrance, there is a place where you can get rid of your unwanted pennies, dimes or quarters. You might be asking yourself why would you want to get rid of your money, but this is a fun way to do so, and it will only cost you a few cents.
Well, unless you are having so much fun that you will spend more. It is called Vortex and it is basically a big funnel, where you deposit your coins and watch them gain speed and roll faster and faster, until they disappear into the hole at the bottom of the funnel.
On the right side of the main desk, next to the gift shop, the fun can start. Your inner child will be really happy. To be honest, some exhibits are really just for kids because an adult cannot fit in there, but if you have kids with you, you have a perfect excuse to do some things that you would not normally do.
The hall that will take you to all the fun.
The first thing you will see (and hear) on the right side once you pass the gift shop, is called the color wall. I am not sure how to describe it. It is basically a wall with a device that detects your body heat and movements, and displays it on the wall. But where is the fun part? At some point, you will notice three or four of your bodies walking on that wall. It is hilarious, little kids love it (and so do I!) and they always play really good, loud music in there.
On the opposite side of the color wall, there is a tornado simulator. You have to pay two dollars for it, but it is totally worth it. You basically enter a small booth, and the wind starts blowing. At some point towards the end, I could hardly breathe, but luckily, the whole thing only lasts about two minutes.
On the left side of the color wall, there is a water playground. In this exhibit, you can learn about rivers, water travel and dams. You can actually make the water level lower or higher and then let the plastic boat float down to see if you regulated the water level well enough for the boat to make it to the end of the course.
One of the things I really like about Boonshoft is that next to each exhibit, there is an explanation of what is going on there. For example, the signs next to the water playground explain how dams work. Another thing that I like about it is that you can actually do things and learn something new by doing so. Well, it is not called museum of discovery for no reason.
My second favorite place on the first floor (the first one is, of course, the gift shop) is the roller coaster wall. I am sorry to tell you that you will not actually ride a roller coaster here… but you can make one!
You will use pipes that stick to the wall with magnets to make a roller coaster and drop the ball through it to see if it makes it all the way through. On the other side of the roller coaster, there is a wall where you can stick different shapes or rubber bands to the wall and make new shapes. This one was not the most interesting thing for me to do, but the kids loved it.
A sign with the exhibit explaination.
In the middle of the space on the ground floor, you will notice a big climbing post and a big slide next to it. It is very simple - you (well, the kids) climb up there and come back down the slide.
And since kids that are younger than six years of age have to be accompanied by an adult, I had the perfect excuse to try out the slide. For more fun, you can use burlap sacks that are situated next to the climbing area, to minimize friction and go faster. And have more fun.
Prepare for your hair to go crazy after you go down that slide. Reason - static electricity. And yes, they do explain that on the sign next to the slide.
Where the slide ends, you will notice a glass door and some interesting looking instruments inside. This is the science lab, and anyone can go, but the bad thing is that it is only open on Saturdays.
On the right side of the water playground I was describing earlier, there is a door that leads into another exhibit. The first thing you will see inside, is a huge glass cage and a big burmese python inside it. A friendly advice - if you do not like snakes, do not enter this room. The snake rests in the same spot most of the time, so when it moves, everybody flocks to that exhibit to see it.
But the burmese python is not the only attraction in there. There are also a few smaller snakes, a tarantula (eww), poison dart frogs (so cute) and hissing cockroaches (eww again). What I learned about poison dart frogs in this exhibit, is that when they live in their natural habitat, they get their poison from eating a certain type of leaves and the ones in that exhibit are not actually poisonous because they do not feed them those leaves. See, even if you are an adult, you can learn something new in Boonshoft.
Under the cages and terrariums in this exhibit, you will notice drawers with different things in them. In some, you will find shells, insects, butterflies, and in some of them - do not say I did not warn you - dead birds and some other animals. That was probably my first encounter with taxidermy. And my question is - do they pick those animals on the side of the road after a car hits them? Or how do they get them? Maybe I will ask a staff member about it next time I visit Boonshoft.
After admiring both live and dead animals in that exhibit, you are ready to venture onto the second floor. A major part of the second floor is kids oriented, but adults can entertain themselves by reading interesting facts about the exhibits while the kids play.
Quite a few exhibits on the second floor feature local businesses from Dayton. For example, you can try yourself out as a pizza chef at the first Dayton pizzeria, fix some cars at a Dayton body shop or show your plumbing skills. I will not describe all of them, but you hopefully get the idea.
In this exhibit, you and your friends can be the judge and the jury. You even get to wear the judge's dress!
One of my favorite exhibits on the second floor is definitely the tidal pool. A few times a day (you can see the schedule at the front desk), a marine biologist will be there to answer your question about animals and you will even be able to touch some of them! I am not a big fan of the touching part, but I love listening to marine biologists explain all sorts of different fun facts and anecdotes about their work.
On the left side of the tidal pool, there is a dinosaur exhibit, and it is very educational. You will see a list of extinct animals, and the best part are the size comparisons. For example, you will see a giant ostrich egg, compared to an egg that ostriches nowadays lay. Or, a skull of a giant beaver, compared to the skull of today’s beavers.
Another great exhibit on the second floor, features some native American and Egyptian art, including a mummy. However, when I was there with the kids, they were not very impressed about this part of the exhibit (and not even the mummy), because they thought it was creepy.
This exhibit features life in a desert, mixed with some native American symbols and statues.
Some tribal statues among desert plants.
Second floor also features a temporary exhibit hall. In the past, you were able to see a butterfly exhibit, an ice age exhibit and a mini golf exhibit. They change those temporary exhibits every few months and they are usually a lot of fun.
A major part of the second floor is occupied by the zoo. You will not see giraffes and elephants there, but you will encounter some pretty interesting animals. And if you under the age of 16, or know someone who is, you can work there as a junior zookeeper. Sometimes I wish I was younger so I would be able to do that.
Each animal is clearly described.
A sleeping sloth.
Exhibit with ducks.
The last exhibit, situated at the very back of the second floor, is called the tree house, and it is a bit different than other parts of the museum. Besides pictures and signs with interesting facts about the animals that live in the forest, this exhibit is full of interactive puzzles and other fun things to do (Do I sound like a total kid?).
For example, you can listen to the recorded sounds of different birds, and match them with the right species, and you can even try to record your own sound. The better job you do, the more points you get. You do not win anything, but it can be fun (and, of course, educational) for children to compete with their friends.
At the very end of the exhibit, there is a tree house with big panoramic windows, that overlooks the forest, where you can see a lot of different birds. You can also find binoculars there, so you can actually admire some of the birds from a very close up. There is a lot of them flying around, so you will definitely be able to spot some. This is not like going to a real forest, where you can only hear birds and not actually see a lot of them.
When you have seen everything that you wanted to see, you can either go back the same way towards the exit, or just go down the slide, which is way faster. I had three kids with me, so I had an excuse to do it twice in one day, and it was fun!
A few thoughts for the end…
I really appreciate the fact that you can bring your own food and drinks to the museum. They probably allow this because of the kids, but there is also a snack bar and a couple of vending machines around the museum. There is a big dining room next to the snack bar, which is situated on the second floor, next to the butterfly house, and the best thing is, that you can sit down and enjoy your food there, even if you brought it with you and you did not buy anything there. However, it is usually empty.
If you plan to visit Boonshoft more than three times in a year, I would highly recommend getting an annual membership. First of all, because it will be much cheaper than paying for a ticket every time you visit, and secondly, as a member, you get 10% discount on anything you buy at the Boonshoft gift shop. And believe me, I took advantage on that offer quite a few times.
