Thanks to the amazing Zoom pass, my family and I were able to visit the Asheville Museum of Science for FREE. If you have a Buncombe County Library card, you simply visit their website to request which area attraction you'd like to visit and which day. Once reserved, head to your nearest branch with photo ID and pick up your pass. You are able to visit each area attraction one time per month for free. For more details about this program, check out our guide here.
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Located downtown, the two closest parking garages are Rankin Avenue Garage at 84 West Walnut Street and Harrah's Cherokee Center Garage at 68 Rankin Avenue. It's scenery like this that sometimes stops me in my tracks as I take in the beauty of the mountains and think about how grateful I am to live here.
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As soon as we entered the admissions lobby, my little guy got "busy" with his important daily task of figuring out how everything works.
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The phrase "small but mighty" comes to mind when describing this museum. It's divided into three rooms all on one floor and could be explored in probably an hour; however, there is plenty of learning and fun to be had.
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I really appreciated how hands-on this museum was with lots of activities for kids and adults alike.
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We started off in the Colburn Hall of Minerals exploring the gem collection and quickly moved on to the STEAM Lab and Maker Space.
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Here you'll find a train table along with various stations of different educational, interactive activities that are always changing.
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My daughter tested out the inclined plane and learned about gravity.
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As we moved on to the exhibit hall, we noticed a variety of scavenger hunts ranging in topics as well as challenge levels. We selected the easiest level scavenger hunt. This one was an animal search and find which was absolutely perfect for my daughter to do independently as it required no reading. She would simply look at the picture and circle the animal once she found it.
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Excited to have found the first one on her clipboard and she was also wearing a shirt with a butterfly, so naturally we took a picture.
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There is an augmented reality sandbox where you can explore how water moves from areas of high elevation to areas of lower elevation.
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Speaking of water, there is a French Broad River water table where your child can explore concepts such as whirlpools and precipitation, but it wouldn't hurt to possibly pack a change of clothes if they're prone to splashing!
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There is a special area designed for toddlers that is a shoe free zone with foam blocks, a wooden bead maze, and an abacus. Notice also the otter pictured in the mural on the right was another animal on the scavenger hunt list.
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There is a teratophoneus skeleton.
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Next to it, your child can try their hand at a dinosaur dig. I appreciated how there were plenty of paintbrushes and various spots to brush so multiple kids could simultaneously explore.
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The highlight for us was the bird's nest and forest tree climb. Look closely at the bottom of the nest and you'll notice a window.
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Once inside the bird's nest, you can look down and wave.
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This play structure is directly across from the "toddler habitat" meaning you could easily stand between the two and monitor children of different ages. Finally, after multiple slides, we wrapped up our visit and our daughter brought her completed scavenger hunt to the counter to cash in for a prize of a sticker and a gemstone!
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