Chattanooga is about 2 1/2 hours from where we live so it wasn’t so bad for the drive there except we took a local highway instead of state highway. But we still got there at the same time.

We got there right before noon. It wasn’t that busy when we got in. The fun began even before we got in the door. There is a huge bubble making that allows you to get inside and pull the ring up. It was a great challenge to see if you can put your whole body inside the bubble. I wish I would have tried it. Maybe next time.

The first stop – River Play. The kids just ran there without waiting for us and stayed there for a good 30-40 minutes. It was a really neat water play for kids. They got to learn about how the water is used. How the dam is built and what is the impact when you build the dam. Good thing I was quick to ask them to put the rain coat on before they started playing. Some kids got soaked. I think the part they love the most is the water shooter that 2 kids can play together and see who got the most power to make the wheel spin.

Next to the River Play was a play structure that teaches about the Wind. The structure is big enough that adult is allowed to go up there. It was so neat. I didn’t think I want to leave that play structure yet. But then we realized that there were more to see and do in the museum.

We walked inside and they zoomed right past the craft table. Guess my kids are not that into crafting. We stopped by the clinic. They can pretend to be a doctor, check out the nose (big fat nose with hair nonetheless), look at the x-ray and measure themselves. Miss J was very fascinating with all the organ on display including a big skeleton.

Then we went to the inventor room. Mr. Z was busy playing with the remote control car that other parents had built it. It was so neat. If we have any time, we might try to build one ourselves. Then they were off to Music and Art room. It was very interesting in each room as they had a lot of hand-on activities for children to try on. The Music room had different kinds of intruments for them to try their hands on. The Art room had different station for them to create their own art ranging from painting, priting and self-portrait.

Last stop on 1st floor was the Dinosaur room. With a big Dinosaur greeted us, they went right pass him to the dig area. Basically, it was a big sand box with dinosaur bones buried underneath. I think they could literally spend the whole day in that room. Mr. Z tended to dig too hard and throw his sand all over himself and anyone who was near him. I had to keep reminding him to do it gently.

Then we found out that there was more than 1 floor. Duh!! So we headed upstair for the special Clifford exhibit. It was a really nice treat as we are currently reading Clifford books at home. They had a chance to check out Clifford’s house, his library, the playground and climbed on Big Red Dog himself.

Then we took a short walk up to the top floor to check out the downtown view and see the bee colony on the rooftop. On the other side of the building, the outdoor fun was there awaiting. The rooftop fun had several structures for them to play with. The best one has to be the lifting chair. Children can sit on the chair and buckle up then they can lift themselves off the ground. It was pretty hot that day so we didn’t stay long outside.

By the time we knew it, it was almost 2pm. So it was time to wrap up as we still had one more place to go – the Tennessee Aquarium. This was a really great Children Museum. We like it so much that we purchased the membership. The national membership will allow us to also visit other children museum around the country.