Columbia With Kids: EdVenture Children’s Museum

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Our first night in Columbia was nice and relaxing.  The next morning we woke up early (for my standard) to have a healthy and great breakfast in our hotel – Embassy Suite Greystone-Columbia. Then we headed out for our fist stop for a fun day that would be filled with lot of activities.

Our first stop from my ‘best things to do with kids in Columbia‘ was EdVenture Children’s Museum.

The EdVenture Children’s Museum is located in the Vista area right along the river bank. So the view from the museum was amazing. I was truly impressed by the size and the exhibits of this museum that I won’t hesitate to go back again in the near future. We had a few places to visit that day so we didn’t have as much time as the kids or I would like to spend in the museum.

Meet Eddie The World Largest Kid

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by Mr. Eddie, the world largest kid! Mr. Z and Miss J didn’t waste any time going up Eddie from the inside out. It was so cool and a bit gross at the same time to be able to see the inside of Eddie.

After a few slide up and down inside Eddie’s internal system, we reminded them that there were more stuff to see and check out. You have gotta try the slide inside Eddie, they do produce special sound to teach kids about digestive system. Care to guess what it sound like?

Great Seasonal Exhibits: West Africa & China

We checked out the seasonal exhibits. First on the list was the ‘From Here to Timbuktu – Journey Through West Africa‘. We had fun learning about how people of Timbuktu live, what they used for their transportation, what it likes in their market (the sound or even the smell). Mr. Z and Miss J tried out the Camel. I think he likes it!

Another fun seasonal exhibit we liked is ‘Monkey King – A Story from China‘. I especially loved this exhibit because I grew up watching this cartoon as a kid in Thailand.

Fun Exhibits from Art, Music to BodyWorks

There are also many great exhibits that I will be writing a guidebook if I have to list them all. Kids enjoyed playing music, becoming a news reporter, and sending special message through the Mission’s pneumatic tube at the Mission Imagination Gallery.

Miss J was curious about teeth and tried to put them back at the right place in Body Work gallery where kids learn all things about human body from bones, heart or teeth.

World of Work: Pretend City for Kids

By this time, both kids had enough of the educational type exhibits so they ventured into the World of Work exhibit. Little did they know that this one was as educational as the previous ones.

Like the name of the exhibit, the World of Work is a pretend world for kids. Kids can pretend to be a shop owner or a mom shopping for a grocery store. They can be a farmer harvesting their vegetable and collecting the eggs from their chicken. They can be a mechanic fixing up a VW bug.

Mr. Z’s favorite has to be a firefighter with complete outfit. He climbed up on the real firetruck and slid down the fire pole countless times. It was a great day of work for him.

More Fun Outdoor at the Great Outdoors

Finally, after a couple hours indoor, we were pulled by such a gorgeous day outside. I was so happy to see the Great Outdoors where kids could enjoy fun playtime outside.

I really like this children museum because there are various exhibits with mostly hand-on activities for kids to explore. With that being said, several of hand-on items were not working when we checked them out. And we were pretty much one of the first few people in the museum.

I hope to be able to bring them back again. Columbia is such a great place for a family weekend trip from Atlanta. Plus if you are a member of Atlanta – Imagine It! Children Museum, you can take advantage of family reciprocal program and get free admission. What a deal!

Family Tips:

• Plan to arrive early so you can get the whole museum to yourself.
• Dress kids appropriately so they can have fun sliding, climbing and even get wet outside.
• Bring extra clothes in case they have too much fun at the Great Outdoors.
• Pack your picnic lunch and enjoy your lunch by the river bank. The entrance to the river walk greenway is just across the street.

This post is part of Delicious Baby Photo Friday. Check out other travelers Photo Friday here.

Disclosure: We were hosted by Columbia CVB for an all-expense paid trip to visit Columbia. However, this post is based solely on my experience and my opinion without any outside influence.