Discovery Place Kids {Rockingham}

The Summer Evan was four and Brody was just a few months old, we took them up to Discovery Place Kids in Huntersville one Saturday.  Discovery Place is the children's museum in Charlotte, and Discovery Place Kids is a separate fun place from the main museum.  It has all the little pretend play areas for kids to pretend they are grown ups working, shopping, and doing other activities.  We discovered that Saturdays at this children's play place were crazy crowded and never actually went back.  A couple of years ago, they constructed another location in Eddie's hometown where his family lives.  It was exciting to have something fun going to this little town because they have had some rough years.  Rockingham used to be famous for its NASCAR race track "The Rock," but Bruton Smith (owner of the Charlotte track) bought it just so he could move the race to Texas.  This left Rockingham with this vacant stadium and a lot less revenue for the town.  So getting this little children's museum just seemed like such a nice addition for this little town about an hour and a half south of Raleigh close to the South Carolina border.  We decided to take Brody to this place for a special birthday surprise while we were visiting Eddie's family this weekend.  Although we were very happy it was not busy because our kids had the whole place almost to themselves, I think the museum would love to see more business.  If this little post can help bring any new visitors, that is okay with me.  I want to see this museum succeed.  I would recommend this museum as a fun place for anyone in the central and eastern part of the state, and I know there are very few places like this in those areas.  While Raleigh does have a children's museum like this one, I know it is often very busy so I would recommend this little museum as a great option for Raleigh families too.  It really is a very easy drive for a day of fun, and it is also reasonably priced.  Our family paid $32.00 for two adults and two kids.  The kids had a blast and could have played all day if we didn't have to leave to go to a family engagement.  Brody, of course, could have played in the little kitchen area all day.  Evan was all over the place.  Mattox even enjoyed exploring the little baby area. We can't wait to visit this place again, and I know Mattox will love it in a few months because they have some fun little options for little ones.

Little workers playing in the mechanics and pulley area.  

Brothers working together to lift the pulley. 

Evan is getting so strong!  

Brody and cousin Grady playing with the trains. 

He still likes trains, but he has so many new interests now that he doesn't often play with his anymore.  I still love watching him play this way because it reminds me of when he was younger. 

Driving the big firetruck. 

Little fireman

This giant heart in the science area was cool.  You could walk between the two halves. 

Baby Mattox demonstrates the scale of this heart. 

My little science guy is ready for an experiment. 

Waiting patiently for his turn to make some elephant toothpaste. 

Cousin Grady and Grandma enjoyed making these balls float. 

And showing their strength on the pulleys. 

Evan went on a canoe adventure. 

And climbed through the forest canopy. 

Hanging out in the tree house. 

And swinging from the garden hose vines. 

Cousin Grady had fun exploring machines. 

Evan practicing his army combat crawl. 

Brody preparing to make his elephant toothpaste. 

First, he had to stir the yeast. 

They poured some Dawn dish detergent and vinegar along with their food color of choice into the bottle.  Brody chose yellow. 

Waiting to see what happens when he pours the yeast in. 

Here it goes.

His yellow "toothpaste."

Lots of different colored toothpaste.  I liked the ones that mixed colors. 

He was excited.

The one on the end looks like Aquafresh striped toothpaste.  Haha!

Brody enjoyed the water area, of course. 

Lots of different ways to explore water power. 

Flying his sea plane under a waterfall.  

They provide the waterproof aprons for a good reason. 

Waiting for the bucket of water to spill. 

When Mattox is a little older, he can sit in these little seats and play in the water. 

Climbing

Up in the treetops. 

I had to get in to encourage him to go all the way through. 

We hung out in the tree house. 

And even saw an owl. 

These little sayings were printed all over. 

And finally, Brody made his way to the kitchen and did not want to leave. 

The little grocery store. 

Cousin Grady made a cute little train engineer. 

They had some of the same chef outfits that Brody just got for his birthday. 

Daddy enjoyed getting Mattox's tickles. 

And some great big baby smiles. 

Happy baby. 

Welcome to Chef Brody's Bistro.

Chef Brody serves me lots of food. 

Baby Mattox really enjoys seeing himself in the mirror. 

I just love that face!

And of course, I could not resist taking my baby rainbow's picture with this little rainbow.  I really want one of these to take all of his monthly pictures on. 

They also had this big soft stacking toy.

Cousin Grady joined Mattox in the baby area. 

Oh my, this kid loves babies! 

Here comes Grady with one shoe on and one shoe off.  Yes, that is pretty typical for him.