Tampa Bay MOSI

This one does not fall under the under $50 for four people.  We went and saw the limited engagement of the Sea Monster Exhibit.  It cost us close to $88 for parking and admission to the museum and  sea monster exhibit. The museum is really cool.

The Sea Monster exhibit is a must if a member of your family loves sea creatures.  The animals are done much like the controversial Bodies exhibit that came through about 7 years ago.  The bodies of several of the animals are positioned and dissected so that you can the different layers of the body.  My kids thought it was pretty cool, but it may be a little scary for the younger set (4 and under).

The rest of the museum is pretty neat!  it opens up with two large sauropods guarding the stairway.  Up the stairs , and you enter in the permanent exhibits of the museum; Disasterville, Your Body, and the Bay News 9 Experience.  Disasterville has visitors experience natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. The bodies exhibit is relatively safe for kids.  It has exhibits on everything from the beginning of life (stages of the fetus), to the stages of death.  They had and interesting exhibit on aging and cancer.  It was aimed for the older crowd, so my kids really didn't get it.

The last place we hit was "Kids in Charge" or the children's museum.  My boys loved it.  They had something for everyone.  My oldest loved the journey to the moon exhibit that simulated a space flight to a moon colony.  The youngest got a kick out of the Publix exhibit where kids picked "oranges" took them to the processing barn and then moved them to the super market.

It was a fun trip.  I'm definitely going to be keeping my eyes and ears peeled for a discount day!

Tallahassee Bound!

I'm researching Law Schools.... so the Husband and I decided to take a trip to FSU's School of Law and the State Capitol of Florida.  The town itself is unlike our home in Central Florida.  They actually have hills.  Being that Mike and I are use to walking on flat surface, trudging up a giant hill was brutal, but we survived.  We got lost several times in this town, and ended up going round and round in circles for what seemed like hours.  We did however get to visit some really neat places (for free), and try The Mellow Mushroom Pizza.

Our first stop was the historic Capitol.  Very cool, it had lots of neat exhibits about the history of Florida's government.  We toured the historic state senate and the original Florida Supreme Court (Which sent my legal heart a flutter).  We laughed at the exhibit on the 2000 election debacle which held special meaning to the two of us because it was the first election that we had both ever participated in.

Approaching the Historic Capitol

The Florida State Constitution

Historic Florida Supreme Court

My husband debating me in the Historic Florida Senate Chambers

After that, we set out to view the Museum of Florida History.  It was very cool and contains a mammoth skeleton, steamer ship, and a complete exhibit regarding war veterans.  We found the exhibit on the St. John's River very sweet, because it is the life blood of Central Florida.

Before we headed out of town, we drove by Gov. Rick Scott's mansion.  The way that is is situated and with all the guards, we decided to stay in the car and take pictures.  

I will say that Tallahassee is a very unique city, I don't think it is the town for us.  The panhandle is totally different from Central Florida!

MOAS

This trip was to the Daytona Beach MOAS (Museum of Art and Science) http://www.moas.org/.  It was Museum Day by the Smithsonian, and admission was free for the day.  Normal admission is $12.95 for adults, $6.95 for 17-6, and 5 and under is free.  They offer several different special events through out the year, for various age groups, along with several decent deals throughout the year. 

I enjoyed the several exhibits on art and crafts through out history.  The Chinese art was extraordinary.  My four year old enjoyed the Coca-Cola Exhibit and the two restored passenger train cars.  The west wing is still closed due the flooding this past summer, so the Science Exhibits were all closed.

Both boys enjoyed the Children’s Museum.  Daddy helped them build a roller coaster, and a race car.  The area for the babies is small but my youngest enjoyed it.  There is a nature trail running along side the museum that the whole family enjoyed.  The path was a well cared for shaded wooden boardwalk with plenty of interesting trees and flora to look at.

The bathrooms were well marked and cleaned, with changing tables.  There were museum staff constantly walking around, and all were very friendly and helpful, to point out interesting articles in each of the various exhibits.

There is no place to eat inside the museum, so I would suggest a local fast food restaurant, which there is plenty in Daytona Beach.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at this fantastic museum, and we hope to stop by again and check out the west wing when it reopens.