A Trip To The Natural History Museum

If you think the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History is only for older children and adults think again. We visited the museum today and had the best time! My two year old has a great interest in dinosaurs so this seemed the perfect place to check out as they have the Dinosaur Hall. Wow, did this far surpass my expectations! There were many complete dinosaurs and tons of bones, eggs and fossils on display. In addition, there were multi-media stations which were just as appealing to my son as the displays. He especially enjoyed a touch screen puzzle where you drag the bones to the dinosaur body. Super fun for him!

We didn't stop at the dinosaurs though, we also visited the 'Age of Mammals' exhibit and the 'African Mammals' exhibit which were equally exciting for both my son and I. He kept going around the room saying "Oh wait, what about this one" and we would, again, go over what we were looking at.

We grabbed a bite to eat at Trimana grill on the bottom level of the museum. Perhaps it was because I was so famished, but the steak sandwich I got was the best I can remember having! In the words of Logan "Yummy, Yummy in my Tummy!" I enjoyed the ambiance - and understand that it could be completely different on another day, I liked the furniture choices (especially the highchair) and the staff were friendly and personable!

But wait, there's more! The other reason for choosing to visit this particular museum today was that they currently have the Butterfly Pavilion.
I have to admit, I got a little nervous when we first walked in and I saw my kid's foot headed for a butterfly (purposely). Then I realized that he was trying to make a shadow appear over the butterfly. You see, if a butterfly is on the ground and you place your shadow over the butterfly, it will begin to move and fly away! Once I explained how to have the shadow of his head cover the butterfly we were able to enjoy the visit with ease. A nice lady took us around and showed my son a caterpillar and the remains of a chrysalis.

There was more that we could have examined, but after about three hours of exploration, both of my sons had reached their limit and we left the museum with no tantrum (a rarity these days). We had such a great time and I cannot wait to return. The museum offers free admission on 13 Tuesdays throughout the year. Children 2 and under are free everyday! If you are looking for some simple fun for your toddler, definitely consider adding the Natural History Museum to the list!