Great hands-on family museum in TX…

One stop that we recently enjoyed was a visit to the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.  We actually found out about this museum from our ‘neighbors’ while we camped out on Padre Island National Seashore.  The lovely retired couple in the site next to us suggested that we visit; they had enjoyed a morning spent there so much that they changed their day’s plans and returned again in the afternoon.  With such a great recommendation, we decided to check it out.  A definite plus was that a ‘free day’ was only days away!  With nothing to lose, we piled in the van to see what the CC Museum had to offer!

The museum had something for everyone.  Our family enjoyed everything from the extensive shell and ocean fish exhibits to the hands-on knot tying and animal identifying activities.  There is a children’s play area in the museum, a History of Corpus Christi area, and everything from dinosaurs to Texas farm history to living reptiles.  We loved how the museum covered many different subjects and time eras – they were all very interesting, and not so extensive that we lost interest before we were moved on to the next subject.

The museum has an outdoor garden, which is geared to teach about water consumption and conservation.  We learned that an acre foot of water = 325,851 gallons of water (very interesting if you come from an area that is not concerned with water conservation!).  We especially appreciated the beautiful plants/flowers that we were able to enjoy in February (they are having a blizzard at home! 🙂

Another interesting part of the museum was their outdoor tours of Columbus’ ships!  For $3 per person, you can have a guided tour of replicas of 2 of Christopher Columbus’ ships.  We were crunched for time, so we didn’t so the tours, but they looked so interesting!  Much of the museum was focused on things to do with the ocean, especially shipping!  There was a scaled down replica of a ship that the kids could walk around on (which was different from the playground one in the play area).  The kids loved the pirate-feel of the museum (any shipping stuff makes us think of pirates! LOL!), and the exhibits were well-done and varied.

I did think that the regular admission price per person was a little steep (at $13/adult) – but since we went on a free day, I can’t really claim any issues with it 🙂  (check out their calendar – it looks like they offer 2 free days every month).  If you have a larger brood, their family membership is a great deal since it includes 2 adults and their minor children for $60! 

The museum was a fun outing for our family – my only disappointment was that the museum is a bit dark, and our pictures didn’t turn out very well.

If you find yourself in the Corpus Christi area, this is a great stop, and is located conveniently by the Corpus Christi Museum of Art, the USS Lexington aircraft carrier (which I’ll share with you next week!), and the Texas State Aquarium.   Have fun checking them all out!