Helpful Mom

Science Playhouse at the MOST

A couple months ago I went to the MOST in Syracuse, NY for the first time to visit a friend who was moving away. It won’t be the last time I take the girls either, they just loved it.  The MOST is the Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, NY.   It is much smaller in size compared to the Rochester Science Museum but it is packed with hands on displays and great play areas.  The girls absolute favorite is the Science Playhouse which is this enormous climbing structure that is about three stories tall and big enough in scale for adults to climb through too; think a McDonald play center structure on steriods.  (Don’t forget your socks)  This museum is definitely geared more toward the preK-grade school set of kids, although teens would probably still get a kick out of the Playhouse if they aren’t already too cool for that kind of thing.  In addition to the Playhouse there are giant models of body parts, a Discovery cave which includes a dinosaur dig site, and the most amazing replicas made entirely of toothpicks.

Dinosaur Dig at the MOST

The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from 10am-5pm with extended hours on Saturday for the IMAX theater.  During some holidays and school breaks the museum may be open on Monday or Tuesdays, check their website for dates and hours. Admission for adults is $5, kids 2-11 are $4, and Seniors 65+ are $4.  Members for the museum are free and they are part of the Science museum receprical program so we were able to get in free with our Rochester Science museum membership.

They do offer a variety of Omni movies on their IMAX screen which cost $9 for adults, kids and seniors are $7.  Or you can do a combo of admission to the museum and a movie for $11 for adults, kids and seniors are $9.  This museum has an interesting membership perk you can sign up for for only $15.  It’s their IMAX Passport which allows you to watch all the regular IMAX movies as many times as you want all year long.

Toothpick Replicas

If you are planning a visit here you need to make note that there is not a cafeteria or restaurant onsite.  There is a small cafe area which offers a number of vending machine but these are only stocked with drinks and snacks no actual food.  There is a small microwave provided though along with plenty of tables and chairs.  You are permitted re-entry if you want to leave to eat and come back as long as you keep you receipt.

Also the museum does not have it’s own parking lot so you have to either find a parking lot, which costs about $6-7 for the day, or find on street parking which is limited to 2 hrs. And meters are free on Sundays.

We loved it so much the girls begged for days afterwards to go back again.  It is an easy hour and a half drive from our home in Henrietta, NY.  But even though we get in free with our membership we do still have to pay gas and tolls to get there so we haven’t gone back til this last week when we took along friends.  I bet they will be going back too.

Well while I’m already recommending you sign up for memberships in the vein of saving money I’ll tell you about this deal that I received in the mail yesterday.  The Rochester Museum and Science Center is offering if you sign up by the end of January 2009 you can save $10 on your membership(new ones only)  and if you are already a member you can sign up to have your yearly membership automatically renewed by credit card and they will take 10% off the annual fee.  That would mean that if you are a new member signing up for a family membership you will only pay $69 for the year which will allow your and your husband and ALL your kids in for free unlimited admissions to the Museum and Science Center, all the Giant-screen films, Strasenburgh Planetarium star shows, Cummings Nature Center, and over 250 other science museums.  Also you will receive a $5 discount on all RMSC adult and youth classes and 10% off all purchases at the gift shop.  And part of your membership may be tax deductible.

When you compare that to admission prices of $9 for adults and $7 for kids 3-18 yrs old.  You can see how after only 2 visits you will break even, or if you were going to add a planetarium show to that perhaps in one vist depending on how many of you there are.

My kids love going to the Science Center.  There are lots of fun hands on activities for kids of all ages to play with wheither they like science or not.  It’s a great way to sneak in a little learning while having fun and getting out of the house, and it’s a great refuge in the winter weather.  A couple of the kids favorite things to do there is the water and sand table.  It’s this raised metal table just full of sand and sand toys with various spickets to run water through it so you can create rivers and moats and ponds to your hearts content.  And they have these water proof type vests for the kids to put on over their clothes, and there is a handwashing station right there to clean up when you are finished.  Katrina loves the climbing structure they have which goes up from the first floor up to a second floor loft where they can play and then come down the stairs to where you are waiting.  I personally don’t like the way they can be out of your sight even though I know there is no other way out for them and the room at the top has a clear glass wall so you can see in, but you can’t see in the stairwell unless you are in there waiting, but with two kids… And one of their other favorites and mine is the dinosuar dig.  It is supposed to be a replication of what a real dig would be like.  The kids have to wear goggles(they look hysterical which is why I love it) and they are given brushes to discover bones buried in dirt(looks like kitty litter).  The girls love it and is definitely their favorite thing to do since they both love dinosuars.  (I recommend wearing sneakers because with sandals the kids keep wanting me to empty the rocks out over and over and over)  We usually only go for 1-1 1/2 hrs and we rarely make it off the first floor because they love playing with the things there so much!  There is a lot more to discover upstairs too.  We have made it to the Mezzanine level which has a great room for those of the younger set.  The room has all kids of hands on exhibits about electricity but also has an area dedicated to KNex which you can build with and purchase your creation if you wish when you are finished or you can just put it all back if you like.  That way you can play with KNex without having to purchase them for home, or see if your kids like them enough to buy for home or not ;P  Or if your kids are younger like mine they have giant sized tinker toys and various other building toys to place with.