While I do not have the resources required to back a major longitudinal study into children’s entertainment, I am equipped with a pretty good imagination. In my imagination, I would commit a significant amount of money as well as the energy of the world’d finest finest scientists and statisticians. In a carefully crafted study, I would have them look into entertainment aimed at kids. Surfacing after years in a lab, my dream team of people in white lab coats would stand front and center in an auditorium, eager to present their findings to the world. Supported by volumes of research and a nice looking pie chart, they would share the following.
Matilda ready to take a look at something that wasn’t created by marketers.
After careful analysis, there appears to be three distinct types of kids’ entertainment. The first type can best be described as god awful and doesn’t really need to be mentioned. As a parent, you know it when you see it. Thankfully, this subsection accounts for a very small sliver of the pie chart. The second type begins somewhere around Ryan’s World unboxing videos and ends at anything the Disney Corporation has produced in the last twenty years. While it’s not total garbage, it’s the spiritual equivalent of sugar. Completely devoid of imagination and creativity, all the offerings in this category amount to little more than extended commercials for some crummy product. The sole purpose of this material is to turn our dear ones into little consumers. Unfortunately, it also occupies the lion’s share of the pie chart and commands a lot of attention.
Disney Plus has nothing as good as this.
Thankfully, there is a third type of offerings. Far superior to the competition, this style of entertainment requires a little more effort to find. Far from commercial, this group accomplishes what the rest of the field isn’t even courageous enough to attempt. The good people responsible for the creations in this category treat children intelligently and feed their natural curiosity about the world. After a recent visit, I am glad to report that The Adventure Science Center falls solidly in this third group. It’s an interactive museum just outside downtown Nashville that stands in stark contrast to the majority of offerings engineered to capture kids’ attention. As I saw firsthand, It’s a place fills kids with wonder instead of treating them like empty headed rag dolls.
It was either a milk snake or a corn snake. Matilda would remember.
The Adventure Science Center accomplishes their noble mission by allowing kids to explore scientific phenomenon through play. The museum is divided into several major exhibit areas that each break into dozens of smaller activities. From the Body Quest area where kids can explore human anatomy, to the Sound Box where kids get to make music, there is going to be something fun and engaging for even the most app enabled soul. Make sure that your youngsters are dressed to play because in the Wonders of the Universe area there is an opportunity to strap in and experience the challenge of movement in a near weightlessness environment. In addition to that, there will be plenty of climbing thanks to a seventy-five foot structure known as the Adventure Tower. Full of ladders, slides, ramps, and spiral staircases, it was precisely the kinds of energy burner we were looking for.
The Body Quest shooting gallery.
Matilda cutting a track in the Sound Box.
The Adventure Science Center has been teaching kids about the natural world for close to seventy-five years and they do it right. Clearly, donors, sponsors, and employees care deeply about the place and its potential impact on kids. The 44,000 square foot facility resides in Negley Park and is a must do for any family passing through town. If you plan on visiting, leave plenty of time in the schedule to explore. While I estimated we would only be an hour, we ended up being there more than three. That was without visiting the gardens or the planetarium. While they do have a Subway, patrons are free to pack their own lunches and enjoy the view of the Nashville skyline from the lunchroom.
A rare photo from the trip where Jacque is actually looking at the camera.
This entry was based on a visit to Adventure Science Center on December 26, 2019.
Interested in other experiences that will keep kids away from their phones for the day? When in Utah, check out Dreamland Safari’s Ultimate Kanab Tour. If you happen to find yourself in Las Vegas, take a ride out to The Valley of Fire State Park. In Los Angeles, take a look at The Bob Baker Marionette Theater.
800 Fort Negley Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37203
615 862-5160