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Tucked away in the Berkeley Hills resides The Lawrence Hall of Science.\u00a0\u00a0The museum is science-based and is an extension of UC Berkeley.\u00a0\u00a0I am a science nerd, so this museum is right up my alley.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Getting to the museum requires GPS or some excellently written directions, as the road winds through the hills and along steep sections with an occasional right turn here and a left turn there.\u00a0\u00a0The KidFriendlyVenues app has the correct GPS location for you. Parking is never an issue, but you do need to pay for parking at a kiosk near the museum entrance.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Leading up to the front doors of the museum is a large outdoor cement yard with a fountain and two large climbing structures: a whale and a strand of DNA.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yes, DNA.\u00a0\u00a0How cool is that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The entry fee for the museum is modest, compared to many other Bay Area Museums.\u00a0\u00a0Our family has a membership.\u00a0\u00a0The way I look at it, even if we don\u2019t utilize it, it helps fund an impressive institution which carries out important research.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Once inside the museum, the children run off in different directions to play with the many interactive displays.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They are all hands-on, and the activities change out frequently.\u00a0\u00a0On this most recent visit, they had an airplane-making section with a contraption that would help launch them.\u00a0\u00a0There are more displays on the upper floor, as well as two rooms that allow for hands-on building.\u00a0\u00a0The activities are appropriate for toddlers to adults.\u00a0\u00a0The adults can fully engage in the physics behind the projects\/activities, while the children have fun with cause-and-effect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Downstairs in the museum is a theater with regular-viewing shows based on science, and they are approximately 40 minutes long.\u00a0\u00a0Many of the films are 3-D.\u00a0\u00a0Finding an empty seat is never an issue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
There is a magical room downstairs with various exotic animals, and for set times of the day, patrons are allowed to visit this laboratory and handle some of the animals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Out the back door is the most gorgeous million-dollar view of the Bay Area.\u00a0\u00a0My two boys love the water area, where they can place paddles in a running stream to re-direct water flow.\u00a0\u00a0Of course, despite my warnings to stay dry, at least one child ends up falling in the water each time we visit this museum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
This is one of my favorite museums for many reasons: Super kid-friendly, the high quality of the displays, the lack of crowds, the ease of finding my straying children, and the fun outdoor area.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Laura D<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tucked away in the Berkeley Hills resides The Lawrence Hall of Science.\u00a0\u00a0The museum is science-based and is an extension of UC Berkeley.\u00a0\u00a0I am a science nerd, so this museum is right up my alley.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Getting to the museum requires GPS or some excellently written directions, as the road winds through the hills and along … <\/p>\n