We finally made it to the Pensacola MESS Hall two weeks ago but we have been basking in the end of summer glow…shopping for school supplies, doing those last few projects we promised we would do this summer and just trying to enjoy the time left…and I have not been blogging much (as is apparent by the lack of posts outside of the Weekly Roundup!). Even though the MESS Hall closes in a few weeks, I still had to share what an awesome experience we had!
The Pensacola MESS Hall stands for Math, Engineering, Science, and Stuff. This small science museum is not a typical museum but is full of hands-on activities that will keep the kids (and parents!) busy for hours. There are current exhibits like the marble run where my kids tried to create the perfect maze for a marble. My son played here for almost an hour by himself while his sister ran around trying other things.
Besides the current exhibits, there is also a daily “menu” that changes. At the walk-up counter, children can choose from a variety of activities off of the menu. They aren’t just limited to one activity though. As soon as they complete and activity, they can pick something else off of the menu.
Our favorite activities from that particular day were the balancing practice, the shaving cream art and the zoetrope. My daughter had seen a large zoetrope at a children’s museum in Ft. Lauderdale and she was beside herself with the fact that she got to create one of her own.
If you haven’t been to the MESS Hall yet, I highly recommend making a point to visit in the next few weeks. The Pensacola MESS Hall was an experiment of its own and will be closing its doors August 18th in the hopes of reopening permanently.
The Pensacola MESS Hall is open every Wednesday-Friday from 10am to 2pm and every Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Parking is available all around the MESS Hall, which is located at 21 West Romana Street.
The cost of admission is $5 per person (including adults) and I felt like we got our money’s worth in the activities and time spent.
The Pensacola MESS Hall is best suited to elementary and middle school students but my 5 year old loved it. There were a number of things that I had to help her with but she did really well.
We’re going one more time this Wednesday (my husband has a day off and wants to see it before it closes). I wrote about the MESS Hall for the other blog I write for: Wired.com’s GeekMom blog (to be published mid-week). I hope to help spread the word about this concept in science museums.