Science = Fun: The Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Where Science is an Adventure

The Adventure Science Center, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is a fun and exciting museum for children (and adults) of all ages. Children will believe that they are simply playing while there, but parents and educators know that valuable science concepts are being learned along the way.

Our five year old son is fascinated by anything gross, and having seen the info on the museum's website, we determined this to be a mandatory destination during a recent trip to Nashville. Once there, I was definitely glad we decided to check it out. As an educator, I couldn't help but wish that a museum like this existed closer to home for my science students to enjoy.

On the main floor, we were able to use a simple machine (a lever) to lift a real vehicle. We observed several mirrors and how they each worked differently. We played checkers. We saw balls being used to demonstrate the laws of physics. Several types of energy were demonstrated, such as the energy required to pedal a bike moving an elevator up and down and the energy provided by a fan showing how wind powers a sailboat. My son was able to sit in a wheelchair and move around a track that had different obstacles along the way. We put bug parts together. We made music. My son also sat in something similar to a piece of construction machinery and operated the controls in order to scoop up balls from a large ball pit.

The Body Quest exhibit presents lessons on human biology. We were able to see and manipulate models of various systems within the human body. My son really enjoyed a game in which two people strapped headbands on and concentrated on a ball between them. You could see the wavelengths of brain activity above the two participants. The winner is the one able to "think" the ball over to the other player's side of the table. For some reason, my son was always able to defeat his opponent during this activity. We also enjoyed playing with an interactive sports game where you are able to choose a sport, get the corresponding ball, and play with the computer. We repeatedly struck out batters while the computer clocked the speed of our throws. We had a dance competition using a machine similar to a dance dance revolution game. We also enjoyed looking at real x-rays and viewing a variety of items under a microscope. We controlled a giant robotic hand in an effort to clasp something when each finger moved independently.

Our favorite part of the museum was the Adventure Tower. The tower includes many levels for children to climb and play on. As they climb to the top, they find things to do and explore that teach science concepts along the way. The reward for getting to the top is being able to look out over the city of Nashville. Looking through the binoculars, I was able to show my son many different buildings, roads, and a moving train. He enjoyed seeing the sky a bit closer than usual. We had lots of fun climbing all the way to the top and then sliding down the very long, curly, covered slide.

The museum's website indicates that it has several upcoming exhibits, including the topics of space and dinosaurs in the near future. The museum itself is under construction in order to expand in 2008. We will definitely be going back the next time we are in Nashville. The admission was reasonably priced, and the museum was not very crowded.

The Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee is the place to go if you want to teach your child how the world works. Kids won't notice that they're learning, because they'll be too busy having fun! It's a fun learning experience for adults too!