The Early Works Museum, Huntsville, Alabama: History that Caters to Children

The massive Early Works Museum building downtown houses a virtual wonderland for kids- and almost all of it is educational, fun, and memorable. Billed as the South's largest museum for hands-on history, it is likely true. There is room after room of interactive activities for kids to explore, and plenty of space for them to do it. This is one place that you don't have to say - hey, put that down, don't touch that! The staff expects everything to be touched, climbed on and poked with sticks, and you can feel free to let kids do it.

There are many static exhibits, ones that are there year-round, including the Talking Tree, which tells stories. This is especially popular with very young kids, who will be enthralled with a tree who not only has a face, but talks to them as well. There is a bandstand with giant instruments that kids can try to play, educating about instruments and their sounds, as well as being amazing to look at.

Some of the more interesting exhibits is a 46-foot long keel boat that kids can explore to their liking, and an area where there is lots of 19th century clothing to try on. The dress up segment is a popular one for older kids, while younger kids love the idea of running around on a boat that is indoors. Everyone likes the interactive architecture exhibit, where kids (and adults!) can try their hand at building a house.

Biscuit's Backyard is a very popular area for preschoolers, with lots of bright toys and fun activities. There is a grocery store area with bins of wooden food, as well as a garden and a water table that toddlers love to splash in.

In addition to the year-round exhibits, there are also special exhibits a few times a year. The last one, "Bones," focused on bones of both humans and the animal kingdom, and displayed them in many different media. Special exhibits are usually announced well in advance with TV commercials and print ads. Early Works is also available for birthday parties, and at fairly reasonable rates. Information on booking parties in on the museum's website, http://www.earlyworks.com/

This is a museum that literally has items for all different age groups, with historical information for older students (like the old-timey general store exhibit) , toys for toddlers (karaoke at Biscuit's Backyard!), and activities for every interest for kids in between.