Family Museum of Arts and Science, Bettendorf, IA - Museum

If you are in Iowa and have children under the age of 8, you will want to go to the Family Museum of Arts and Science in Bettendorf, IA. This museum is sure to get the attention of the young folk and encourage and challenge their interests in the arts and sciences.

The museum has a number of excellent exhibits that are interactive and will get the attention of the children. There are also a number of programs available that you may also want to drop in on and allow them to take part in.

Some of the permanent exhibits in the museum are for instruction, and other ones are for fun. There is a balance between the two when children come here. The exhibits also cover a wide variety of the sciences, too.

Some of the exhibits include the Amazing Acres, which teaches about agriculture and weather. The exhibits in this section enable the children to touch a 10-foot tornado, learn about precipitation, and even create a cloud. Another one is called Busy Bodies: Healthy Choices, and this involves traveling through a 14-foot high human heart, enjoying a tasty meal, and having fun on a 20-foot long wall for rock climbing. Three other exhibits deal with music, sculptures, and energy.

Fun can be found in even more places for the children, as they come across two other play areas. There is the Kingdom for Kids Playground which offers a lot of playground equipment, and also the PlayHouse!, which is a play house. Other exhibits are also brought in on a temporary basis, such as the Prehistoric Playground, which will be coming soon.

When it comes to the arts, classes are also available for all ages. Some programs and classes are going on almost every day. This includes their arts-based preschool program, which provides lessons in reading and writing.

The museum also has some drop-in programs that do not require any pre-registration. Some of these programs are recurring, and some of them are repeated more than once in a day - letting you choose your best time. Some of these programs include Music in Motion, Acting Up!, Open Exploration Art Studio, PlayHouse Playtime, Communications Lab, Magnificent Murals, and more. You will need to check the age range, but some of them welcome 3-year olds and up.

The museum also offers Dance programs all year long. They teach several styles of dance, including ballet, hip-hop, modern, tap, jazz, and pointe. The instructors are professional, and they even offer some classes for adults, too. For those who want extra training, the museum works with the Lime Light Dance Company, which trains children ten years old and up, and they must take three classes a week.

A Summer Camp is also available. The camp works with children who are between three-year olds up through fourth graders.

Programs are also available for a Museum educator to come and present a special packaged program to your school. They will need some volunteers to help run the activities. Some of the programs available include Mind Games (math), Flight Factory Festival (birds and flying insects), Family Science Night, which provides ten different science stations.

There is so much to see and do at the Family Museum of Arts and Science in Bettendorf, IA. Your young children will be glad you stopped for their future and fun. The museum is open every day. On Monday through Thursday, from 9 AM to 8 PM; on Friday and Saturday from 9 AM until 5 PM; and on Sunday from Noon to 5 PM.