Jerrassic Park

At the entrance to the Virginia Beach Military Museum lies the Jerassic Park. The park has a collection of seventeen painted metal dinosaur statues which circles around the lake. All statues are at 3/4th scale.

The park is free and those under 6 who can identify all of the dinosaurs are eligible to win a dinosaur prize. Click here for the sheet, print it out, and then match the number to each dinosaur. Once you're done, head to the museum gift shop.

My Gym: VB

Kids have this ability to pull energy out of nowhere. My youngest cried because he was so tired on our way to My Gym VB, only to suddenly get a happy burst of energy upon arrival that lasted him for an extra 45 minutes of playing past his nap time. My Gym VB is back open with limited class and camp sizes and constant disinfecting of play areas. Outdoor classes are also available.

We recently tried out the siblings class which allows me to let both boys participate at once. I was thrilled when we did a My Gym class before, and I was thrilled again when we tried this one out. I love how the classes mix free play with new activities every few minutes. Check out their schedule here, or check our daily calendar of events.  Classes range in ages from six months to six years. Outside of their regular classes, My Gym VB has Mommy and Me Paint Nights and even Yoga for the whole family.

And mamas, listen up; here's the best part. My Gym is working to figure out how to help with the current school situation. That means a preschool prep class, possibly some homework help, and even some karate or ballet. Preschool Prep will be Monday-Friday from 10-1. You can elect to enroll in a 2 or 3 days a week. The program is for potty trained children ages 2.5-5 and focuses on making learning fun and exciting. Classes will fill up quickly! If you're interested, give them a call and let them know. Another note: if you're social distancing with a closed loop, you can set up a private play date at the gym. Call for details!

Military Aviation Museum

Located in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach, the Military Aviation Museum is one of the largest private collections of WWI and WWII era planes in the world. Three of the museum's large hangers are open right now along with the main building. Inside each hanger you'll find a maze of airplanes to wander through and under along with some very rare finds. We found this car which actually goes in the water. It's one of only 4,000 ever built and goes up to 8 miles per hour in water.

Around the museum are lots of volunteers who you can tell love the history of aviation. At 1:00 daily a volunteer does a flight demonstration on the runway right behind the main building.

The museum does have some flight simulators and a kid's play area, but both are closed right now. Also not happening are their regular story times and home school days, which will hopefully resume again soon. Also, checkout this phone booth. RT had no idea what it was!

While you're there don't miss the free Jerrassic Park at the entrance! 

The Air and Space Museum Reopens!

With the temperatures rising this week, I found myself looking for more indoor options for us to explore. Hampton's Air and Space Museum has reopened with safety precautions and full air conditioning.

Masks and social distancing are required for all visitors. There are abundant sanitation stations. Volunteer docents are not available to answer questions and the cafe has a limited menu. The flight max simulator is closed. The Imax theater is open, but groups have to sit at least three seats apart in every other row. Staff was cleaning throughout our trip.

Since our last trip, they have combined some of the upstairs children's exhibit with the play area downstairs. Upstairs they are preparing for a new area opening in the fall called the Space Explorer Gallery. There is lots of work going on, and it looks like this exhibit will take up a fourth of the second floor, so I'm excited to come back this fall to check it out once it opens.

The Art Of Play: Botanical Gardens

We are at the Botanical Gardens regularly so I was shocked when I saw this exhibit quietly appear. The signs say it will be here from March to May. Clearly that isn't right, but no statements on how long these will be here. There are four pieces in all, a seesaw, kaleidoscope, a piece of art which changes depending on where you stand, and the bike. The seesaw and kaleidoscope were our favorites! 

In my opinion, the humble See-saw is one of the most important playground items. It teaches balance and builds leg muscles. Maybe even more importantly, it forces kids to work together and take turns. It unknowingly teaches kids about using a lever and fulcrum to change the direction of forces. Even with all of these advantages, seesaws have been disappearing from playgrounds for years for safety reasons. 

Botanical Gardens has remained open during Covid. Social distancing and masks when going indoors are required.