science – Looking on the Bright Side

I was fortunate enough to spend a week recently in Hot Springs, Arkansas. My aunt and uncle rented a house on the lake and were kind enough to invite me along. We had a great family trip and my daughter got to hang out with some of her cousins.

The house we stayed in had a pool, hot tub, kayaks, and a canoe.

Hot Springs National Park is unique because it includes downtown and Bathhouse Row. The old bathhouses all still stand, although most have been transformed into something else. Across from Bathhouse Row are shops and restaurants and such. The green spaces of the park are located directly behind Bathhouse Row.

Buckstaff Baths is the only traditional bathhouse still in operation. My aunt and I went and had the traditional experience, including a soak in the tub that was filled with mineral water straight from the springs. After that we were covered in hot towels, which was a bit intense. Then I sat in a steam closet, had a sitz bath, and a needle shower. It was an interesting experience.

The Fordyce Bathhouse has been turned into a museum about the history of the bathhouses in Hot Springs.

needle shower
steam closet
stained glass ceiling
elevator

One day, we took the children to the Mid-America Science Museum, which I highly recommend. There was lots of hands-on fun inside and a dinosaur trail and skywalk outside.

Another day we visited Garvan Woodland Gardens, which was fun and pretty, but very hot! There were free strollers available, and my five year old had me pushing her uphill through the gravel! The botanical gardens are part of the University of Arkansas. There was a tree house and lots of other places to hang out and play.

Hot Springs was a nice, laid back little place. It was a fun place for a family visit.

Our next stop on our trip to Montreal was the Science Centre, located in the Old Port. This is a must see place if travelling to Montreal with young children. My daughter had a blast exploring the many exhibits and probably could have spent much longer there. It caters to children, but there are lots of interesting things to learn and explore.

There was a huge creativity/building/engineering section where you were challenged to build different things out of the provided materials.

My daughter enjoyed the hands-on activities where she learned about the human body and the process of evolution.

The temporary exhibit while we were there was on spiders.

dancing like a spider
eating like a spider

With its large space and varied exhibits, this museum is definitely worth a stop for families travelling with children. I definitely saw people visiting who didn’t have children with them, and I’m sure it was still interesting. But the main fun came in watching my daughter explore all of the different topics.