My name is Rebecca, and I am a Children’s Librarian here in Denton and a mom to two young children. I also serve on the board for Explorium Denton. I 
enjoy working with children and have always loved the rich history and learning environment of museums. Working with Explorium allows me to combine two of my favorite things!
My family and I recently traveled to Chicago, Illinois and stopped by the Chicago Children’s Museum. This museum is located right on Navy Pier—such a fun and lively location.
My children were immediately drawn to the first exhibit, Play it Safe. This exhibit features a wooden, climb-on fire truck that the children can “drive” and hoses that connect to a fire hydrant. Children can even put out an electronic fire with the hoses. Inside the house, there was an area for the children to put on firefighter outfits, slide down a fire pole, and learn about fire safety. My children declared this was their favorite exhibit….until we reached the next one.
Boats, a seasonal summer exhibit, featured many different types of boats that the children could captain. There was a fishing store where children could sell stuffed fish and buy plastic bait. The 
learning opportunities were endless: posters discussing marine life, learning to fish, shopping at the store, bartering for outfits, and driving the boats. Pretend play is such an important aspect in a child’s development and this museum did such a fantastic job creating natural, learning environments. For me, my favorite part of this exhibit were the large windows overlooking Lake Michigan. Again, this was declared their favorite exhibit…until the next one.
While the Chicago Children’s Museum has many more exhibits, this last was the favorite for the whole family. The Skyline exhibit is a hands-on build it yourself exhibit, featuring different length wooden struts and real tools and hardware. We were here for hours. HOURS! Both my two and four year were entertained building structure after structure. They enjoyed working with real tools in a safe, fun, learning environment. The Chicago Children’s Museum did a fantastic job placing their exhibits in just the right location-like the Boats exhibit overlooking Lake Michigan, this exhibit featured large windows overlooking the Chicago skyline. There were so many opportunities for STEM/STEAM challenges in this exhibit. This truly was our favorite exhibit—and one I hope to see soon at Explorium Denton.