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Hello! I have been following this forum for a while, but haven't felt a need to post until now... My family (me, husband, 2 kids - 4.5yo and 1yo) is relocating to Chapel Hill at the end of April for a position my husband accepted at UNC and we are flying into town tomorrow to see the house we already rented (hope it wasn't misrepresented - LOL!) and for me to interview for a job on Friday.
My interview on Friday is all day and we're trying to plan some fun things for my husband to do with the kids. Since it looks like rain (boo!), I've been looking at some of the museums in the Raleigh area. We have a science museum membership to our local museum which gets us in to the Museum of Natural History for free, but I'm wondering how appropriate that would be for a (science-loving) 4.5 year old? He loves the science museum here, but it has a lot of hands-on activities. It also looks like there is a marbles museum that might be fun? Any other suggestions for a rainy day in Chapel Hill and Raleigh? Maybe somewhere where the baby could get out of the stroller and crawl/cruise about?
We are staying in Chapel Hill, but my interview is just outside of Raleigh and they will be dropping me off/picking me up.
Thanks in advance for any advice, and also thank you for all the advice you have already unknowingly given through previous posts!
We have a science museum membership to our local museum which gets us in to the Museum of Natural History for free, but I'm wondering how appropriate that would be for a (science-loving) 4.5 year old? He loves the science museum here, but it has a lot of hands-on activities. It also looks like there is a marbles museum that might be fun? Any other suggestions for a rainy day in Chapel Hill and Raleigh? Maybe somewhere where the baby could get out of the stroller and crawl/cruise about?
as for the science museum question, you could do the museum of natural history + the marbles museum in downtown raleigh. the museum of natural history is okay & since you would be in downtown raleigh anyhow it could work. i've never been to marbles since it changed over from exploris & i don't have kids so i couldn't personally testify to it, but i do know of plenty of friends who have kids that love it.
if you wanted a better science museum, i'm more partial to the museum of life & science in durham, although it the outdoor portion of it is more fun in my opinion. perhaps if the weather holds out you could at least get outside for a bit to go to the train, animals sections, outdoor noise-making, & the butterfly house/insectarium.
check to see if your membership gets you into the museum of life and science in Durham. If it's an ASTC museum, it should. Your science-loving son will love it, and there are activities (a play room) for the baby too.
You could spend the whole weekend inside Raleigh's myriad museums. As for rainy day things in Chapel Hill, imo its more of an outdoor city - lots of parks, easy to get to the country. There is the city museum on Franklin St, Hanes Art Museum on the UNC campus, but other than that, there's not much in CH.
Fyi, I lived in CH, have family that lives there, but for living in the area, I'd look for places closer to Raleigh, like Durham for example. Most things you'll want to do as a family will be in or toward Raleigh, so aim for the east side of CH.
Thanks for the suggestions! We do get into the Durham life sciences museum with our membership, so that sounds like it might be a great option! Does anyone know anything about the planetarium in CH? That is also on the list of museums that accept our passes...
Cannot wait for April to get here so we can move for good!
+1 for the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. My kiddos are the same age as yours, and we spend lots of time there. If the rain holds off, the outdoor area is great, but there is plenty of stuff in the indoor portions as well. IMO, the MLS is much more hands on than the Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh, which is more just exhibits to look at vs. stuff to touch and feel. If your husband wants to stay in Raleigh while you interview, I'd highly recommend Marbles. Lots of places for the little ones to run and play - they will have a great time.
As far as the Planetarium in Chapel Hill, we took the kids there in the fall and came away unimpressed. We skipped the Planetaruim show (which may have been our problem ), and outside of that we didn't find much else to see there. At least not much that held the little one's interest. Downtown Chapel Hill also has Kidzu, which is billed as a kids museum, but is more like a play place to me. It would also be great for your kiddos.
This isn't a daytime activity, but might still be a fun thing to do with the kids while you are in town. Paperhand Puppet Intervention has a show at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro. It's a nice little indoor theater, and kids seem to like giant puppets
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), and outside of that we didn't find much else to see there. At least not much that held the little one's interest. Downtown Chapel Hill also has Kidzu, which is billed as a kids museum, but is more like a play place to me. It would also be great for your kiddos.
