Into the Mist at the Museum of Life and Science

When we head to the Museum of Life and Science in this hot weather we tend to hang out at all of the inside exhibits-the NC wildlife, space, kids play area, etc.  Sometimes we make a mad dash for the insect and butterfly building because it's indoors as well, but now there's new place to hang out when the weather's hot. 

What it is: Last week we headed over to check out the newest exhibit-Into the Mist.  Into the Mist is located out in the Wind area of the museum just past the dinosaurs.  In the exhibit, visitors can walk through clouds created on grassy hills and climb through tunnels and gopher holes.  There's also a few sandy areas for further exploration.

When we visited it was another hot Durham summer day.  We put on our swim suits and headed straight to the Into the Mist exhibit.  Swim suits are really optional.  You do get  wet but tend to dry quicky because the mist droplets are so small.  We walked in to the exhibit and the first thing we saw was a dome where mist sprayed out of the top of the dome down on the exhibit.  When we moved further into the exhibit we saw a turf field filled with rolling hills spraying more mist out of the ground.  Once we had seen the mist we moved on to find sandboxes and climbed through tunnels.  We actually managed to spend our entire museum time in that one exhibit and can't wait to go back!

What we liked: It was great that the museum now has a place to get wet and cool off.  The kids also were able to learn about clouds and rainbows by exploring the mist.  Plus, it's part of your museum admission so there are no extra tickets needed.

What we would change: Since the exhibit just opened they are still working out a few kinks.  It does get a bit muddy in a few places, so you can find yourself a bit dirty at the end of your time there.  There are also some hills that make viewing the whole exhibit tricky to see at one time.  Plus, the mist is pretty thick, so it's hard to see kids through it.  I did notice that there's only one entrance and the exhibit looked mostly fenced, so chances are good your kids can't get out if you watch the entrance while it might be hard to see all of them at the same time.

Website and other important information:

Website: http://www.ncmls.org/

Address: 433 Murray Ave, Durham, NC 27704

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 12pm-5pm

Admission: $14 for adults, $10 for kids ages 3-12, under 3 are free (We've found that a membership is definitely the most reasonable way to check out the museum if you know you'll be coming back several times in a year.)

Photos:

(kids playing in the mist)

(The other mist area)

(On our way to one of the sandy areas)