Parents & Caregivers

The River Adventures exhibit provides opportunities for addressing these critical areas of growth and development:

Observation

• It is important for all children to nurture and develop their innate curiosity about the world around them.  This can be accomplished easily if you teach your child different ways to look at the world.  While in River Adventures with your child, pay attention to how the water behaves, or how the blowing air makes waves, or how the boats float.  You don’t have to have all the answers, but encourage your child to observe and ask questions.

Natural Science

• River Adventures and the Nature’s Pond toddler zone provide a great opportunity to introduce kids to the idea of natural habitats and biodiversity.  There are also elements of weather and environmental science to be explored, and kids can contemplate the role that water and other factors play in shaping our planet. 

Scientific Properties of Water

• Water is one of the most abundant substances on the planet and, as an important natural resource it affects our lives every day.  River Adventures lets kids play with and explore water and how it behaves; they can use the boats and rubber ducks to demonstrate buoyancy and observe how some objects float and some sink.  Or they can use the wave paddles and blowers to create wave patterns.

Exploring Basic Concepts about Engineering and Mechanics

• Humans have designed many different machines that utilize the natural properties of water to accomplish specific tasks.  Kids can discover and interact with two of these types of devices in River Adventures: a Water Wheel and an Archimedes screw.  While playing with these objects, kids can begin to think about why they may have been invented and what kinds of tasks the objects performed.