Hands-on House, Children's Museum

Last weekend we finally made it to the Hands-on House in Lancaster, PA! It's been on the "to-do" list for a long time!

 At church there was a recent sermon on having family sabbath days. Days where you enjoy each other and do something that each of you would like to do. The Hands-on House was Caleb's choice for this sabbath day! (He specifically said, "I want to go to a children's museum!")

 There are many exhibits good for kids ages 2-8 (in my opinion). In this area there is a fan that kids turn on to blow the ships across. Caleb enjoyed figuring out that shape/size of the sail that was the best for getting the boat to move quicker.

 Another favorite was the Face Painting Porch. Blake decided that he didn't want to, but of course Caleb jumped right in! I think Daddy may have a future in this!

 Another area was a fishing pond. What I like is that the kids were encouraged to measure their fish using the ruler seen in this picture. Then if the fish was too short they were to throw it back. If the fish was long enough, they threw it in a nearby bucket.

 One area was all about farming, a favorite topic for our boys. In this area pretend chickens lay eggs and kids put the good ones through and the bad ones in a special container.

 Blake enjoyed pretending to plow a field!

 Another favorite was Marty's Machine Shop where Caleb went through a production line step through step to create a toy. It was a great exercise in following directions!

 I would recommend going when the weather is good, as there is an awesome outdoor playground/discovery area.

Some of the other exhibits include a post office, grocery store, make believe area, pirate ship, and more! As an elementary school teacher I appreciated how learning on everything from reading to math was "snuck" in to all of the exhibits!

The Hands-on House is located in West Lancaster. It's about an 80 minute drive from Baltimore. Admission is reasonable at $8.50 a person. I could not find any discounts/coupons. There are countless things for kids to do in Lancaster and a trip to the Hands-on House could be part of a fantastic day trip!