Tips for getting the most out of your visit to Discovery Gateway + Family Membership Giveaway & Discount Tickets!

Now that is school is out it’s time to start thinking of how you will keep your kiddos busy this summer. While they can certainly play outside, there will be days where it will be miserably hot. A great place to visit that will keep them cool and entertained is Discovery Gateway!

We’ve already made our first visit to Discovery Gateway this summer. As you can tell from the picture above, it’s been one of our favorite things to do in Utah since Lily was a baby. And that’s one of my favorite things about Discovery Gateway – there is something for all ages. On our latest trip, we arrived at opening and didn’t leave until 4 pm. The kids loved every second of it!

Be sure to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post as well as check out some tips of how to get the most out of your visit. But first, here’s a little about this fun museum!

Discovery Gateway children’s museum is located in the Gateway Mall in downtown Salt Lake City. Discovery Gateway offers 60,000 square feet of interactive, hands-on fun. You can explore their engaging workshops, programs, and exhibits that invite the whole family to create, learn, and play together!

Exhibits Include:

• The Garden- A 30-foot beehive greets visitors to The Garden, an exhibit where children and adults work together to keep things “buzzing.”
• Kid’s Eye View– In the Kid’s Eye View exhibit, children can explore the big, wide world on a kid-sized scale.
• Story Factory- From classic stage to modern multimedia, the Story Factory exhibit offers visitors numerous ways to explore telling a story.
• Media Zone- Anchor the evening news or report the weather using the green screen in our Media Zone exhibit that takes visitors behind the scenes.
• The Studio- The worlds of the artist, scientist, and engineer combine in this hands-on creative space.
• The Terrace- Put your rescue skills to the test as a pilot, paramedic, or commando.

Now, we’ve been quite a few times and we’ve learned a few tips along the way about how to get the most out of your day.  Ready for some insider tips?!?!?

1.  Be on the look out for good deals! When we went last Friday, this was the best deal out there!  Loved saving 37 percent off my tickets!

2. Be there when it opens so that you can sign up for the extra classes before they fill up. They do put out additional sign-up sheets for the later classes around noon so you will want to check back in before you have lunch. These classes are one of my favorite things about Discovery Gateway. From counting fun with octopus art projects to learning about and creating their own Matis masterpieces, the classes are fun, up-beat, and educational. Our favorite day to go is Friday, because there are three different classes offered during the summer. It is the perfect way to break up the day. Check out all of the classes and times here. 

3. Take a sack lunch to enjoy at their picnic tables on the bottom floor by the entrance. I put string cheese and frozen gogurts in a small insulated bag and they were perfect for lunch time. Food and drink is not allowed in the museum so plan for snack times/meals down at the picnic tables.

4. Establish expectations before you enter the museum. My children are ages 7,5, and 3 and all love different exhibits. Before we got out of the car, we made a plan to rotate who chose the next exhibit to visit. We would stay at each exhibit for 30 minutes or until the person who chose decides it is time to go. This seemed to work pretty well for us. We also made the rule that you had to be able to see Mom at all times.

5. Ditch the purse/diaper bag and wear a backpack. I put our lunches, my wallet, changes of clothes, etc. all in a backpack so that I would have my hands free to play with the kids. This made it so much easier than having to keep track of a purse. You need both hands free to take fun videos like this of the Hurricane Simulator.

For more details about our favorite exhibits, check out this post. 

Giveaway Time!

I am excited to be giving you the chance to win a 1-year family membership for 4! This is a $115 value!

Enter using the rafflecopter widget below. You must be a Utah resident to win. Giveaway ends 6/22/15. Good Luck!

Disclosure: This blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment or shipment. I was not compensated to participate in this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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