MOSI

Today I took two of my children back to the Museum of Science and Industry here in Tampa. The first time we went through the museum last October the whole family had a blast. Today was my third trip and I have to say that I am really disappointed in the museum.

The museum has a lot to offer. Three floors in the main building are full of exhibits that are interactive and interesting. Then there is the other building that has the planetarium and the "Kids in Charge" area. In addition there are a couple of IMAX theaters.

Like I said, the exhibits are interactive, hands on, and fun...the first time. Here is the disappointing part, except for a small exhibit on the bottom floor, none of the exhibits have changed since October. There are rooms where you can experience a tornado in a basement and a room where you can experience and earthquake.  Then there are lots of other exhibits that are hands on and educational for natural disasters. The problem is, once you've done it once, its not worth doing again. The earthquake is nothing like the earthquake ride at Universal Studios, so you really don't even want to do it again. Even my five year old was bored with it the second time around.

The third floor is still a really cool exhibit about the human life cycle. Very cool the first time. I have no desire to walk through it again, and my kids REALLY did not want to see it again. This exhibit should not have lasted more than 3 months. MOSI really needs to rotate its exhibits more to keep their members excited about coming back. I would not have paid for a membership if I knew this would be the only exhibit.

The small room on the bottom is the only thing besides the IMAX movies that has changed since October. Today was a very small and boring bug exhibit. I thought it was gross, but the kids thought it was cool...for 5 minutes. As far as the IMAX goes, the IMAX movies seem to change often, but never to anything worth taking the family to see.

The planetarium would be cool, maybe. I don't know because every time I am there, there are never any shows. I do not think 1 or 2 shows a day is enough, but what do I know?

The kids in charge area, though, is amazing. Lots of interactive things for the kids to do. They can learn about physics, music, home economics, and airplanes in a very playful, hands on area. I love it. This area is totally worth the membership. For a couple bucks there are bounce houses and giant slides for the kids to play on as well.

In the end, I say if you are visiting Tampa you MUST check out the Museum of Science and Industry. If you have kids and live near Temple Terrace, you should get the membership. If you don't have kids, don't waste your money because you will be bored after the first visit.

Enjoy!