Discovery Cube LA – Come Discover with Your Littles

If you’ve lived in So Cal, chances are, you’ve visited the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana (Orange County). But! Did you know there is a Discovery Cube in LA? It had its grand opening back in  November. The campus is located in the north west part of the Valley, right next to the Hansen Dam Recreational Area.

Sidenote: I’m an LA native and I’ve never visited the Hansen Dam. It must be remedied!

Discovery Cube LA invited our little family to enjoy and experience two new exhibits that debuted this summer – Clifford the Big Red Dog and “Grossology.” I couldn’t pass up the chance for Baby Spawn to meet Clifford! (It’s my desperate hope that Spawn grows up to be an avid reader like me.)

Executive Director Kafi Blumenfeld welcomed us and shared some tidbits about this new Discovery Cube:

• There is 71,000 square feet of learning – hands-on exhibits, interactive displays and educational programs.
• This is the first major museum in the San Fernando Valley!
• There are exhibits here that are unique to the LA area – you won’t find a “kayak the LA River” display in Santa Ana.
• Bean Sprouts’ Cafe is a kid-friendly cafe and it offers gluten-free, dairy-free and other food allergen-free options. THIS IS IMPORTANT, especially for families with food allergies. (I like that there is a shortened counter with menu items for the Littles. It’s at their height.)

Since its grand opening, over 22,000 kids have visited Discovery Cube LA on field trips! 22,000! Let me give you a frame of reference: The Staples Center can hold a little over 18,000 people during an LA Kings hockey game.

On that note, there is an LA Kings’ The Science of Hockey exhibit on the second floor. It is awesome! The Wife, a long-suffering fan for over 20 years, was excited to check out the exhibit and see what and how the players contributed. I got to shoot against a virtual Jonathan Quick. I got one puck in in two games. w00t!

Found all along the floor are factoids

I Periscoped the exhibit – just follow me on Periscope and find the video. You can try to click the link here on your mobile and be sent over to my Periscope.

Next to The Science of Hockey is the new Grossology exhibit. Now if you have grade-school kids, this is going to be a hit. It is gross. There are hands-on displays on poop, blood suckers, slime and vomit munchers. I mean, an exhibit on poop? It’ll be the talk of the town for Littles! Shoot, even I’m talking about it!

We missed the science show but from what I saw on Instagram, it was a riot with the kids. Apparently someone drank their pee. <insert “yikes!” face>

The early learners area is currently dedicated to Clifford the Big Red Dog. It’s important for me to find a space that is somewhat away from the bigger kids for Baby Spawn. She’s not even a year old, so I have to watch out for her – and run interference if I see a bigger kid accidentally step on her. Clifford’s area is for kids ages five and under. There is also a Storytime area where we sat and listened to a Clifford story.

(All the feels, you guys. I’m so f-ing old and Storytime gives me all the feels. I’m such a mom.)

Storytime!

I chatted with the staff and discovered (heehee!) that the LA Children’s Museum was originally slated to be built here in Lake View Terrace. But they had run out of funding and it’s a mandate that there is a space for children and learning in LA County. In comes the Discovery Science Foundation and a great opportunity to create a space for the kids in LA. Thank goodness! I grew up going to the Children’s Museum, and I’m happy to know there is a space for Baby Spawn.

There are quite a few permanent exhibits (Go Kings Go!) as well as more traveling exhibits coming down the pipeline. This summer, I’d recommend taking your Littles to Discovery Cube LA and then perhaps having a picnic next door at the Hansen Dam Rec Area.

Tickets are only $10 per person!! That’s the special grand opening price and it’s been extended to January 2016!! 

Thank you so much, Discovery Cube team, for inviting my family for a morning at DCLA! See you soon!

Disclosure: I was given complimentary admission to Discovery Cube LA to visit the latest exhibits and learn more about this new learning space for children. The above is my honest and own opinion. It’s pretty rad. Post contains affiliate links.