Family Museum - Bettendorf, Iowa

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Family Museum - Bettendorf, Iowa
The facility includes 44,000 sq. ft. of programming space including a 9600 sq. ft. exhibit hall, three multi-purpose rooms for dance instruction and performances, two preschool classrooms, two art studios, one science studio, a party room, a great hall, museum store, welcome theater for school groups and an outdoor science discovery park "Kingdom for Kids" playground. Exhibits and classes are designed for all ages.

Situated next to the Bettendorf Public Library on a 10-acre property, both structures are part of a complex called The Learning Campus, providing a full spectrum of life-long learning opportunities for all ages. The Family Museum is a merger of the former Children’s Museum and Center for the Cultural Arts in Bettendorf and offers interactive educational experiences to families in the Quad Cities and the Midwest area. Since opening in the new facility, the Museum has served over 1,000,000 people. This unique, fun-packed, hands-on Museum is designed for children and families of all ages to share in the joy of discovery, investigation and learning together.

Permanent Exhibits

Watts Up with Energy? — Discover the power of energy. This exciting exhibit for all ages explores sustainable energy, energy conservation and the importance of energy with hands-on activities.

Sculpture on Learning Campus - Take a walk around Learning Campus and discover the hidden art.

Amazing Acres — Learn about weather and agriculture! Touch a 10-foot tornado, create a cloud, and learn about precipitation from local meteorologists. Shop in the convenience store and pump bio-fuel at the station. Climb a tree house, crawl through the giant tree trunk, or plant vegetables in the garden. "Drive" a John Deere combine cab through the cornfields at harvest time.

Rhythm Alley — This gallery rocks with sound, music and a psychedelic shawdowbox called Split Images. The Wacky Mirrors interactive exhibit takes your image and breaks it up in ways that will amaze you. Make your own kind of music on a Clavinova or with a bicycle wheel in a whimsical area called Happenstanza. Music Makers features five kinds of music and stories about key people who make the music happen. Dancing lights, a pinball music machine, the pentaphone and musical gizmos are all part of this up-beat world of musical adventures.

The Garden — The under-age 5 set will be attracted to this child’s garden of fun created especially for them. Imaginations will run wild in the two-story Bear’s Playhouse, the "sand" table (filled with small plastic beads,) velcro wall, foam building blocks, and activity areas with age-appropriate toys. A climbing maze will amaze the little ones. Parents and caregivers can gather and interact while the children explore and learn.

"Kingdom for Kids" Playground — For active kids of all ages, the outdoor "Kingdom for Kids" Playground, has things to climb, slide down, swing across, go up and down and slither around.

Location: 2900 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf, Iowa

Phone: (563)-344-4106 Fax: (563) 344-4164

Hours: Monday - Thursday: 9am - 8pm
Friday and Saturday: 9am - 5pm
Sunday: Noon - 5pm
Winter Hours December 17-31, 2007
M-Sat: 9am-5pm
Sun: noon-5pm