Make it a point to visit the Children's Museum of Atlanta, XOXO

I know that I can not be the only one that does not take advantage of living in Atlanta when it comes to all that is around us.  A few years ago, Broxton was invited to a birthday party at the Children's Museum of Atlanta and he had a great time, we said we would go back... but never made it.  Recently, he has been seeing commercials for them and has mentioned he wanted to go check it out since it looked really cool.  We made plans to go this summer and then I was fortunate enough to get invited to go check out their latest exhibit, XOXO.  Of course I said yes and we made plans to attend. 

FTC Compliant Review Policy:  The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

When you first arrive at the Children's Museum of Atlanta, you might be a little surprised at all they have to offer.  You enter, get your ticket, get scanned in and then its basically "the world is your playground."  There are several area's to explore and for some reason, Broxton had to bee line it to the Farm to Table area.  (He did that last time as well, after speaking to some of the staff, this is one of the more popular exhibits there!)   The farm to table area is immediate when you walk in. They have a cafe type area that kids can work in. It is total free play. They can be one of many things,  a chef, a customer, a manager, a waiter.  It was so cute watching the kids of all ages and backgrounds having a great time playing together.  Beside the cafe is a store, they can shop or stock!  The store also has a loading dock (with a truck front for loading the groceries... and then you can even go to the farm to milk the cow or pick the vegetables to send to the market!   

As if that wasn't enough...   They have a special area for children up to age 5.  Broxton did go in to play for a minute.  It was empty and he really wanted to fish, so I did not see any harm.  I do love that it is a bit more separate for the younger kids to play.  While Broxton was playing with the rocket launcher, I noticed an additional area that was zoned off and in it I saw the noise makers you see above.  Savannah and I had a great time playing with these while big brother was exploring!   

While the museum has several permanent exhibits that I could go on and on about, I want to focus more on the special exhibit, XOXO that is here for a limited time.   We tried to do everything, but lets be honest.  It is hard to do everything when you have a 7 year old and a baby under the age of one.  Add to it that they had camp going on for several groups of children and then regular admission children, lets just say it was busy and we missed several of the areas they have in the exhibit.  That being said, I wanted you to know about it, so I am just adding the information that was sent to me so you can see all they have!  

Mini-Musical: Better Me, A Better You  Weekdays and weekends at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Written by Jerry G. White; Musical Arrangements by Abe White

In this 20-minute musical, children will meet a helpful puppet named XO who teaches his friends, Jules the Toy Expert and EJ, about the importance of giving and volunteering. Children will learn how simple actions have lasting effects on others, and how a little kindness can change the world in a big way.

The 2,000 square foot exhibit features a brightly-colored, inviting space with 14 engaging experiences – all designed to help children understand, appreciate and express their emotions. Interactive activities include a sound recorder that analyzes tone of voice, a video station that interprets facial expressions, a soft sculpture that responds to hugs with comforting sounds and many more.

 The 2,000 square foot exhibit features a brightly-colored, inviting space with 14 engaging experiences – all designed to help children understand, appreciate and express their emotions. Interactive activities include a sound recorder that analyzes tone of voice, a video station that interprets facial expressions, a soft sculpture that responds to hugs with comforting sounds and many more.

Exhibit experiences include:

• Emotional Faces: In this activity, a sequence of words will appear on a screen to promote happy, sad, angry, frightened or hurt expressions. Guests can create a five second video of themselves making a variety official expressions as these words pop up. Then, by watching their expressions and the expressions of others on the wall, they can begin to recognize and identify how others are feeling.
• Release the Negative: Guests will have the chance to write or draw something that makes them angry, sad or afraid on a piece of paper. Then, they will place it into a slot and turn the crank to manually shred the paper. Shredding the paper will help to release the negative and turn it into something positive – a colorful display wall of patterns, created using clear jars filled with the shredded paper!
• Silhouettes: Children can trace a friend's profile onto a sheet of paper. This tracing requires concentration and careful attention to the person sitting for the portrait. Once drawn, silhouettes can be displayed and compared – allowing participants to explore the similarities and differences in each other. These traits are what make each and every one of us unique!
• Tokens of Love: In this exhibit experience, visitors will write or draw a loving thought, idea or message on a piece of paper. They will then roll it up and put it into a custom-made paper compressor by pumping a lever to crush the paper into a smooth, round token embossed with a heart. Guests can give the token to a loved one or keep it as a heartfelt takeaway!
• Holding Hands: Holding hands is a universal demonstration of friendship, trust and compassion. By holding hands and touching sensors in this interactive activity, children will complete the circuit and reveal a special, positive message.
• Response Wall: Writing is an important way to express emotions. Children will answer questions about love and forgiveness, and then tie their paper to a wall for others to read. The result is a constantly changing collection of tags that highlight an emotional narrative of thoughts and feelings.
• Empathy Blocks: For this activity, guests will create unique faces and build an assortment of expressions by combining diverse eyes, noses and mouths in multiple configurations. The facial features are printed directly onto hand-made wooden blocks, adding to the personal experience of looking carefully at another person’s face.
• Story Puzzle: Words and symbols are used to tell stories, make connections and stimulate conversation. The two puzzle shapes in this activity fit together to form paths, shapes and patterns, while also expressing key themes of love and forgiveness. A large tabletop allows several groups to work at the same time, letting them create their own unique puzzles or even join with another to form one big, shared story.
• Balance: Children can sit on the teeter totter and work together to balance a ball encased in a long, clear tube. This interesting interpretation of a classic playground experience requires teamwork, communication and cooperation, as both participants must work in tandem to succeed. Balance is achieved when the ball is centralized.
• Embrace: This activity features a variety of egg-shaped sculptures. When embraced or hugged, each sculpture responds with a positive sound, including ahhh-ing, mmmm-ing, chirping, cooing or laughing.
• Tone Phones: How is a loud, angry tone different from a soft, kind tone? Tone of voice conveys emotions that impact how words are heard and understood. Visitors will speak into the telephone handset and watch as their voice changes the shapes projected on the screen.
• Reflection Table: In this experience, guests can manipulate colorful granulated material across an internally lit sculpted landscape by covering and uncovering the surface of the table. As certain areas are uncovered, soothing music is played. Once covered, the music fades away and other areas and sounds are discovered in the table.
• Art Making Station: The act of making and giving is a way to express love, admiration and care. Children can participate in a variety of crafts to create a special and meaningful takeaway. Art projects include love letters, a personalized box or envelope, a card or silkscreen print using their silhouette drawing and a necklace using their custom token.
• Love letters: Using traditional hand letter writing materials, including postcards, stamps and even a manual typewriter, children will craft a message or image to someone they love! This program, developed by Artist Dalia Shevin, explores the magic of snail mail, the wonders of writing by hand and the delight of discovering how much love words can hold.

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I made Love Tokens.  I really loved that one, as I was able to write a note to Broxton and Savannah and make it into a love token. Not only was it a way to give them a token of my love to keep forever, it was also a cute little souvenir to remind us of a great day!  I think Broxton and I would agree that the one we really enjoyed the most was the Holding Hands.  We were even able to hold hands with Savannah (so all three of us holding hands) to make the message appear!  

We really had a great time and while we only stayed for about 4 hours, we could have stayed longer.  Like I said, so much to do and great for the kids to have free play and let their imagination go!   He has already asked to go back so we need to plan that soon.
If you live in or near Atlanta, try to remember to take advantage of a great thing being near us.  If you aren't close, why not make plans to take a vacation and head this way?   You will love it!  

Museum hours: **As part of its special summer hours, Children’s Museum will be open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. beginning June 8 through August 3, 2016.

Open Monday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Please check the Museum website to confirm hours of operation.