Frisco Discovery Center

Welcome to the beginning of Summer y’all!  Everyone is out of school, and looking for fun activities to fill the days.  I know many of my readers are grandparents who look forward to spending more quality time with the grandkids during the summer!  You can read another grandkid-friendly post by clicking here.  And if you are in the Dallas area, a GREAT place to take the little ones is the Frisco Discovery Center!

 

Fun in Frisco

 

Developed by the Frisco Community Development Corporation and supported by the City of Frisco, huge renovations transformed part of a former warehouse space into The Frisco Discovery Center, an arts, science, and cultural center for the DFW community.

In collaboration with the Frisco Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, I visited this fantastic center of family friendly activities.  Let’s take a peek inside!

 

 

Sci-Tech Discovery Center

The Sci-Tech Discovery Center is where Science meets fun!  There are dozens of totally hands-on activities for kids (and adults) to learn more about concepts like Force, Matter, Amorphous Metals, FerroFluids, Patterns, and Nanotechnology.  The displays are bright and vibrant, and engaging and fun!

 

 

There was SERIOUS activity going on in the vehicle-building station, with every part you can imagine ready for young engineers to choose and build their own miniature vehicle.  There were even blue prints available for those who wanted to build even more complicated cars or trucks.  The Sci-Tech Discovery Center is available for birthday parties, field trips, and STEM skills camps….including over holiday breaks!  LOVE!

 

 

 

National Videogame Museum

 

 

OK y’all…I WISH I had known about The National Videogame Museum when my kids were still in high school.  It’s TOTALLY cool!  Visitors begin their experience with the dawn of the computer age, and progress throughout the museum through time, with hundreds of examples of gaming consoles, games, and accessories on display throughout the museum.

 

 

Talk about a trip down memory lane!  There’s even two exhibits set up like a living room in the 1980’s and a kid’s bedroom in the early 2000’s.  So funny!  Also, there’s an arcade with about 30 video games available to play, and visitors get tokens with the price of admission.  And guess what kind of music is playing in the darkened arcade?  Yup.  1980’s music.  Just as it should be!  Every Sunday, they offer guided tours of the museum at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Reservations are not required. This activity is included with the price of general admission.

 

 

There’s also an entire row of computers set up with games installed ready to play….talk about a fun way to pass a hot afternoon!  But, this museum is NOT just for kids!  It’s possible to host corporate events or adult parties at the National Videogame Museum, and you can even arrange to bring in food and adult beverages!  Pretty sure that would be the BEST adult party or corporate event you have attended in a long time!

 

 

 

Train Topia

 

 

For those of you who like to experience the Trains at Northpark during the holidays, the Museum of the American Railroad’s Train Topia is an opportunity to enjoy the most fascinating miniature train display any time you get a hankerin’.  On my visit, I had the great fortune to get a personal tour of the exhibit with Bob LaPrelle, the President & CEO of the Museum of the American Railroad.

Bob explained that the exhibit is a gift of Jane Sanders and her daughters, and is made possible by Amanda and Brint Ryan. Traintopia features running G-scale trains on a 2,500 sq. ft. layout, a custom light show which takes the exhibit from daylight to nighttime, and hundreds of miniature automobiles and people.  The exhibit spans Arizona to Texas, from the dramatic rock formations of the Four Corners region near New Mexico, to a thriving Northeast Texas in the early 1960s.  Also featured is an animated downtown Dallas street scene, the Palo Duro Drive-In Theater with a movie playing, West Texas refineries and working saw mills in Colorado!

 

 

I was completely memorized by the detail, and the whimsy of each “scape.”  There were docents available to share their knowledge, who are also train collectors, and very well-versed in all aspects of this outstanding exhibit.

 

 

The Frisco Discovery Center also houses the Black Box Theater and the Frisco Art Gallery.

TIPS:

• Hours:  Closed on Mondays.  Tuesday-Friday 9:00-5:00.  Saturday 10:00-8:00.  Sunday 12:00-6:00.
• Each venue has a separate ticket price, so the Frisco Discovery Center is not all-inclusive.