Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Denver, CO

Several local bloggers were invited to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science this week to preview their new exhibit, Nature Unleashed, which opens to the public today. Kind of appropriate given the amount of weather craziness this week, including the huge tornado that touched down in Oklahoma - plus I know my kid has *always* been majorly curious about such things. But even more cool was the fact that DMNS curator of astrobiology David Grinspoon was on hand to answer our questions, which made my geeky husband nearly run home and grab his latest Seed Magazine for David to sign. Non-geek translation: David knows his stuff and is very awesome.

The exhibit itself is very awesome too.  It covers all sorts of big weather: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. The topics can be big and scary, but the museum was sure to also bring things down to kid level - with stuff to touch, buttons to push, videos to watch. Declan loved the section where you raise levers up and down to add gas or silica and create several different kinds of volcanoes.

As for me? My favorite part was standing in a semi-enclosed spot with video walls all around as a tornado approached and passed over you. Creepy and cool and much safer than actually chasing a tornado.

There was also an area to share your own natural disaster stories and pin them to a wall. We got a big kick out of reading the one that said: "1986, paying to see Ishtar."

Declan took the idea and ran with it:

If you can't read that because it's too small or kid-like: "2009. Once upon thare was a dog named Poe and he was 17 week's old and Poe allwase chewed my soks. - Declan"

I can't TELL you how proud I am.

But definitely. Go check out the new exhibit. It's open now through May 3rd, 2009.

And what's even *cooler*? The DMNS has shared a coupon for $2.00 off admission through March 9th, 2009. Just print it out and bring it with you to the museum, easy as pie, have at it, and HAVE FUN.

And let me know what crazy "natural disasters" are up on the wall by the time YOU get there.