Yes, my little girl missed Clifford after he packed up his friends from Birdwell Island and left Imagine It! The Children's Museum. But she was also happy to say "HELLO" to their new exhibit "The Big Adventure"!

If you've got a climber, tumbler, or explorer at home, now's the time to head to the Children's Museum in downtown Atlanta and let him or her burn off a little steam! The Big Adventure, on display through September 3, will keep kids active and having fun.

We went last week to let our daughter have a go at this all new exhibit and what an adventure it was! She tested her skills at climbing up the ladder to the slide, taking one of the tricycles for a ride over the "rocky" bike course, built a bridge to get across the water, tried on scuba gear, flew an airplane and so much more!



This feature exhibit is a 3-D game board that will encourage children's natural desire to explore and investigate while challenging their physical abilities.

My daughter was particularly fond of the the River Crossing: Bridge Out! where she got to test her bridge building skills to cross the "water" safely and escape the alligator! She also enjoyed the "Main Drag" where she got to ride one of the vehicles across a variety of surfaces.

While there we saw children explore the "Adventure Mountain" and "The Tunnels of Fun," where they climbed a six-foot wall of rocks, crawled through dark tunnels and, finally, reached the "Crow's Nest" for a bird's eye view of the other adventures throughout the exhibit.



Children also can fly through the air on the "Virtual Flyer," a kid-size airplane that require team work. Children work together to dodge a flying saucer, hot-air balloons, ducks, mountains and even an over-sized monster looking for dinner!

Whether you have a girl or boy, as long as they're a little adventurous and have a fondness for exploring their environment, they will have a great time. This exhibit is also perfect for kids who need a little encouragement in trying new and challenging obstacles. It will help teach children to identify challenges, make decisions, solve problems, set goals and even gain confidence. My daughter was self-motivated at climbing a ladder all by herself because she saw another child do it first!



The museum is located at 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive, NW in downtown Atlanta. Museum hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $12.75 plus tax for adults and children ages 2 and above; children under 2 are free.

For more information visit www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org or call 404-659-KIDS (5437).