Seattle and Washington State as a whole is a tech hub: home to the head offices of Microsoft (Bill Gates himself even lives here), Nintendo America and Amazon.com - what better place to check out science education for little ones? It turns out there are some great initiatives in the Seattle area for getting children science-savvy from an early age, primarily the AMAZING Kids Science Labs. 

KIDS SCIENCE LABS

Kids Science Labs, established in 2010, offer wonderful hands-on science classes for children as little as 2-years-old, all the way up to age 12. Their aim is to nurture and "enable the next generation of creative thinkers", making it as fun and interactive as possible. And they really do just that! Sienna and I went along to one of their classes in Green Lake (Kids Science Labs also have various locations across Chicago where it was founded) and we both had so much fun!  

The classes at Kids Science Labs (lasting from 60-75 minutes) introduce children to many different concepts, covering a different topic each week. From songs about key words to live demonstrations, Sienna had a go at sieving beans from sand, making her own mixture of stones, beads and water, as well as fishing plastic fish with a net from a bowl of water - all intended to help the children understand the term "separate". The fun and outgoing teachers at the class got the children interacting immediately, but the little ones also had time to get busy independently. All in all it was a wonderful session! Find out more about trying out a class for FREE here 😄.

Green Lake, one of the urban neighborhoods of Seattle, is also lovely. You can go for a 2.8 mile walk around the glistening lake (beware of the geese!), and there is a play park just by the community centre. There is also a public library just along the way with a lovely section for little ones (the library runs weekly Baby and Toddler Story Time sessions too!).

THE SPACE NEEDLE & PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER

As I said here, Seattle is home to the iconic Space Needle built in 1962 - a landmark of the Pacific Northwest. Here you will also find the Pacific Science Center - part of the Seattle Center - which is a great way for the whole family to spend the entire day if you have the time. There is a designated toddler section for the tiny ones, complete with water tables and ride-on toys, and as you can see once again, Sienna had a lovely time! 

You can visit the Space Needle and Pacific Science Center with the Seattle City Pass, which saves you 45%; and for just $79 (for adults - tickets need purchasing for children from age 4 upwards) you can visit 5 attractions in total. There is a choice between the Museum of Pop Culture (highly recommended!), Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Woodland Park Zoo, and then the Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, and an Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour are included in each pass.