The kids have exhausted every YouTube video, craft project, Fortnite quest and virtual national park tour. They’ve played so many board games, you wonder if going pro in Monopoly is an alternative to college. They speak three languages fluently thanks to Duolingo, and have produced detailed maps of every hiking trail in Nashville’s parks system. But look at the calendar — school, if it comes back on time, is still more than five weeks away. Grab some masks and load up the minivan, because the Adventure Science Center is back. The educational playground reopened on June 18 under limited hours (Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and in limited capacity (150 guests per hour). Advance timed-entry tickets are available on the museum’s website, along with a cleaning plan. It’s a good plan, and thorough. The museum is limiting capacity at various exhibits, particularly those in tight spaces. But there are plenty of pandemic-friendly options, including a daily outdoor demonstration of a liquid-nitrogen cloud. (By now, thanks to all their Googling, your kids probably know what that is, even if you don’t.) Understandably nervous parents may be reassured by one thing: Metro’s Coronavirus Task Force chairman and sudden and unexpected local celebrity Dr. Alex Jahangir also happens to be the chairman of the Adventure Science Center board — and he says it’s OK. J.R. LIND
Visit Adventure Science Center
