The Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium is a great way to spend the day with the family.  As we arrived today, the dome of the Planetarium was covered in snow, as was the rest of the sprawling 43-acre property.  This was the first time that we have gone there on our own, as all of the previous times were with school trips.  Rushing briskly down the cobblestone path, we made it to the Planetarium just in time to purchase tickets and get seated for the 11:00am showing of "A Trip To The Planets."

At the box office we were told that it wasn't possible to purchase tickets to the Planetarium without purchasing a pass to walk the grounds as well.  Because we've only been there for school trips, we had no idea that it was a requirement.  While we were a little surprised, it turns out that the policy is a good one, as the mansion and museums are even more interesting than the Planetarium. 

The cost for each adult was $10 ($7 to walk the grounds and $3 for the show in the Planetarium).  Kids 12 and under pay a total of $6 ($3 to walk the grounds), and children under 2 are free.  You are allowed to bring your own food and sit at the tables in the lobby of the Planetarium, or you can purchase pre-made Subway sandwiches and sodas in the lobby.

As the theater darkened, the narrator gave us a brief description of what the show was going to be about, and also about the special projector that they use.  As the stars moved through the sky, it gave the feeling that the room was actually spinning.  Interesting facts about the solar system were given, and we learned a bit about each planet.  Of course, there was the most to learn about Earth.  Overall, the show was entertaining, and all of the kids were basically well-behaved.  The show seemed to be kept to 30 minutes with the attention span of the kids in mind.

Since we had the passes to walk the grounds, we decided to take everything in.  The first stop was at an outdoor (covered) dinosaur museum.  It was chilly out, so we didn't spend much time there, although it was interesting from a learning prospective.  We then moved to the mansion and museum.  It was interesting to learn that this was merely the summer home for the Vanderbilts.  Needless to say, this is no summer cottage.

As we proceeded up the stairs, we were directed into a room filled with animals were actually hunted by William Vanderbilt's son in the early 1900's in the Sudan.  The educator in the room directed his lesson to the kids, but I stood nearby fascinated to learn more about this family and also to be able to touch the things that were being passed around for the kids to examine.  Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed to be taken inside of the museum, so the only way to see everything is by going there.  Maybe it's for the best, as you cannot get a true appreciation of how interesting everything is by reading about it and seeing the pictures.

After learning about the Vanderbilts and their hunting conquests, we retreated to the garage beneath the building to check out a 1928 Lincoln.  The difference between cars of today and of yesteryear is amazing to see.  The car actually looked very much like the one that was driven in the TV show The Munsters.  Surprisingly, my five-year old started singing the Adams Family theme song, but I corrected him and let him know that it was a different show.  I'm still not sure where he learned the theme song, but I digress.

It was then off to see some more game that was hunted by the Vanderbilts.  The kids really were fascinated by all of the animals, although my son did point out that it was mean to hunt and kill the animals.  I did my best to explain why this was so, but I'm not even sure that the explanation made me feel any better.  Unless you are a hunter, it's probably difficult to grasp what makes it appealing to others.  However, without hunting, we wouldn't have seen most of what we saw today.

We then proceeded to go to the room where the mummy is kept.  It's a little strange to be standing within 20 feet of a 3000 year old mummy, but the story behind the acquisition of the body was very interesting.  I won't give it away here though.

Finally, it was off to the marine museum to see over 2000 varieties of fish.  The educator in the room gave us some great background information on how all of these fish came to be in the museum, and what lengths the Vanderbilts had to go to in preparing them for display.  Everything, while preserved, was real - from small fish to sharks and whales.

If not for the fact that we were there with a cranky 18-month old who was more interested in looking at the snow on the ground than the exhibits, we could have spent even more time at the Vanderbilt Museum.  If you're looking for a great family experience in an amazing setting, this is the place to go.  For more details about the Vanderbilt Planetarium and Vanderbilt Museum, please click here.