The Clay Center - for Kids of All Ages by Dawn Reed (revised)

This is for all of you parents out there.

You know that feeling you get when you're stuck indoors with kids for too long? When you are itching to find something for your kids to do? When you just have to find something to occupy them—and hopefully burn off some of that never-ending energy?

Why not try out the Clay Center? I did.


Walking up to an elegant looking building with several unique and fascinating sculptures before it, I thought that the four rambunctious laughing children behind me would surely terrorize the place. Not so.

As we entered the museum, we were greeted by no less than three employees wearing bright smiles and palpable excitement. As I paid our admission, the employees took the kids over to a snake (my worst enemy) display set up by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

My children eagerly stepped up to a man holding a snake, wanting to touch the creature. They learned about venomous and non-venomous snakes alike, and they got to hold a large snakeskin originally found in a West Virginia forest.

As a reward for their bravery, the kids received bright yellow stickers proclaiming I touched a snake today. I received no such sticker.

Straight back from the front doors is an area belonging to the Avampato Discovery Museum. This area contains Kidspace, which is designed specifically for children aged 5 and under.

Toddlers and preschoolers will delight in the huge indoor tree house where they can climb, slide, run, crawl, and jump to their hearts' content. There is also a giant "ball pond" filled with over 10,000 plastic balls that can be "shot" from the upper branches of the tree house.

I learned about this neat trick while searching for the origin of the small blue balls that were mysteriously bouncing off my head. The balls can also be tossed into buckets, or kids can simply jump into them from the edges of the pond.

Another fun area of Kidspace is the Spider Symphony, where kids can engage in physical and cognitive play by "playing" a number of instruments to hear their unique sounds.

Kidspace also caters to the needs of families with a special nursing room for moms with babies, and also a Big Kid Room designated for older siblings. The Big Kid Room contains a number of beanbag chairs, a couch, and a TV along with a variety of DVDs.

My eight year old [son/daughter] actually thought this room was boring and wanted to climb in the tree house, but the Clay Center employees are strict about the age limit.

Every Wednesday, preschoolers are invited to Wee Wednesdays to enjoy story time and crafts designed for children their age. The themes change weekly and are based on popular children's books. These activities are included in the cost of the gallery admission.

Beside Kidspace is Earth City, a unique indoor sand and water discovery area, which was a huge hit with my kids. Earth City is designed to teach children about West Virginia's geology.

There are many hands-on exhibits that teach kids about tornadoes, geysers, dams, waterfalls, and more. My eight year old daughter enjoyed the tornado and geyser exhibits, while my three year old twins just thought it was fun to get wet and dirty in the water and sand.

Either way, it was a great entertaining place for kids to play.

There is another area of Earth City, aptly named the Cavern of Time, in which live science demonstrations are held, and occasionally educational films are shown. The subject of the presentations changes monthly.

Outside of Earth City is Health Royale, an area designed to teach children about the workings of the human body in a fun and entertaining environment. There are several "games" including a mountain climber game in which the child has to select healthy, low-fat foods to keep the climber from falling off the mountain.

There is also an X-ray machine with X-rays of everything from the human body to snakes. The main attraction though is the large Hollywood Squares-inspired game show.

Players answer questions related to health, diet, exercise, drugs, alcohol use, and more. The game show "host" is Skully, and the guests include Funny Bone, Coach Heart, Queen Intestine, and others. This is a popular Clay Center attraction, recently winning the coveted Thea "Outstanding Achievement Award for Museum Attraction." Other recipients of this award include Universal Studios and Disney attractions.

After experiencing Health Royale, we headed downstairs to the Gizmo Factory, which features more than 30 exhibits teaching children about physical science. Gizmo Factory is a hands-on in which children are encouraged to try everything in order to learn more about science and engineering. The area is geared more towards school-age children, but my three year old twins enjoyed it nonetheless.

There is a full-body pin screen, which was a huge hit with kids and adults alike. Many adults—myself included—laughed loudly as they tried to out-do their kids with the most creative pin "design". There were also exhibits in which ceramic pots were digitally "thrown"; roller coasters were designed; and music created with a laser "string-less" harp.

In a small room near the Gizmo Factory, we discovered the Exploration Station, an area with many building activities that change often. This area teaches children how engineers design and build structures, and then encourages kids to attempt to build temples, pyramids, and other structures out of blocks.
Another amazing and exciting area of the Clay Center is the ElectricSky Theater, a massive 61-foot domed screen that features planetarium shows and large format (think IMAX) films. Featured at the time of our visit was the planetarium show Rocket Men: A Brief History of Rocketry, which looks at rocketry from ancient times into the future.

The planetarium also features a large star ball that displays over 10,000 different stars. Planetarium shows are approximately 45 minutes and are followed by live seasonal star talks, featuring the aforementioned star ball.

The Alps,—a film featuring spectacular views of the mountain range's natural beauty; a bungee jump off Switzerland's Verzasca Dam; and a climber traversing one of the steepest peaks in all of Europe—was running during our visit. The film runs approximately 45 minutes.

Aside from these staple Clay Center activities, there are many more ever-changing activities in which kids can participate. For example, on the second Saturday of each month, a "Fun Lab" is held in one of the Clay Center's classrooms. The theme is different each week.

On May 8, the Fun Lab will allow children to create their own masterpieces using pasta and beans. On June 12, a Critter Mini Zoo will be held, where children can meet the Clay Center’s animals including snakes, lizards, tarantulas, etc.

My kids would love that, but I think I will be waiting outside. The cost of these activities is included in the gallery admission.

There is also an After School Explorers Club, which takes place on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:30 and is designed for children from grades 2 through 6. Activities include demonstrations, hands-on experiments, and crafts.

The next upcoming activity is called “Make It Work!” and will be geared around challenges dealing with magic carpets, warp speed, and a human knot. Cost for this workshop is $12 for members and $15 for non-members.

Of particular interest to school age children are the numerous summer activities planned. There are several Summer Discovery Day Camps and even a Camp-in. The Camp-in is named “Space Night at the Museum” and will run from 6:30 pm on Friday June 18 until 10 am on Saturday June 19.

Admission is $40 per person and will include a planetarium show, a giant screen film in the ElectricSky Theater, space themed workshops, and a dance party. Also included are snacks and breakfast. Imagine camping with your family under a sky of 10,000 stars—and in a comfortable, air-conditioned, bug-free room, no less.

There are several summer day-camps that are offered at the Clay Center. My daughter has signed up for the Vet Camp, which will be July 6-9 for two hours each day. Her goal is to one day become a veterinarian; and at this camp, she will be able to interact with live animals, learn how to help animals, and meet a real vet.
She is very excited about the camp, and I think this will be a wonderful opportunity for her or any other animal-loving child out there. There are also upcoming theater-themed workshops, film-making workshops, science workshops, and art workshops. The cost for these day camps is $45 per person for members and $55 per person for non-members.

If you (or, more likely, your child) decide that you must absolutely take home a piece of the Clay Center, luckily there is a gift shop available for your perusing. The BB&T Little Shop of Wonders has items that cannot be found anywhere else. Whether you would like chocolate covered crickets, crunchy salsa larvae, sea monkeys, or a simple super-high bouncy ball, this is the place for you.

Even if you choose not to purchase anything, the gift shop is a unique experience in itself with a selection of one-of-a-kind items. Also, each Saturday and Sunday, the Little Shop of Wonders holds an interactive event they call “The Finale”. At this event, children and gift shop staff rip open the packages and play with items from the gift shop. Kids can compete in a number of games, including slinky races, gyroscope battles, and bouncy ball contests.

If your child still hasn’t gotten enough science, the Clay Center also offers birthday party specials. You have your choice of the basic package or the deluxe package.

The basic package includes a private party room, gallery admission for up to 10 children (one parent per child is also included), a 10% discount at the BB&T Little Shop of Wonders, and a free gallery admission pass for each child to be used at a future visit. This package is $50 for members and $75 for non-members.

The deluxe birthday package includes everything in the basic package, plus a private (age-appropriate) science demonstration and a special Clay Center gift for the birthday child. The price for this package is $100 for members and $150 for non-members.

As you can see, the Clay Center has designed a good portion of their programs to entertain and teach children. It is rare to find an establishment that can offer so many activities to adults while at the same time, completely catering to children.

I would recommend a visit to anyone with children of any age who is looking for something different to do, whether they are just looking to get out of the house, expand their minds, or burn off some of that never-ending energy.


The Clay Center is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and on Sunday from noon to 5 pm. They are closed to the public on Monday and Tuesday. Smart pass admission, which includes access to the galleries, film, and planetarium is $13.50 for adults and $11 for children. Admission to the galleries only is $7 for adults and $5.50 for children. Annual memberships are available for individuals for $55 or for families for $75.