Hidden Gem: Sensory Path at the Museum of Life and Science

At the beginning of the year, I launched a new, occasional series called Hidden Gems. It features fun little corners of the Triangle for families. You'll find them here on Fridays as part of our weekly feature on places to take kids.

But, hidden among the trees in the space between those main treehouses and the Young Explorers section for kids 6 and under and not far from the hammocks, you'll find the Sensory Path.

The Sensory Path is modeled after the so-called barefoot parks and sensation paths that are popular in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Here, a path features various surfaces - small pebbles, logs, dirt and boards, for instance. Visitors are encouraged to take their shoes off and walk, run, hop and otherwise move along the path to experience the different surfaces.

If you go, encourage your kids to touch the ferns, grasses and other plantings along the way and even gently shake the tall, skinny trees that rise above the path. Little bells are hidden among them. They might just hear a little jingle.

The Sensory Path is free with admission to the Durham museum, which is $16 and $12 for kids ages 3 to 12.