It's a gloomy day in our little town. Gray, windy and too warm for winter activities, but too cold for anything else. The naked limbs of the ash outside my window are whipping up and down while the dreary sky threatens to lull me to sleep.

There is never a better time to connect to nature than right now, but I'm just not that into going outside. Instead, maybe I'll take the kids to a nature or science center for a little nature-fix.

Follow up:

We're lucky to have several great museums/nature centers just over the pass in the booming metropolis that is Bozeman, MT. (I'm not being sarcastic, there are traffic jams and everything over there.)

Montana State University has Museum of the Rockies where we can explore natural history of the past as we gawk at life-sized dinosaurs. Right now they have a treehouse exhibit that I can't wait to check out.

If that's not what we are in the mood for, there is always the Children's Museum of Bozeman. A row boat, tepee and some painted scenery allow us to play Lewis and Clark. They also have pressed flowers and other Montana natural artifacts.

Not sure where to go in your neck of the woods? Wikipedia has a list of nature centers by state. If you don't see your favorite center there, add it!

And here is a link to hands-on science centers throughout the world.

Or do an Internet search with the words "(your town) nature center" and see what comes up.

When the weather gets better you can take your kids and their new-found knowledge outside.