So Thursday, I woke up with the girls and told them they needed to get dressed and eat a good breakfast as soon as possible because I had a fun surprise for them. I didn't want to tell them where we were going because if their attitudes that day were anything I couldn't handle on my own (Ed was at home sleeping), I wouldn't have to deal with the meltdown that would ensue from change of plans. Fortunately for everyone, they were cooperative and we were ready to go (except for Hunter...He fell back to sleep, and I gave him as long as I could before we had to leave before I transferred his sleeping self into the car seat :-P) by 8:45 for our fun-filled day.
This is an idea of how Lexi liked the surprise:
I should've just left the stroller in the car because they make you park it at the entrance anyways. This I did not know though. Also at the entrance was a large wooden chair that Lexi was hopping up and down, begging to take some pictures on. Here's my favorite one:
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| The only one with all of them facing the camera :-) |
A newer exhibit was the first stop we made: The Rainforest Room
Inside, there was a water table to play in and a tree house which Carissa would just run up and down, up and down, over and over again. She loved those binoculars!
They had several displays that taught about how things we use everyday are from rainforests. I'm such a sucker for educational fun!
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| (click to enlarge) |
On the other half of the room was a large play area for children 3 and under. It was like the utopia for babies. I put Hunter down and kept checking on the girls over my shoulder, and he just went to town. He loved it; can you tell?
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| "It's only been half an hour and I'm the happiest kid ever!" |
Then it was onto the main parts of the museum. First stop was a small room with music and lights. There were colored rods that you could use on a large replica of a "Lite Brite"...Do you remember those?? I do! Oh, I used to love playing with them at my friend's houses! (I never had one of my own)
*sigh* The girls didn't even realize just how awesome this was...
Carissa thought it was fun to see herself dance on the tv:
Then this huge room was filled with everything you could imagine about the body. It was called "All about You" and that was no lie. They had a table with microscopes where you could see everything from skin cells to bacteria to head lice (which I have had my fill of, but I never wrote about that week from #@!! on here!)
There was this large circular "room" with bean bags and felt food on the walls to play with that represented the stomach:
and a slide to exit
There was a large mouth with a padded tongue, and a tv screen teaching all about good dental heath.
There was an area all about the heart and lungs...they got to pump levers and watch "blood" flow. They even had 2, one that was a "healthier" heart and another of someone that was unhealthy and much harder to pump to show how the heart has to work harder if you're not healthy.
This video is of the pinball-type machine that teaches about the lungs breathing oxygen and carbon dioxide:
The next area was about things in your head.
There was a brain puzzle they could put together that described every part of the brain and what it is used for. There were goggles you could look into to see objects and here are the girls doing the smell guess game.
Along the outer perimeters were stations where you could practice taking care of your bodies.
There was an optometrist office where Lexi was the patient for Dr. Carissa
There was an exercise bike and a batting cage (not pictured- hard to wrangle 3 kids and get a picture of that)
There was a diner with different foods that weighed a set amount and you had to balance them with activities/exercises that weighed a set amount. Nice way to teach little ones about calories without having to teach them about calories :-)
They even had a small obstacle course that you had to complete while in a wheelchair to see how life is different for people who have to use them in their daily lives. I thought it was pretty cool.
There was also a small doctor's office where they got to perform checkup on baby dolls. They had actual working scales there too! Hunter wouldn't hold still on the baby scale, so I don't know how much he weighs. darn!
The girls opted to be nurses since the Dr. coat was boring and white :-)
This area also had another Tot area, which we checked out at the end.
There's even a small padded "pool" for crawling babies only. No sisters to steal toys OR boss him around? Hunter could've stayed for hours!
It was for 5 and below, so the girls went fishing while Hunter had his fun.
The next part of the museum was called "Your Town", and they were true to that title! Everything you need in a town to run...they totally had it!
They also had outfits at every place, though the girls didn't take the time to put them on. They just wanted to play.
Police Station:
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| Lexi matched all the sign insignia by herself |
Grocery store:
Local Theater:
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| With all the lighting and effects that could be controlled from backstage! |
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| outside the theater |
A News Station, where you could be the newsman or the cameraman
control room where you can decide which camera is live:
Broadcasting live around the town,
The bank, with stuff to teach about money:
and of course, a working ATM!
oh and a drive-thru teller...
A park with a train
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| In the back of this pic is a gazebo with a checker game you could play :-) |
Construction Zone:
Train and car tables (See the interest on Hunter's face!)
Court House:
Fire Station, with fire truck,
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| Learning about fire hazards |
and in the fire house
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| making dinner for his 24 hour shift |
Mechanic Shop:
Probably wouldn't see a mechanic in a skirt like that changing a muffler in real life ;-)
Lexi changed the muffler, put washer fluid and oil in the engine, and you can see the wheels being put on by another kid... so much fun!
There was also a city bus and a post office. It was neat how every place had a mailbox and a kid could dress up and deliver mail to each location!
Then there was this room called the "Imagination Station" with a puppet theater and a barn with animals and crops you could pick. Even costumes you could wear that looked like farm animals. Didn't get many pictures of this zone 'cause it was contained, so I took this chance to nurse Hunter while they ran around in my eye's view :-)
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| Puppet show |
There was also a cozy little library with lots of books to choose from, with a cozy (fake) fire you could snuggle up in front of. No pics because obviously we were busy reading!
Next was the 2nd Floor, where we got to learn a little bit about Hawaiian culture. Since we pretty much knew most of that stuff, the kids just went to town playing in the loading dock and boat,
and the airplane,
Don't forget your passport!
Making bubbles
then a quick jaunt up the stairs brought us to tiny homes that had cultures from around the world...or mostly Asia.
There was India,
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| a lot of stuff here about their art and textiles |
The Phillipines,
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| This was Carissa's favorite part. Kept having to go and get her out of the bus repeatedly when we moved on. |
Japan,
China,
Each country had a phone that you could listen to and learn about that place:
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| Carissa was a fan of those too |
We also visited Korea, right before they closed for the day, but didn't get any pictures.
There was a big table out in the open area that examples of food from different places. They were already in place so the girls didn't have anything to figure out.
(click to enlarge)
And the last place had a gardening area where you could plant and harvest your fruits and veggies... This was so cool the way it was set up. I totally want to make something like this someday. The cloth fruit/veggies just fit into the slots between the cushions! How genius is that??
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| Carissa watering the flowers |
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| Lexi with her harvest |
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| Taking a stab at gardening |
And then we had to make a dash to the restrooms, which were at the entrance on the 1st floor (Thank you for the elevator!). We had about 45 minutes til closing, so I let the girls meander about the museum, hitting up their favorite parts. (That's when we went to the 5 and under spot I mentioned earlier)
We had so much fun and I would love to make a trip back before we move next summer, if it's in the cards. It way exceeded my expectations because their website doesn't give much detail about the exhibits. And it was all very clean and well maintained. It's sad when you go to a place and half the stuff is broken or dirty, but not this place.
Hunter fell asleep in the carrier for the last 30 minutes before we left and Carissa was out 5 minutes into the drive home. I was so happy with how the day turned out, especially since I braved it all by myself!
(Completely off the subject: Notice how the girls' bangs become more and more raggedy as the day progressed? It's cuz we're working on growing them out and they started the day pinned up, out of the way...but you can only do so much with bobby pins and crazy hyper children! So just to explain why they look so ratty...)
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