field trip

Yesterday, I took the day off and we went to the Children’s Museum. Mom got a tour during a class she took there last week. We decided that before the summer ended, we would have to make a trip there. After realizing how busy the rest of the summer would be, we decided that yesterday was the best day for us to make a visit.

The building itself is actually three buildings. The original building was once a post office and has been home to the museum since 1983. The nearby Buhl Planetarium sat vacant for some time after the Carnegie Science Center opened. The building in between that connects the other two is all new and brought the expansion of the museum to its current size.

The museum is completely hands-on. This guarantees a fun experience for children of all ages. Myself included. Visitors are encouraged to touch nearly everything. Natasha seemed to like the waterplay area the best (no surprise there for Mom or Dad). There are two water pools. Once is for playing with water toys like ducks and toy boats. The other is a “river” that the kids can float a boat the build. There are locks, whirlpools, and a fan to blow sailboats around the river.

Where she had the most fun was in a section where water comes up from fountains in the floor. Bigger kids were attaching pipes and sprinklers to the fountains and Natasha had fun getting wet. Fortunately, the museum provides raincoats and rubber boots to keep kids dry.

We also painted, played in mud, shaped clay, sat in a Cooper Mini, and launched a parachute. Natasha played with a sand table, rode a see-saw, and played with a giant Lite-Brite. We rode a musical swing set, made umbrella flowers grow, and made styrofoam balls float in the air.

The Children’s Museum is a terrific facility in a terrific city. There was so much there to do and we will certainly visit again when our daughter is a little older and can interact with the exhibits on her own.