a day at the museum

We took Dennis and Chloe to the McWane Science Center in Birmingham today and he enjoyed himself very much. We took him inside and turned him loose, and the first thing he did was find the stairs. We went to the third floor, where there's an exhibit for small children that involves lots of different activities. What he was most interested in was any vehicle that he could steer. All those neato science exhibits, and what Dennis wanted to do was drive the cars. All the cars. As many times as possible. He also liked playing with the crane and the conveyor belt at the grocery booth because both things had wheels he could turn. He got a stinky diaper somewhere in this exhibit, and we actually had to carry him out screaming because he wasn't through playing yet.

He also enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and actually used the brush to clean off fake sand from the fake dinosaur bones in the archaeological dig site they had set up. His favorite was the giant water table, though, and this was probably Chloe's favorite as well. Fortunately for us, they had protective "stay dry" aprons for the children to wear. There were all sorts of scoops and bowls and colanders and funnels in a big water trough that the kids enjoyed playing in. And Dennis went in his first "hamster tube" type play structure today as well, and we discovered that we can actually fit in there to chase him down, thank goodness.

We totally wore out the children (and ourselves) and we're so thrilled with how much they enjoyed the museum. It was a fun day. I've never seen so many excited looks and delighted smiles. He couldn't believe he could run everywhere and touch everything! It's a place where we don't have to say no so often, a place where he's encouraged to try out and experiment and climb. We almost bought a membership but hesitated because it's still free for him to go in. And we haven't visited the museum in Tuscaloosa yet... Going to wait and see what he'd enjoy the most before joining up anywhere. I'm also going to research and see which membership offers reciprocal discounts with other area museums. We did this at the Anniston Museum of Natural History one time and enjoyed using that membership to get in other places cheap! Which reminds me... That's another great place to remember to take Dennis!