McWane Science Center

Mama, the kids, and I drove up to see Ivy, Tony, and Kate for a few days this week. I had been wanting to take my two to the McWane Science Center for a while, and we decided to do that on this trip. The kids seemed to really enjoy it, although I think it would be perfect for a nine or ten year old. There were things that were very appropriate for young children, but in my opinion, to really take in everything, they need to be able to read pretty well. It was also difficult for Ivy and me to move past the fact that this place is basically like one giant doctor's office full of PUBLIC TOYS. If you are a long time reader, you know that I don't enjoy public places that are intended for children to share toys. I know... I chose to go to a children's museum. Obviously, there would be other children there. I think I just expected it to be a little cleaner. It was kinda dirty. And when we went to eat lunch? We basically had to scrub down a dirty table with baby wipes just to be able to avoid someone else's stickiness. We all thought they should have used some of their volunteers to help keep the place spruced up a little. I just kept feeling like I wanted to wipe the kids hands off with an antibacterial wipe. Thankfully, they had hand sanitizer dispensers here and there, so we were able to do a little disinfecting along the way. Yes, I am a little nutty.

There was one little section that was just for little ones. It had a "Burger King play area" type place. The kids loved that. There was also a large water table. Rush liked Water World the best. There were all kinds of fish, turtles, and even a shark. He had an opportunity to touch the shark, but I couldn't ever convince him to try it. He thought about it several times, but finally decided against it. Maybe next time. There was also a big Dora and Diego exhibit. I never really understood what it had to do with science, but there were some fun things there for the kids to do. They did GREAT!!

Get ready... I took lots of pictures!

This picture is the perfect one to show how Rush felt about having his picture taken on this excursion. There was WAY too much to look at in every direction. He wasn't interested in looking at the camera at all. So, he is basically indulging me in every picture before he runs off to the next thing.

Rush driving a rocket

In a tunnel

Fran in the driver's seat

Kate's turn to drive

Kate LOVED the water table. What is it about water, buckets, and kids that just seems to be such a great fit?

I tried to make a giant bubble around our little group, but it was low on bubbles and a little hard to get it going.

Standing by one of the many aquariums in Water World

Ivy and I have laughed at this picture. We were trying to get different combinations of kids in each picture. Ivy had zoomed in to get my two kids with me in a picture, but Kate didn't realize that. She was sitting off to the side with her cute little self.. just smiling and saying "CHEESE"!! We had to get one of her in there, too. She is such a cutie!

Playing on the giant piano

Remember Lite Brite? This was a giant one.