children's museum

Greta and i went to the children's museum for the very first time last week and loved it! i'd always assumed that the museum was geared more for older kids, but the subject came up at at our mom's group at church last month and we decided to go as a group. lo and behold, the bottom floor is designed for elementary-age kids, but the middle floor is designated as the nursery, and the top floor is entirely water play -- fun for all ages! 

in every new room, Greta would sit back and take it all in before starting to explore. she absolutely loved the "spaceship" made out of recycled foam noodles and water bottles. lots of buttons to push and walls to climb! 

the next section of the toddler play area includes beads to scoop and shovel, wooden balls that run down a track, light tables, and a gigantic black pegboard with thick plastic cylinders you can put in the holes -- just like a lifesize Lite Brite. the sand section was also a HUGE hit. she's never played in sand before, so she wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. but after her initial reticence, she played with it for a solid twenty minutes -- raking the sand into patterns, sweeping it off the table with her hand, and letting it trickle through her fingers. i can't wait for her to play in all of the sand at the beach this year! 

we finally ventured up to the third floor to play in the water. the museum provides waterproof aprons for the kids, but she was a little small for the apron so i just took off her pants, socks, and shoes, and let her go. she was definitely not interested in the overhead shower feature, although a few of her little friends ran right under the water, shrieking with delight! Greta's favorite thing was splashing with plastic bugs and putting her hand under the faucet to feel the running water.

after changing into dry clothes, we headed back down to the first floor and she discovered another favourite play area: a carpet-covered pallet with holes drilled in it. colored lights were mounted in the holes so that when you'd put a clear cylinder in the hole, it turned bright red or yellow or green. such a simple concept, but it's so perfect for this stage when they love putting things in something and taking things out of something. it was essentially like a gigantic colorful puzzle. toddler crack!

after over three hours (and a few snacks), we decided to call it a day. but we'll definitely be back -- hopefully with Nick next time! at some point, i'd love to invest in a dual Children's Museum/National Aviary membership so we can take full advantage of these fantastic places.