new day, new museum

for years we have discussed driving up to the cleveland museum of natural history. while it is published as half price tickets, we have been told that it is free with our museum membership card. while i was discussing a day trip with matt, he mentioned that he had to go to cleveland for work and we could all drive up together. as if it could work out any better, the day we were planning on going was a special night with all of the museums staying open until 11pm!

i packed up some picnic dinner and the kids to head over and pick up matt from work on our way to cleveland. he dropped us off at the museum and went off to his meeting.

we had the best time! it is not a huge museum but the range of topics/themes was fantastic. we are already planning on next trip! the kids enjoyed the space exploration room so much that i was afraid it would be all we saw.

they were also pretty taken with the taxidermy dioramas of climates around the world.

maddux was transfixed by this cobra.

mason had 101 questions about the adobe living and i told him that we will travel west to see them someday.

we took a bison picture for papa and nana who saw them in person over the summer.

and then the dinosaurs! the kids actually weren't all that into them, but i thought that they were pretty cool.

we all liked the fossils. there were more questions that i could answer flying at me. the fossilized wood was amazingly beautiful. the picture does not even come close to capturing its beauty and color variations.

we made our way downstairs and happened upon the kids' room! it is a good thing we didn't find it first because they did not want to leave!

first were some bat and butterfly crafts...

and then mason, maddux and i spent a long time trying to work out this bat puzzle. there must have been a piece missing or wrong! it was really fun to watch the problem solving styles of each boy. mason is slow and thoughtful and maddux is more try every option and quick moving. both approaches were very successful for them and they showed impressive focus and patience.

this keyboard made bird calls and lit up the board with a picture of the bird.

the room was small and mighty. so much educational fun in a well laid out space. i don't know why i don't have more pictures of the "discovery market" because the kids really liked that. you selected foods to create healthy, balanced meals and then scanned the items to 'purchase' them. it would then tell you about the nutritional benefit of each item and give a score. i was pleased to see that it recognized a vegan diet as equally heathy (the health/body exhibit at cosi does not).

and then they found their favorite magnet blocks! there was some good teamwork here - and a little crying.

daddy sent me a text that he was done and headed back over our way so the kids and i made our way outside to meet daddy for our picnic lunch. there were some picnic tables right outside which was a nice surprise. an even greater surprise was that there was a huge concert/food truck event in the park across the street. it was a beautiful evening and we could hear live music while we ate. perfect.

this was next to the picnic tables.

the kids weren't quite done and wanted to show daddy everything he had missed so we went back in after dinner. mainly, they just wanted to go back downstairs to the kid area.

this was a neat layered puzzle with all the internal systems.

maddux and daddy trying to solve the bat puzzle.

it was getting close to bedtime and we still had a long drive home so we had to call it a night. the kids had a blast and we will be making the trip up again very soon - maybe for daddy's next meeting. love.

back to the museum

while we have had a fun summer, we haven't done many of the things we normally do while the kids are out of school - and time is running out! today we went back to the mckinley presidential museum for the first time in at least a year. and had a blast!

maddux was very excited to finally be tall enough to turn the crank fast enough to light up the bulb.

it's dark, but look at the fun these two are having with aerodynamics! 

mason was able to pick up a ball with the robotic arm.

and i am always amazed how they flock to train tables when they never touch ours at home!

such a gorgeous day.

 going up is not half as fun as coming down. love.

manning's day at the museum

we might have had a super late night, but the kids were energized and ready to go in the morning! they started the day with a little bed-leaping high-fives.

i took the time we had while daddy took a load of blankets and pillows to the car to get a picture of mason's swag from the game and a picture with the birthday boy (i missed my shot yesterday).

one of the reasons we were planning to go to pittsburgh was to take manning to the new daniel tiger exhibit at the children's museum. they were just excited to be there and didn't know about the exhibit until we found it.

the kids love this place! specifically the water floor. so we went there first on this trip thinking that they could dry during the rest of our visit (see yesterday's post about having forgotten madelyn's bathing suit).

thankfully there are blowdryers. although maddux was so soaked that he was beyond help. he had a great time though!

hiding in the 'grass.'

the fabric was on a turning table to work like a kaleidoscope on the wall.

and then we found the main attraction! it is difficult to say which of the kids were most excited to see it. the exhibit was wonderfully done and very true to the show. we all had a lot of fun playing here.

madelyn added a leaf to the thank-you tree - "thank you, family."

the make believe mirror. it is framed in star lights that turn on and sparkle when you stand on the star rug just like daniel on the show. manning thought it was pretty great.

i love his eyes in this one!

then manning decided that he wanted some time behind the camera...

there was too much to see and do for a good pose with the characters.

notice pouty manning in the corner.

by manning

the kids could have stayed longer, but agreed to move on to the "garage."

using a pulley to send parachutes up to maddux on the platform above him.

we saved for last madelyn's favorite part - the crafting exhibits - for last. the little boys played with clocks and building activities while madelyn sewed. today, she was working on a purse and wallet (envelop style).

while madelyn was STILL sewing, the boys spent some time in the 'ant wall' and playing with circuits. they even got to help with some soldering.

at least an hour later, madelyn finally finished her small wallet. we were able to talk her into finishing the purse at home.

and then we all moved over to the art room. the kids love the screen printing. manning had a little help from me to speed things along since he wanted to make their example dinosaur piece.

some "backyard" fun before ending our visit.

we just love this place! thanks for another great visit, children's museum of pittsburgh.

the last part of our trip to pittsburgh was a trip to ikea for madelyn's birthday presents - a desk, towels, storage and artwork for her room. we ate our late lunch/dinner at ikea too including some yummy vegan swedish meatballs (the smother them in baked beans too - weird but very tasty!).  daddy did an amazing job fitting our purchases into the back of the van. all around a wonderful closing celebration of our birthday week! love.