This was by far the highlight of the trip! I hope you don't mind a plethora of pictures, because there's just no better way to share the wonder and excitement that is the Children's Museum...
The first exhibit we visited is a cultural one called Dragons and Fairies. This highlights the culture and traditions of Viet Nam. I was pleasantly surprised about the uniqueness and quality of the hands-on displays! Here's a little of what we discovered:
We got to practice carrying goods on a shoulder pole with baskets on each end, then got to practice transferring traditional Vietnamese cuisine (plastic, for those who are squeamish about shrimp) from bowl to bowl using chopsticks.
We practiced "riding" a motorized scooter and got to try children's theater masks.
Caleb tried one of the common trades of Vietnamese men: fishing
Anna played some music on drums, gongs, and a bamboo xylophone.
After the Viet Nam exhibit, we proceeded to the building/architecture/design exhibit Building Brainstorm. We all used blueprints and pvc pipe to build a building.
Then we used computers to design room layouts and created fantastic buildings with stylized architectural structure blocks.
The next sections were Matter Factory and How Does it Work? We explored magnetism, gravity, viscosity, earthquakes, pulleys, elasticity, communication, and more!
Within that section was the Science Station. This day's hands-on activity was fingerprinting. We learned the difference between patent and latent fingerprints. Do you know the difference?
The kids left their prints, dusted for them, and picked them up on scotch tape.
In the Building Zone, we took hands-on-creating to a whole nuvva levvo both literally (a second floor balcony) and symbolically. There were quite a few activites, including an earthquake and windstorm table for testing buildings:
...and the biggest flat lincoln logs you've probably ever seen.
At this point, we broke for lunch in the cafe, where Abby downed a bowl of her own rice cereal, and we chowed down on sandwiches and hot dogs. Yum! Then we checked out the puppet stage. Alas, poor Yorick...
just kidding
We headed to the basement for the Invention Convention (at which we could have spent a day here on its own) We created Lego cars to try on the test track, flying vehicles for the air tunnels, Paper planes and rockets for the launchers, and so much more!
The next sections were Matter Factory and How Does it Work? We explored magnetism, gravity, viscosity, earthquakes, pulleys, elasticity, communication, and more!
Within that section was the Science Station. This day's hands-on activity was fingerprinting. We learned the difference between patent and latent fingerprints. Do you know the difference?
The kids left their prints, dusted for them, and picked them up on scotch tape.
In the Building Zone, we took hands-on-creating to a whole nuvva levvo both literally (a second floor balcony) and symbolically. There were quite a few activites, including an earthquake and windstorm table for testing buildings:
...and the biggest flat lincoln logs you've probably ever seen.
At this point, we broke for lunch in the cafe, where Abby downed a bowl of her own rice cereal, and we chowed down on sandwiches and hot dogs. Yum! Then we checked out the puppet stage. Alas, poor Yorick...
just kidding
We headed to the basement for the Invention Convention (at which we could have spent a day here on its own) We created Lego cars to try on the test track, flying vehicles for the air tunnels, Paper planes and rockets for the launchers, and so much more!
The teacher in me got even more excited as we traveled to Kidtropolis! This is like a million social studies lessons rolled into one kid-sized yet ginormous experience.
We started with personal "ATM" cards in hand, and went to the City Hall, where we got to answer questions using a massive "coin-sorter" thing that helped us figure out each person's career strengths and interests. (Kinda like a visual/physical ASVAB test) Then, we tried out several types of jobs: Paramedic, Police officer, Grocery Checker, Restaurant manager/worker/chef, Pet store owner, Banker, Bike Repairman, and others. At each of the stores/buildings, there was the option to work there and receive a paycheck (to be deposited and loaded onto your ATM card) or to be a customer/consumer (and spend hard-earned money from your ATM card). It was awesome teaching the kids concretely about how we get money and whether or not to spend it.
Shopping at a pint-sized HEB grocery
Cooking some pretend meals in the Kidtropolis cafe.
We left Kidtropolis to check out FlowWorks... an outdoor adventure in how water can be used and studied.
Caleb at the wave tank
We moseyed back into the A/C and stopped at the Think Tank, where we tackled brain benders, optical illusions, and all sorts of other thought provoking puzzles.
We finished out our experience relaxing in the library/resource room, which doubles as a branch of the Houston Public Library.
We started with personal "ATM" cards in hand, and went to the City Hall, where we got to answer questions using a massive "coin-sorter" thing that helped us figure out each person's career strengths and interests. (Kinda like a visual/physical ASVAB test) Then, we tried out several types of jobs: Paramedic, Police officer, Grocery Checker, Restaurant manager/worker/chef, Pet store owner, Banker, Bike Repairman, and others. At each of the stores/buildings, there was the option to work there and receive a paycheck (to be deposited and loaded onto your ATM card) or to be a customer/consumer (and spend hard-earned money from your ATM card). It was awesome teaching the kids concretely about how we get money and whether or not to spend it.
Shopping at a pint-sized HEB grocery
Cooking some pretend meals in the Kidtropolis cafe.
We left Kidtropolis to check out FlowWorks... an outdoor adventure in how water can be used and studied.
Caleb at the wave tank
We moseyed back into the A/C and stopped at the Think Tank, where we tackled brain benders, optical illusions, and all sorts of other thought provoking puzzles.
We finished out our experience relaxing in the library/resource room, which doubles as a branch of the Houston Public Library.
This was such a great trip! Abby spent a little time upstairs at the TotSpot, which is perfect for little guys and gals. She'll enjoy it even more if we go again as she gets mobile.
The McDonaldSpot highly recommends taking your little Treasures to the Houston Children's Museum!
