Yesterday we went up to the new science museum that just opened near us. It was really fun!
I took so many pictures I can't share them all! I would link you to the Flickr page, but I've uploaded my limit for the month -- already!
Anyway, here are some highlights. I've put together a slideshow with the pictures and I'll try to get it uploaded to YouTube and add the link.
In the parking lot they have some trucks - and one really big dump truck. Josh didn't believe me that the wheels were bigger than Dad! They wondered how the drivers got in a truck that big and when we walked around front, they discovered some ladders.
In the lobby they had a big compass with a swinging pendulum. They had some domino type blocks that the pendulum would knock down. Josh really liked this and kept asking me questions I couldn't answer. So I did what every mother would have done. No I didn't make something up - I directed him to the lady working there who COULD answer his questions. Turns out the pendulum knocks down three blocks an hour. Since Josh figured out this was one block every 20 minutes, we decided to not sit and wait to see a block knocked down!
We moved on to the Mineral Gallery. Now, when I read about this on the web I thought the kids would find it boring. Not So! They have all sorts of interactive displays and exhibits. They have meteorites and lava rocks that you can touch, petrified wood, rocks and all sorts of cool things. They had some rocks and minerals they showed under white light, then the lights dimmed and they put different types of light on them and we could see the minerals glow.
They also have a whole display on earthquakes. One of them you banged on a drum and could see the vibrations on the "earthquake" you created. Another display had a map of the world with little circles on it in different colors. Each circle represented an earthquake over the last 5 years. They had a color for Earthquakes in the last 5 years, 2 weeks, 2 days and even for earthquakes today! If you rolled the mouse over the spot, it showed when, where and how strong the quake was. Josh couldn't believe there were so many earthquakes yesterday! When we were there they must have had 7 red circles indicating today's quakes.
After we were done with the rocks and minerals, we went off to the fossils - this means Dinosaurs! Of course the favorite part was the "Touch this if you dare" sign. We touched the rock and lifted the panel and it said, "you just touched dinosaur poop!" How perfect for my two kids! Josh also loves ammonite fossils and they had plenty of them too!
Then we moved on to the "Science in Motion" gallery and saw all sorts of old cars and planes, a replica of the Apollo 1 space craft, space suits, a Rolls-Royce Viper Jet engine, and other cool things. The Henry Ford Museum it is not, but it had enough to keep my boys entertained! They kept saying over and over, "We HAVE to bring Grampa here!" So I think we're going back next weekend!
Then it was time to get our hands dirty! The kids panned for minerals - and could keep all they found - then dug for dinosaur fossils - and could keep just one of them. Josh took home a small ammonite and Sam found a piece of a sharks tooth. Afterward we went tot he "Collins Family My Big Backyard" which is a big room with lots of hands on things for the kids. There are benches in the middle so parents can sit (if they don't want to play too) and the kids can go off and learn by doing.
We were very tired by the time we were done. But it was so nice outside the boys just had to roll down the hill! We stopped at a local bakery (thanks Dina for the recommendation) on the way home to get some cookies and we were set!
Now we can't wait to go back!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
How We Survived Spring Break - or the first half anyway!
I can't believe Spring Break is half over!
On Monday I really thought we'd have a LONG WEEK ahead of us! We went grocery shopping and every second was, "Can I have this?" or "Will you get that?" From the looks of the other moms with their kids at the grocery store, this was not uncommon!
Thankfully, we've managed to keep busy every other day. Yesterday we went to Chattanooga with some friends. Normally, we head up to the Aquarium there but this time we went to the Creative Discovery Museum (and hitched on the back of their membership so it was free, Bonus!).
This is a HUGE hands-on children's museum and it is, without a doubt, the best kids museum! The boys loved it! The first thing when you walk in is a huge water play area with buckets and pulley's and boats and sprayers and all sorts of fun, wet things!
Of course Sam doesn't really like getting wet, and even with the waterproof aprons, he didn't want to play here. He much preferred the dryers!
We moved on and made Cat Masks,
And put on plays, played a Nickelodeon, and even danced to music --
Dug for dinosaurs -
And so much more!!!!
Both the boys said their favorite part was petting the live snake! It was a python of some sort I think.
My favorite part was the mirror that made me look tall and skinny! I think everyone needs to wear glassed that make me appear as I did in the mirror!
It was a very fun, tiring day!
We were going to go to another museum today, but decided two days of museums in a row was a bit much. So we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens at a new movie theater here. It was really good! The boys enjoyed it and I thought it was very cute too!
Tomorrow we have plans to head to a new science museum that just opened up about 1/2 hour away. It's called Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Everything I've heard about it is quite good. There is a planetarium there, but we probably won't watch the show. I'm not sure Sam is quite old enough yet. But it's only 1/2 hour away and that's good for us!
On Monday I really thought we'd have a LONG WEEK ahead of us! We went grocery shopping and every second was, "Can I have this?" or "Will you get that?" From the looks of the other moms with their kids at the grocery store, this was not uncommon!
Thankfully, we've managed to keep busy every other day. Yesterday we went to Chattanooga with some friends. Normally, we head up to the Aquarium there but this time we went to the Creative Discovery Museum (and hitched on the back of their membership so it was free, Bonus!).
This is a HUGE hands-on children's museum and it is, without a doubt, the best kids museum! The boys loved it! The first thing when you walk in is a huge water play area with buckets and pulley's and boats and sprayers and all sorts of fun, wet things!
Of course Sam doesn't really like getting wet, and even with the waterproof aprons, he didn't want to play here. He much preferred the dryers!
We moved on and made Cat Masks,
And put on plays, played a Nickelodeon, and even danced to music --
Dug for dinosaurs -
And so much more!!!!
Both the boys said their favorite part was petting the live snake! It was a python of some sort I think.
My favorite part was the mirror that made me look tall and skinny! I think everyone needs to wear glassed that make me appear as I did in the mirror!
It was a very fun, tiring day!
We were going to go to another museum today, but decided two days of museums in a row was a bit much. So we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens at a new movie theater here. It was really good! The boys enjoyed it and I thought it was very cute too!
Tomorrow we have plans to head to a new science museum that just opened up about 1/2 hour away. It's called Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Everything I've heard about it is quite good. There is a planetarium there, but we probably won't watch the show. I'm not sure Sam is quite old enough yet. But it's only 1/2 hour away and that's good for us!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Random Updates and Things.
Another busy week gone! Last weekend we celebrated my 42nd (!!!) birthday. We had quite a bit planned but had to prove our willingness to change plans.
This time it was NOT one of the kids that got sick, but both my parents! They were supposed to come down and visit for a few days. While they were here, Rich and I had planned to go out to dinner, maybe see a movie... but they had horrible colds (that they are just starting to get over) and the trip was just not do-able.
And the weather here was horrible and rainy. And Rich had to work ALL DAY Saturday -- until 7:00 pm! So we had to change plans and then change them again! Sunday, my actual birthday, was pretty fun. We went to IHOP for breakfast (yum!) and then came home to open presents. Josh was happy that I got the Lara Croft Tombraider game for the Wii, and Sam was happy because I got the Disney movie, Pinnochio. Not all my presents were for the boys - I also got Twilight and Pan's Labrynth on BlueRay and a PS3 game called Drakes Fortune: Uncharted (which the boys are not allowed to play). It was good. We had a great time just hanging out, playing, watching movies and then Rich made me dinner! Perfect!
This week I've been busy getting things ready for the boys. Spring Break started this weekend so I had a few things I needed to get done before they were off. On Thursday Sam had his Easter Party. I made cupcakes.
I'm not really happy with how they came out, but the kids loved them!
Then Thursday evening, Josh had his 2nd grade music performance. He had a speaking part - he was the first one to get up and Welcome the parents. He did great! I have him on video, I just need to figure out how to get it off the camera. We have an old one and are due for an upgrade soon (hint, hint).
The kids sang songs, danced and played musical insturments for the parents. Since I got Josh doing his speaking, I couldn't see him doing the singing and dancing. But I got the important part!
And Friday Josh had a make up baseball game. Last weeks game was cancelled so they played it on Friday. There were no games this weekend. He did really well again! He had 2 great hits, scored twice and "nearly caught the ball!" Instead, his glove was knocked off his hand.
This weekend we've been busy taking care of yard work and getting the garden all sorted. We've not planted anything yet - we're expecting frost this week so we'll do it in a few weeks.
We have lots of big plans for the Spring Break week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the blog up to date next week!
This time it was NOT one of the kids that got sick, but both my parents! They were supposed to come down and visit for a few days. While they were here, Rich and I had planned to go out to dinner, maybe see a movie... but they had horrible colds (that they are just starting to get over) and the trip was just not do-able.
And the weather here was horrible and rainy. And Rich had to work ALL DAY Saturday -- until 7:00 pm! So we had to change plans and then change them again! Sunday, my actual birthday, was pretty fun. We went to IHOP for breakfast (yum!) and then came home to open presents. Josh was happy that I got the Lara Croft Tombraider game for the Wii, and Sam was happy because I got the Disney movie, Pinnochio. Not all my presents were for the boys - I also got Twilight and Pan's Labrynth on BlueRay and a PS3 game called Drakes Fortune: Uncharted (which the boys are not allowed to play). It was good. We had a great time just hanging out, playing, watching movies and then Rich made me dinner! Perfect!
This week I've been busy getting things ready for the boys. Spring Break started this weekend so I had a few things I needed to get done before they were off. On Thursday Sam had his Easter Party. I made cupcakes.
I'm not really happy with how they came out, but the kids loved them!
Then Thursday evening, Josh had his 2nd grade music performance. He had a speaking part - he was the first one to get up and Welcome the parents. He did great! I have him on video, I just need to figure out how to get it off the camera. We have an old one and are due for an upgrade soon (hint, hint).
The kids sang songs, danced and played musical insturments for the parents. Since I got Josh doing his speaking, I couldn't see him doing the singing and dancing. But I got the important part!
And Friday Josh had a make up baseball game. Last weeks game was cancelled so they played it on Friday. There were no games this weekend. He did really well again! He had 2 great hits, scored twice and "nearly caught the ball!" Instead, his glove was knocked off his hand.
This weekend we've been busy taking care of yard work and getting the garden all sorted. We've not planted anything yet - we're expecting frost this week so we'll do it in a few weeks.
We have lots of big plans for the Spring Break week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the blog up to date next week!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wordless Wednesday: Sam the Super Hero!
For more Wordless Wednesday, visit the WW HQ!
Okay, not quite "Wordless" today!
I made this superhero cape for Sam and he loves it! I'm so glad he likes it too because it was not entirely fun to knit. My friend Summer gave me the pattern and yarn. She was going to make two of them for her son's but gave up. The red yarn and the yellow yarn were different weights and the red is HEAVY! I thought it would make the cape too heavy to wear, but it turned out really nice. It's very soft and quite warm without being too hot for him.
For some reason, he thinks he has to go shirtless underneath (maybe that's why it's not too hot!) He says it's because Super Heroes don't wear shirts. Who knew? I managed to get some pictures of him in it before he went topless!
Pattern is from Vickie Howell's "New Knits on the Block."
For some reason, he thinks he has to go shirtless underneath (maybe that's why it's not too hot!) He says it's because Super Heroes don't wear shirts. Who knew? I managed to get some pictures of him in it before he went topless!
Pattern is from Vickie Howell's "New Knits on the Block."
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