Last Friday was a rainy day, so we headed to Des Moines to hit the Science Center, the central Iowa museum for kids. Lucy called it the "Science Contest" after the Curious George promo that talks about introducing kids to math and science concepts. An aside, a friend here told me she saw a t-shirt for sale in a DSM shop that said: "Des Moines, come let us exceed your already low expectations!" With that in mind, we had a great time.
As usual, we arrived about an hour after we planned, partially because I got 15 miles down the highway and had forgotten the baby rider and had to turn around (or carry Jamie in my arms or the car seat the whole time - yikes!) The photo of me and Jamie was taken by Lucy, one of her better shots. I could have included the one of my can of seltzer that she snapped, to then look up at me and say "The seltzer just said cheese!" You, however, can imagine that one.
The Science center has just three large rooms for exhibits. One spaced themed, with a planetarium-style theater, one action room with lots of cause-and-effect and interactive displays, and one for the littler kids. We started with the non-toddler themed rooms, as I was afraid if we began with the toddler activities, we'd never leave. Lucy actually went into a show at the planetarium and sat for about five minutes until she got scared off by the big bang. She came home telling Eric about the "talking horse" at the museum, referring to the Horsehead Nebula. :)
The "Ball Wall" kept Lucy busy for a while. The contraption was kind of Rube-Goldberg-esque, with lots of balls that kids could put in different baskets where air flows sucked them through tubes. It was really too hard for Lucy to follow the track of a ball, but she really enjoyed the transfer of balls from place to place, and worked to share with a friend here, too.
A train set never disappoints. It was hard to wait our turn behind all the four-year-old boys!
Blocks? You mean we don't have these at home?
Finally to the toddler area for a quick show of how far Lucy can jump.
We love magnets. And robots. And especially magnetic robots. This wall was covered with the different parts for kids to assemble their own robots against a background that was supposed to look like another planet. Lucy must have spent 20 minutes there, changing out the legs of her robot. "These legs. No, no, no, these legs."
Iowa style, this is some sort of farm-production exhibit with conveyor belts and cloth fruits and veggies to send to market. I'm not sure why, but around 4:30, right before we left, the place really cleared out, allowing Lucy an uninterrupted shot at working the conveyors.
And the Bubble Bay! Yes, the floor is as soapy as it looks. I saw at least four kids (including mine) hit the ground. I believe it might have been Lucy's favorite spot. We spent a ton of time here; trying out the giant wands, chasing bubbles, and getting soapy. This seemed to be a girls-only hangout. Do boys not love bubbles too? We actually came home with 2 of these wands, and now have the stuff to make our own giant bubbles in the back yard. I'm thinking a bubble party in the near future.
Can you see the exhaustion? What a fun day. Only problem is that now, Lucy thinks that whenever it rains we're headed to the Science Center.
And beautiful Baby J? Not a peep. This is what he looked like all day long. Hey, who knows. Maybe we will go back next time it rains!
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