5 Impressions

So, we took our kids to the local, hands-on science museum last weekend - Impression 5. These were my impressions of that adventure:

1. Calvin REALLY loves doors...but he's afraid of the big mouth. I knew it before, but it became all the more clear on this day. The museum had a large model of a heart, with swinging, saloon-style doors acting as the heart valves. Both Cal and Vi loved going through the atria and ventricles...however, Calvin really enjoyed being a clot. He would go in and out of the valve doors...in and out, in and out. "Door"..."Door"...he would say...ADORABLE!! And when it was time to move on to another part of the museum...Calvin sat defiantly in the atrium and whined...whines quickly turned to tears when I picked him up. I think he would have stayed there all afternoon! Now what he didn't like at the museum was the gargantuan mouth that kids can walk through...even a step in it's direction prompted a tearful whimper. So we don't have any pictures of him there. I guess I can't blame him...its a pretty intimidating sculpture.

2. Violet's curiousity and excitement are insatiable! She was eager to look at everything...to show us everything. She didn't even hesitate to climb in the big mouth sculpture...and pretend she was a toothbrush. Her favorite was the "bubble room", where she was able to have her whole body surrounded by a bubble. I wonder how many times Marcus and I cranked up that device? She also made slime in the "science lab". Can you guess what color she chose? Of course, we went home with blue slime. (Blue is her favorite color!) She darted around like a minnow to each exhibit...and we found it difficult to keep up with her. It was exceptionally difficult to coax her to leave the museum...but with the promise of an ice cream treat at home, she was convinced. Ah, yes...it's come to that.

3. Sometimes I forget how easy it is to embarass myself. Austin (a helpful, well-meaning, but rather unanimated museum volunteer who looked like he was in high school) helped us create slime - in the science lab. I was there with Violet...Marcus had to take Calvin out of the lab to distract him. There were a few other kids there with their mom...all partaking in slime creation. Austin was demonstrating that the slime will bounce slightly on the lab bench. Smart me...I thought perhaps the slime would pancake if thrown a bit harder on the bench...and I was going to share my wisdom with Violet. Having never made or experimented with slime before, perhaps I should have thought through this hypothesis a bit more. When slammed, slime does not pancake...but rather, "shatters" into small globs all over the table. How embarassing...in front of Austin and everything. Luckily, slime CAN be reassembled...so there were no tears shed over lost slime.


4. Marcus is a really excellant father. I watch Marcus with his kids...and he truly amazes me. He has such patience! This was an opportunity to let the kids explore...to learn...to occupy their minds and bodies. Marcus took full advantage. I watched as Marcus taught Violet about pullies...about trajectory...about prisms. He played with Calvin, following him through the heart valves and helping him throw the ball in the net. And, being a big kid himself, he would call me over to check out one of the exhibits. "This is really cool, eh?" I'm so lucky...and my kids are so lucky...to have him!!


5. Impression 5 is not the place to beat the heat of summer. An old building in downtown Lansing - Impression 5 does not have AC. Whoah...was it warm in there!!...especially when you're chasing after two energetic tykes.

So there you have it...my first blog entry...and a recount of a typical outing with my family. I'm not really sure how this blog will evolve. But I hope, at least, its an interesting archive of my thoughts...thanks for reading...Cheers!