Lincoln Children's Museum

While our time in Nebraska continues into the harvest season, we've been seeking out new places to discover out here on the prairie.
A week or so ago we decided to check out the Lincoln Children's Museum. It is part of our ACM membership, so we received a 50% discount on the cost of admission. For under $25 all six of us enjoyed a fun afternoon of play and exploration. Let's look at some of the highlights of this museum, shall we?

We've jokingly observed that we're on a tour of 'Water Tables Across America', because our children inevitably find water tables to play in just about everywhere that we go. The Lincoln Children's Museum was no exception.

This particular water table is both huge and incredibly detailed. One half of it highlights the water cycle including clouds, rainfall, runoff and rivers. The other half teaches about beaver lodges and how their dams impact how water flows from rivers and streams.

You can't really visit Lincoln, NE without expecting to see a structure made of Lincoln Logs, can you? This 1.5 story skyscraper model is created entirely out of the wooden toys named for our 16th president.

Eliza and Stephanie went of a jungle safari in the animal exploration room. Looks like they picked up a little friend on the hood of their Jeep!

Caroline and Ian are piloting a simulated airplane on the flight level of the museum.

Meanwhile, Eliza was driving the baggage truck around the simulated airport.

When in Rome...

Eliza pretends to drive a harvester through the cornfields in this simulation while Ian looks on.

Again, when in Rome...

The only thing bigger than corn in Nebraska is University of Nebraska Cornhusker football. Of course, Ian got to practice his spiral throws, catches and punting on the field inside the museum!

One of our favorite stops in any children's museum is the restaurant or kitchen area. The Lincoln Children's Museum has a small pizza parlor inside where you can see Caroline is assembling the pizzas to the exact specifics that her customers have ordered.

Ian loved the auto body and maintenance shop. Here you can see him designing how he wanted to re-paint the truck via a CAD program. Obviously, he chose brown, just like our trusty truck.

Eliza can sniff out baby dolls anywhere! Here, she and the rest of the girls are taking the baby dolls through the hospital level of the museum. The girls are playing the roles of doctor, nurse and mother to the baby who is needing care.

We had a great visit to the museum and love that with our membership we can explore museums like this one across the country for a nominal fee. While each is unique and highlights the local culture and values, the consistency of similar exhibits at museums across the country is nice to reinforce concepts that our kids are learning as we travel.

Fun in Nebraska

While some may feel that the state of Nebraska is merely a place to grow corn and a state to just buzz on through (or fly over), we have found that it has some hidden treasures among its small town comfort. On our way into the state, we spent a few days in Omaha to relax and have fun, and then moved on through Lincoln and out to the middle of the corn fields for Jason's next job. We are staying about an hour west of Lincoln, and have traveled back a few times to do some shopping and exploring.

One of the treasures that we have found is the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Thanks to our AZA membership, we were able to visit for no additional cost. Nestled in the middle of Lincoln, it is a great place to spend an afternoon learning about and interacting with our animal friends.

The kids 'rode' a turtle statue inside the reptile house.

Ian and Eliza watching the naked mole rats scurry through their tunnels.

The penguins had just finished eating and were ready to play.

This spider web was one of the play areas for the kids to get out their wiggles.

Who is cuter, the meerkat or Eliza? Instant friends.

In addition to the animal exhibits, the zoo offers pony rides, several meeting/party rooms, and the opportunity to feed local dairy cows and some camels. Surrounding the zoo is a flower garden, an indoor playground, and a sculpture park. It was definitely a great place to spend a nice summer day.

Closer to where we are staying right now, in the town of Aurora, is the Edgerton Explorit Center, which we enjoyed complimentary admission through the reciprocity program with our ASTC membership. It is named for 'Doc' Edgerton, a native to Aurora that pioneered stroboscopic photography and has been honored by National Geographic. I did not know about this before going, and as a photographer was very much interested in the displays about his work, as well as the hands on demonstrations of the techniques that he pioneered.

The center also has a large hands on activity area for kids to explore. We enjoyed a quiet Sunday afternoon with light attendance, which allowed the kids to wander from one activity to another as they pleased.

Ian and Eliza learning about sizing chicken eggs.

Lydia attempts to make a large bubble.

A large scale operation game (notice the grill tongs!).

So many things to explore!

We are having fun exploring these hidden gems that Nebraska has to offer. We can't wait to find some more.

Sarasota Children's Garden

We recently took advantage of a local Living Social deal and visited the Sarasota Children's Gardens. It was one of those places that looked interesting, and for under $20 for our whole family to visit for the day (with our Living Social voucher), it was worth checking out.

And I'm so glad that we did! The gardens are full of magical lands that delighted our children's imaginations and made us adults act like kids again for the afternoon.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

Before entering the gardens, the kids had an opportunity to visit the costume room and choose costumes to wear during their visit. Ian chose a cowboy vest, while the girls chose a variety of ball gowns and princess dresses.

The entrance to the magical gardens.

Ian exploring the birdbath in the Fairy Garden area. The details in each section are amazing!

The little Simpsonites climbing Fruity Oops Mountain. You can see part of Snuffy in the foreground.
Snuffy is  a way-cool dragon!

Little pig, little pig, let me in...

Watering the flowers in the Butterfly Garden.

Eliza is taking her turn swinging from the rope and dropping into the hay bales in Hobbitville.

The sidewalk through The Land Of Od.
You can see the "castle" that Eliza claimed for her kingdom at the end of this road.

Just one of the fellas that we met in the Monster Garden

All told, we spent about 2-3 hours exploring the gardens, which was just about the right amount of time for our crew. If you visit Sarasota, this is definitely a hidden gem worth exploring. It's a beautiful, magical place where kids can freely explore and imaginations can run wild!

Lydia turns 5

This past Sunday Lydia finally became a handful for us.  No, she didn't all of a sudden take a turn and become overly needy.  We celebrated her 5th birthday!  For a girl that is so generous and considerate of others, Stephanie and I look forward to a day that we can set aside just for Lydia.  It is rare that she demands anything for herself, but I so enjoy the way she lights up, knowing that we truly are interested in only doing what she feels like.  So after some thought, her choices for the day were a trip to the Children's Museum and some strawberry shortcake for her birthday cake.  I spent Saturday night making the cake and fetching the strawberries (soon enough we will have some growing, spring is close!).  


Sunday after church we came home for a quick reset and to grab the necessities for the museum.  Lydia had already informed us that she would like to eat lunch at the museum, so once we arrived we headed to the cafeteria where she picked out cheese pizza for us to eat.  If you haven't discovered the family deal at the pizza counter, it is a whole pizza and 5 drinks of your choice for just over $23.  Not bad when you have 6 mouths to feed.


After lunch, her first choice was to head to the Barbie exhibit.  We played there for awhile, enjoying the run way area, dressing the dolls, and doing up some hair.

Receptionist Lydia, listening to a message from Barbie.

We then made our way to the Mr. Potato head exhibit, which being on a Sunday, was a complete zoo.  We were unable to stay there long, so we made our way to the dinosphere.  I believe Lydia requested to go there because there is a little alcove area that is away from everything else.  Stephanie refers to this as the 'antisocial dinosaur area'.  Knowing Lydia, she just needed a break from a lot of people.

Lydia plays with the dinosaur herd.

The kids rocking a matching game.

We headed back into the rest of the museum through the train area and made our way up to playscape for a little free play time.  After that, we went up to Science Works to play in the water and wind down in the healthy house area.  Soon enough, it was time to head home, with 4 little ones dragging from a busy day.


After a restful ride home, a new found energy was discovered, partially fueled by the promise of presents to open.  We then ate dinner and enjoyed some yummy strawberry shortcake.  

Lydia getting ready to open her gifts.

We had a fun day celebrating my bundle of Joy.  


Happy Birthday Lydia!

Christmas break fun

Our apologies for being somewhat quiet for the past week.  We have been enjoying some of the sights and activities around town now that we are on break.  It has been nice to pick and choose our schedule, not having to rush somewhere to make it for just an hour or so.  Our adventures this past week have included going to Jolly Days at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.  They have a fun baking area for the kids to create some fun holiday treats and meals.

A sandwich and cupcake.  Yum!

There is also an 'ice skating' rink, where the kids can slide around in their socks.  It is just slippery enough for the kids to twirl around and slide a foot or two, but not so bad that they careen out of control.  

Man down! Man down! (he's fine, laughing actually)

The kids have the chance to get up close to some of Santa's reindeer to brush their fur and feed them some lichen.

Pretty reindeer, soft reindeer.

An activity that spans the whole area is a scavenger hunt/checklist for the kids to do, and if they are successful, they can earn their elf ears.  Way to go!

4 little elves went out to play...

Of course, what would a winter time trip to the Children's Museum be without a run down the slide.  This year, Caroline was begging to go down the slide from the moment we pulled into the parking garage.  Lydia was very clear that she did not want to ride, but Ian was gung-ho about hitting the slopes.  This of course gave me the chance to have a go at the slide myself.

Weeeee!

Our adventures also took us to the State Museum to visit Celebration Junction, located on the third floor.  I mention that, because the lobby is an awesome 3 stories high, and once you travel up the elevator, you have a really cool view looking down.  This time of year gives a great vantage point for all of the decorations that adorn the lobby.  They have a replica train of the one that used to run through the downtown L.S. Ayres store that you can ride.  It takes you in a short loop, where you get to see some fun critters playing in the snow, and there is even a fun friend waiting to pass out a surprise along the way.

Riding the rails.

After the train ride, we did a scavenger hunt for some hidden items in a mural on the wall.  It changes each year, so there is always something new to find.


Our travels took us next door to the State Museum for Jingle Rails at the Eiteljorg Museum. This exhibit was way beyond what I was expecting.  To quickly sum it up, Ian was slack jawed and wide eyed the whole time.  Not only is it model trains chugging through various settings, but everything is made out of wood.  All of the bridges, buildings and landscape has been carefully crafted out of wood pieces.  It was a beautiful exhibit that alone was worth admission.

Look! Train!

We then headed downstairs for the interactive family experience, which is a place with some fun hands on activities for everyone.  Down there you can set up and raise a totem pole, learn some basket weaving, what life in a hogan is like, dress up for the period and what a stage coach was like.  This was a fun area that we spent over an hour in, working in each area.

She made it 8 seconds, then wanted down.

And now here we are at Christmas Eve.  A tradition that we have is letting the kids open one present.  They receive new pajamas each year, and this lets them get out a little bit of that 'I want to open a present' tension, and they get fun new sleep wear for this most magical of nights.

Posed shot turns into tissue paper fight!

Each year, I find myself sitting, contemplating, enjoying the still and silent time that Christmas Eve brings.  I take the time to reflect on the past month, glancing at our advent house, thinking about what we have done to lead up to this point.  I ponder the new memories made, the experiences had, the new found understanding of what Christmas is and what this season has to offer.  I smile to myself as I wind down.  God is in his place, all is well with the world.

Merry Christmas.

A fun day with a pirate and some frogs

This past Sunday was Ian's third birthday.  My wife wrote down her thoughts on the past three years with this guy.

Ian opening his gifts.

So Sunday brought us a nice day to celebrate with the guy.  We started off the day heading to church, where he got to move up to a different class.  He now joins Lydia in the 3-5 year old class, which he was very excited about.  I think the grin on his face afterward showed how much fun he had.  After church we came home to have a nice family lunch, followed by presents and cupcakes!  Both are very exciting, for me and for the kids.  He got several fun new items, but one of his favorite is his pirate hat.  Ian enjoys playing dress up with the girls, but pretty much all that we have is some princess items.  We do have a cowboy/sheriffs outfit, but he enjoys trekking around in the princess slippers a bit much.  He then proceeded to wear the hat for the rest of the day.

The pirate hat.

Ian staring at some frogs.

We went to the Children's Museum to have fun for the day.  They had a frog exhibit still going on, and that was the first place that Ian wanted to go. I really enjoy the traveling exhibits at the Children's Museum.  They provide something different each time, but also it is just a large space for the kids to explore.  Granted that on the busy days it can be unnerving trying to keep track of three kids that want to go in three different directions, but Sunday was not bad (and there were two parents).  So we enjoyed getting to see many live species of frogs, watching some videos and getting to dress up as a frog and hop from lily pad to lily pad.

Frog.

After touring the frogs, we asked Ian what he wanted to do next.  I loved the saucer eyes and excitement that followed.  What He wanted to do?  This never happens! He decided to go to the carousel for a ride on a lion, followed by some play time at the tree house and ice cream shop.  He then chose to head to playscape for some time in the water, sand and construction areas.  I love this kid.

It's fun to get out and play with your kids.  It's a lot of fun to treat them as the VIP for a day.  You both end up getting a lot out of the experience.

Happy Birthday Ian!