I was just about to tell about my day with the boys yesterday when Amber stormed in and practically mauled me. She demanded I feed her. When I pointed out I had already done so an hour earlier she insisted I had dreamt the whole thing, and began a sit-in on my lap. I guess I fed her one of her favorite flavors.
Anyhow, I took the boys to the Boston Children’s Museum courtesy of our library’s museum pass program (support your local library!!). It had been a couple of years since our last visit as much of the museum had stayed the same for awhile. Heck, at our last visit they still had the Japanese House that had been a part of their collection since I was 11.
I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that WGBH (PBS) is a big supporter of the Children’s Museum. During our previous visit they had just created Arthur’s World (based on the PBS series, which in turn was based on the Brown books). They now have added a Clifford, the Big Red Dog display. Although it was a bit young for Jarret, I did find it a nice change of pace as it (coincidentally?) took the place the Giant’s Desktop display that had been there for at least 10 years.
Ben and Jarret had fun playing checkers with a nearly lifesize set of chess pieces, giving a whole new meaning to the term “king me”. Glen watched them while I stopped into the Recycle shop, which didn’t take all that long. Sad to say the shop is now half the size it used to be, and had nothing of use to me. *pouts* We then passed through the Clifford display to visit with the Red-Eared Turtles and Ball Pythons before spending half an hour playing in the bubble display.
The second floor of the museum was a bit disappointing. They used to have a Wampanoag tribe display that Jarret loved has also been downsized and is now a part of what appears to be becoming section for displays they really don’t want to keep, but can’t get rid of either. The boys weren’t impressed with the Boston Black display, which I suppose was intended to teach kids about racial tolerence.
The third floor was a little better. While they expanded the stage so it now took up two rooms. Arthur’s World was moved in the next room and the room that used to house a peek into the lives of Japanese kids and teens has become rock climbing and working with patterns displays. The boys had fun playing with some of the mazes in the pattern display, but they thoroughly enjoyed the rock climbing! We had to force them out of there when it was time to go.
Down on the bottom floor the boys and I wandered about the gift shop while Glen chatted with an old friend who’s a security guard for the musuem. Let it be known that Glen has a friend who has managed to keep a job for more than 4 years.
Mary, I hope you’re reading this. Remember the book “Walter the Farting Dog” that we were torturing poor Walter with? Well guess, what? They now have a stuffed Walter. Who farts. *dies* I would’ve bought one but after listening to it fart for 15 minutes (courtesy of Ben and Jarret), I needed a break.
I did decide to start a new souvenier custom. As a kid I used to collect those wax(?) figures you could have made at amusement parks. When I started running out of space for them my mom suggested a charm bracelet. I still have it, my favorite charms being a pre-Six Flags Magic Mountain tower, and a Minnie Mouse from Disneyland. Alas charms are no longer in style. I don’t even think spoons are, either. However, it appears stamped pennies are all the rage (at least around here). They even have penny portfolios that can hold up to 36 “coins”. Yes I am a sucker, but only for good marketing. Come on, when was the last time you were able to get a souvineir for 51 cents? We’ve already got our first three pennies: My Hood milk bottle (it’s been a part of the museum for ages), Jarret’s Big Dig tractor, and when we got home Ben included his penny from our trip to the Museum of Science last week (I LOVE the pass program!).
Overall it wasn’t a bad day. The boys might be getting a bit old for it but they still had a good time.
