We had one more hotel night in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois. We planned to stop there because there were some really cool places to hang out on our last day, regardless of rain or sun.
The way things had been going, we were in for the unexpected and that is what we got. RAIN! Thunderstorms even. So the awesome waterpark was out but the children's museum was a good second choice.
Off we went to the Children's Discovery Museum. This place was AMAZING!! We got there and Max made ice cream in a ziploc bag and it was really good! From there it was a kid free for all! Inertia, gravity, static electricity, air, water, all of the greatest parts of kid science at work.
There is nothing better then the spark that you see when a kid is being a scientist or a builder or BOTH!
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| Air can be Magic |
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| Magic means Happiness |
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| H2OOOOOOOOOO! |
OK, so Max is going nuts with all of the cool exhibits and if I am honest....so was I. The coolest, damn, I wish I was smaller thing in the whole place was this steel cable and wood maze. It was fun to watch the kids climb around, get stuck, cry, get unstuck, and find the way out. The prize was getting to the highest point in the center where the maze opened up but it was pretty difficult.
Some kids had obviously done it before and were really good at helping others in and out. Other kids just showed their skills by racing around past their weeping counterparts and dancing in the wide open center.
As a parent, we were SOL (poop out of luck) if a child began to freak out. We couldn't get to them and all the help that we could give came in the form of "No! To the left and down!. Left. Left! Follow the little girl with the red shirt. She looks like she knows where to go. Well, You got in there and you are gonna have to keep trying to get out!" This conversation happened in various forms from different parents who stood around the maze in a protective ring. Like the pioneers, the parents circled the wagons to deal with whatever adversity may arise. Claustrophobia appears to have been the most prevalent condition in the maze and many fell beneath it's power.
Max had one small moment of panic when he became dazed and confused by the tapestry of cable that criss crossed the whole structure and was not able to find his way past one of the pieces of wood. Once we discovered the secret of the yellow strips there was no stopping him!We spent about 3-4 hours at the discovery museum and did not see all of it. Max started to get tired and we said goodbye to Normal. A short 3 hour drive was what the day held and we enjoyed some of the back roads, as well as a yummy Dairy Queen treat. The perfect ending to a fabulous vacation. We had a ton of fun. Max met, head on, an amazing amount of new experiences and has now absorbed them into who he is and always will be.
We all have enjoyed incorporating;
Indianapolis, family, fossils, friends, BBQ, Louisville, camping, caves, hot days, cooking outdoors, snot, Pirates of the Caribbean Parts 1,2,3 (I want to give a special shout out to the Pirates for their contribution to our sanity), Dickson, puppies, fishing, hotel pools, new skills, science, Issac Newton, and the final and most important thing to keep near is getting home after being away.
Please always remember and don't ever forget;
Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.
~Robert Montgomery
1 comment:
I bet your family dog was glad to see you when you got back home. sounds like a cool museum.
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