Boonshoft - September 2010

 We love the Boonshoft Museum http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/! We had not made it there in several months and our membership had expired. I wanted to renew the membership before we went on vacation since the Boonshoft is part of the Association of Science and Technology Centers and American Zoo and Aquarium Association. We were planning to go to an aquarium near our vacation destination and I wanted our Boonshoft pass before we went so we could take advantage of the reciprocity agreements. Enough of my informal endorsement for a membership to the Boonshoft Museum, though!

We didn't make it as often as I would have liked last year since I was still getting a handle on juggling two mobile children. I have decided I'm up for the challenge this year, and so far, we have gone two times.

Chloe loves this huge turtle shell! She always jumps up in it and asks to have her picture taken.

 Caleb ran straight to the fish tank. Caleb is crazy about fish and enjoyed watching the fish in the tank, as well as fish swimming on the large screen near the tidal touch pool.

 The first place we visited was the traveling "How People Make Things" exhibit. This was a fantastic exhibit with tons of hands-on activities for the kids!! It was geared a little more to pre-school into school-age rather than toddlers, although there were several things that kept Caleb's attention. The exhibit is no longer at the museum, but we will be rushing back just for this exhibit if it is ever back at the Boonshoft.

Chloe used three different machines to flatten a penny. It was cool to see the different steps.

 Chloe with her flattened penny.

 In this exhibit, the goal was the match the person with the product they created. Caleb enjoyed pressing the buttons and watching the pictures light up.

 The kids did a great job of working together on things! It was fun to watch them!

 This part of the exhibit allowed you to assemble various parts onto a car. Both kids enjoyed pretending they were driving the car.

 Here Chloe put together a much small car and then drove it around.

 Chloe used a die-cut machine to cut designs out of paper.  The shapes she cut out made a box and a horse. I think this was her favorite section of the exhibit.

 After we left the "How People Make Things" exhibit, we went to the "Explorers Crossing" area. The kids love all of the roll play activities!

Chloe headed straight to the general store area. They had redone the store since the last time we were there and it was much better organized this time. We missed the little shopping carts it used to have, but the baskets worked out well and there was more room to walk around.

 After shopping for her groceries, Chloe checked herself out at the cash register.

 Caleb rang up an order too!

 Another recent addition to the area was a pizza parlour. In this area, the kids were able to take orders, assemble and "bake" a pizza, and then serve it to their parents. We stayed here for quite a while and I was able to enjoy several tasty pizzas. Here, Chloe is putting in an order.

 The kids worked together in the kitchen to assemble a pizza!

 I love how they are working together here at the register!

 Caleb took a call-in order! This boy loves to talk on the phone!!

 When our bellies were full of pizza, we left the pizza parlour and headed over to the local courthouse. Look who got thrown into jail!!

 Our next stop was the recycling center. This is another newer exhibit. The coolest thing about this exhibit is a huge recycling truck.  There are several different slots where you can place "recyclables" into the truck. Chloe loved sorting through all of the different items!

 What a cool truck!! The kids could climb in the front and drive the truck. There were several buttons up front and you could turn on lights, beep the horn, etc. In the back was a lever you could pull to empty the recycling truck. 

 Once again, I just love how nicely Chloe and Caleb played with one another!!

Caleb takes a turn driving the truck!

And back to the courthouse! Chloe is actually outside of the jail in this picture! She put Caleb and I into jail and I snapped this picture from behind bars! Thankfully she let us out quickly and we were able to be on our way!

We had a great time at the Boonshoft! I am sure we will go back several times this year!!