Monday, February 22, 2010

Day Trip

This past Saturday we took a trip to the Children's Museum....in Muncie?? Did any of you know that even existed? I didn't until a good friend approached me about going with her family. On the 3rd Saturday of the month, they offer free admission for everyone. So, of course, me being curious as well as cheap, this seemed like a perfect idea. :) We had been stuck inside most of the previous week due to a double ear infection for Ella, so we were all ready for a little get-away.
It's been so fun to see Ella develop her imagination and really start appreciating things like this. She had a blast!
The first stop was a dinosaur exhibit. Kinda fitting for us because recently Ella has been asking us for a dinosaur...she has now decided if she says "pleeaasse" really nicely, the Easter Bunny may bring her one. ;)



This is the only pic I got with her playmate, "Baby Ben", as she likes to call him. He's just a year younger than El and they definitely didn't want to stay together, which wasn't surprising. He sure kept his mom and dad on their feet chasing him around though! :)



Another hit for her was the puppet show area. They had every puppet under the sun, and she had a great time both watching and participating. Here she is with her puppet of choice, a sheep.



Ella and I taking a break in the "book nook."



Going down one of the slides, which are always a hotspot for her.



Trying to make her way through the ant colony.




There was a "barn" area with some farm animals and some information about being a veterinarian. In the upstairs "loft" of the barn there was some equipment to play doctor to some stuffed kitties. Ella sure knew what to do with the stethoscope!



One of my favorite parts of the museum was a "mock town" that was set up. I'm such a kid I wanted to jump right in and participate! LOL One of the many joys of being a parent to young children, you can pretty much jump right in with them and it's ok! :)
There was a "street" that you went down, and on either side were different places to visit. Things such as a post office, grocery store, school, pet store, etc. And at all the places there were dress-up clothes to actually play the part of mailman, check-out person, etc. if you chose to.

Here's Ella checking out the snake in the pet store.



Playing a student at school. Which, by the way, I am NOT ready to see her sitting behind a desk like this yet!!!



And then she takes her turn at teaching. Lovin' the chalkboard!



Taking a break for "recess." I lost count of how many times she went up and down this slide!



Then we came to the grocery store, which I thought was pretty cool. Ella's trying to decide which produce looks the freshest....



paying for her items...



And then taking her goods next door to the kitchen to put them away. The workers are constantly moving the food from the kitchen back to the store, it's pretty funny to watch.



There were several other things to do there, it took about 1 1/2-2 hrs for us to get through it all with a toddler, but believe me, she was more than willing to stay longer. If you're interested in checking it out, the website is www.munciechildrensmuseum.com

We'll definitely go back! :)

2 comments:

Sarah said...

What is this...the best kept secret in Indiana? This place looks awesome! The Wrays are gonna have to check it out too!

Jen Johnson said...

Your kids will love it! Definitely worth the drive, in my opinion. :)