Today we went to the Hamilton Children`s museum with 5 friends. Ryan`s red cheeks went away and his fever was practically gone. I am not sure what he had, though his nose was a bit runny a few times in the day, but not consistently. Hamilton children`s museum was small. It was smaller than any of the other museum`s we have visited. In fact, it was so small I had to park our stroller outside as it would not fit inside! However, the kids were all engaged and had fun and for the price ($5.01 for both Ryan and I) it is well worth the drive. I think the thing that all of our kids enjoyed the most was a velcro wall with different sized straight and twisted tubes that they arranged on the wall so that a ball could run from the top to the bottom through all the tubes. I liked the 50`s diner room with a huge kitchen area with play food, pretend cash registers, sinks, kitchen equipment, money, menus, aprons, and flatware. There were tables like in a restaurant, a jukebox, a pretend phone, and a dance floor. It was great! Only, in order to actually play music on the juke box you actually had to pay $1. Luckily some of the other moms that were not a part of our group did so we got to enjoy some music. We actually danced to one of the songs. :) Then, there was a room with a big tv where the kids could dress up and play music and dance and see themselves on TV. From the sounds of it the kids were trying to make the most amount of noise they possibly could, and we got some great photos! Unfortunately, though I remembered my camera, my memory card was still back at home in my computer. :( The last room in the museum was the arts and crafts room, which Ryan did not want much to do with. He did enjoy talking to the lizard in the room, and the kids giggled like crazy seeing their funny reflections in funhouse type mirrors. There were three crafts: making a dr. seuss hat out of a big paper bag, glue and paper, coloring a dr. seuss door hanger, and making lorax trees with plastercine, straws, and pompoms. Great crafts, but my son is not usually a crafter. There was also a Dr. Seuss circle time, which lasted for almost half an hour! There were two stories read - both with a lot of audience (kid) interaction... questions and asking them to make different sounds. There were four games - pin the sock on the fox, search the museum for hidden lorax trees, guess the green fruit or vegetable, and a fish matching game. It was very well done and long. Well worth the drive, however....
I have two issues with the museum. The first is that outside food is not permitted, nor do they serve food or is there any space to sit and eat or drink inside. Therefore you are stuck having a picnic in the park just outside the museum, or going to McDonalds across the street. Since everyone packed a lunch and many of us are on diets, we did not want to go to McDonalds. The weather was 15 degrees today so the group decided to have a picnic outside. However, the wind was brutal and as Ryan had a fever yesterday and I have a cough, I did not think it was smart to join the group. We had a picnic in the back of our minivan, and it was warm and Ryan was really good about eating there away from the group. I was so happy with him. No fights, no arguments, even though there was a playground there with slides and swings! He went down the slide once and came right with me no whining or arguments and happily had half a sandwich and a yogurt tube and some juice while I ate my wrap & a yogurt tube. It was nice. The second thing is that I doubt the museum has air conditioning considering the age of the building. It was hot in there today and I was thankful I dressed in layers with a short sleeve shirt under a sweater (under my jacket). In the summer I fear it would be brutally hot in there. But in the winter, you are stuck having to eat at McDonalds...
For dinner I had forgotten to take chicken out of the freezer so I made presidents choice blue menu korean chicken chunks with rice and corn. It was really tasty. First time I have tried the chicken, and I will definitely get it again.
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