Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, at the foot of Golden Gate.
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| I love how their body language changes from one second to the next, as reflected in consecutive shots; see more below |
We spent much of the day there and, thanks to an awesome youngest cousin who did great just chilling in the stroller, the rest of the kids were able to explore.
I heard one of the employees describing this museum as one built around the concept of "immersive" experiences; their research shows, she said, that most people (ahem, children) who come to this mecca of various activities tend to find one thing that interests them and "immerse" themselves in it for a long time. I'd say they've done their research well. Both last time we visited and this time, for Sava--and now for Velin--the Wave Workshop was that "immersive" place. You build boats out of foam parts, and then you sail them.
The girls dabbled in all sorts of stuff, seeming to sample rather than immerse themselves; to find that immersive experience, the employee said, you sometimes have to spend a long time exploring.
Lunch was a hoot, as every single kid frowned at the all-organic pizza and grilled cheese we ordered for them. Thank goodness for the socializing part.
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| see what I mean about the body language changing? |
My personal favorite, and something I'd never seen on our previous visits, was Mud Play at the Nature Lab. Nicest mud you've ever seen.
The whole crew loved the spiderweb jumping thingamajig (and Geri did an amazing job of picking herself up and brushing herself off every single time she fell).
And the oldest played hide-and-seek in the House of Sticks,
while Cool Dude young brother and cousin mostly smiled.
He really is a sweet, smiling, huggable, smoochable fellow. His patience today was admirable (as was, even more so, that of his parents).
A few other assorted activities later, such as fishing,
driving trains,
and chasing bubbles,
we piled in the cars, and
every single child slept on the way back. Let me repeat that:
every single child slept on the way back. What more can a set of tired parents want?
Back home, my kids couldn't believe their luck when we told them the cousins were joining us for dinner--not that there was any doubt, but I think they still find it hard to grasp that these playmates are theirs to keep--for this week, and also forever.
Bathroom humor at the table? No problem. We're all family.
Board games on the floor? It is the good life.
To be continued in a few hours, when they all wake up.
I heard one of the employees describing this museum as one built around the concept of "immersive" experiences; their research shows, she said, that most people (ahem, children) who come to this mecca of various activities tend to find one thing that interests them and "immerse" themselves in it for a long time. I'd say they've done their research well. Both last time we visited and this time, for Sava--and now for Velin--the Wave Workshop was that "immersive" place. You build boats out of foam parts, and then you sail them.
The girls dabbled in all sorts of stuff, seeming to sample rather than immerse themselves; to find that immersive experience, the employee said, you sometimes have to spend a long time exploring.
Lunch was a hoot, as every single kid frowned at the all-organic pizza and grilled cheese we ordered for them. Thank goodness for the socializing part.
The whole crew loved the spiderweb jumping thingamajig (and Geri did an amazing job of picking herself up and brushing herself off every single time she fell).
And the oldest played hide-and-seek in the House of Sticks,
while Cool Dude young brother and cousin mostly smiled.
He really is a sweet, smiling, huggable, smoochable fellow. His patience today was admirable (as was, even more so, that of his parents).
A few other assorted activities later, such as fishing,
driving trains,
and chasing bubbles,
we piled in the cars, and every single child slept on the way back. Let me repeat that: every single child slept on the way back. What more can a set of tired parents want?
Back home, my kids couldn't believe their luck when we told them the cousins were joining us for dinner--not that there was any doubt, but I think they still find it hard to grasp that these playmates are theirs to keep--for this week, and also forever.
Bathroom humor at the table? No problem. We're all family.
Board games on the floor? It is the good life.
To be continued in a few hours, when they all wake up.
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