A Museum Trip with Nana

 Last night, the kids and I headed up to Nana's and Papa's for a couple days. Shelley and Randy are part of Rotary Club, and since their group helped raise money for shoes for the Ugandan kids, I came to give a presentations about my trip, show them pictures, and tell them stories of how they helped. The presentation went well, and, since Shelley had taken the day off, she and I took the kids to the Perot Museum in Dallas. I was excited that they let us all in for free because of the museum membership we have back home, but I did pay a little extra so we could do the Recycled Reef special exhibit.

 

I didn't really know what to expect, but I had heard only great things about the museum. I knew it was a hands-on science museum, and, because of that, I was certain the kids would like it. Since we went without prepurchasing tickets (that was the only way to use our other membership benefits), we had a bit of a wait before we could actually get in to the exhibit area. We arrived at the museum at 11:10, and could get in at noon, so that left a perfect amount of time to have lunch at the cafe. Unlike most museum cafes, this one had good food. Shelley and I had big, fresh salads and the kids had kid-meals that came with fresh fruit and milk.

 

I can't say it all went well. The Rotary meeting was really early, the kids had been up late the night before, and the combination left them pretty cranky. The museum was too crowded, and I was frustrated that the kids kept pushing buttons on all the displays -- not to read or learn, but for the sake of pushing buttons, as if they were playing video games. The museum is definitely a modern museum, as almost all the information was on touch-screens. Unfortunately, that means that you can't really read over shoulders, and it was just too crowded for a claustrophobic person to enjoy it. After a bunch of contagious crankiness, we changed the pace and headed for the Recycled Reef.

The Reef is really a big room full of trash. Really. But when they add special blue lights and the sound of bubbles underwater, it looks sort of magical. We could almost believe we were underwater ... but dry. After walking through the reef that was created by anyone who wanted to participate, we headed for the craft room to make some fish to add to the dynamic exhibit. We started with... well... trash. The kids gathered large pieces of cardboard and started sketching what they planned to make. Nana did a great job helping the kids cut cardboard and tear masking tape, while I was in my own little world.

When we finished our creations, we searched for the perfect spots in the Reef exhibit to place them. I think it is pretty cool that we all created artwork worthy of a museum exhibit :). That was JUST what our crew needed. After the "down time" of being creative, rather than just being in learning-mode, we were ready for about another hour of exhibits. We left in time to get home for dinner.

Allen later asked what I thought of the museum, and I explained I had mixed feelings. I was struggling to separate the crankiness and crowdedness out of the experience -- they really did put such a damper on the day. I hope we can return sometime when it isn't so crowded, but I understand that may be a challenge. Going back with rested children CAN be on the to-do list, though. Giving my opinion can wait until we try again...