Scovil Children's Museum

Saturday morning, I had to go to urgent care because I was broken out in what looked like poison ivy.  After being in Mom and Dad's garden, I wanted to make sure it wasn't contagious and Beckett couldn't get it.  So we headed over to Mt. Zion around 8. Good news: It was a "Plant contact rash" but wasn't poison ivy, and the doctor said it wasn't contagious, either. (Disclaimer: He looked like he was about 12.)

Since we were in town and it was really hot, I thought we could try the Scovil Children's Museum, which I had heard might be fun. It was! (http://www.cmofil.com/) It was actually an amazing museum, and in fact, I just found out it was named one of the top 25 Children's Museums in America!  It had many of the discovery-type exhibits we've seen in other museums, but it also had much more. I'm taking notes on lots of the things we keep seeing and would like to incorporate some of those things into Beckett's playroom - the easy stuff, like a paint wall, maybe attaching some locks/wheels I could get from ACE or Home Depot on a piece of plywood that's attached to a wall, gears, etc.

Beckett napped the whole way to Mt. Zion and through my entire doctor's visit while I held him, so he was well-rested and ready to go.  This translated into a lot of running and taking full advantage of the "hands-on" aspects of the musuem. He loved it and I would definitely go back.  (I think it will be a great birthday party location in a few years!)

There weren't any people there when we arrived, and he was OFF!


That theme continued - he wanted to try everything!



We have seen this activity elsewhere, but this was the first time Beckett really got into it. He kept running around it, pushing on one side and then the other. He loved it.

He drove several vehicles, including this car. (Any guesses on what he was saying as he moved the wheel?!)

This looked really cool - they have something similar in Bloomington - it's a multi-level climber, with nets on all sides to prevent falling.  It was still a little daunting for us, but I'm guessing next year...

This was cool - two bubble tables.  You dipped a hoola-hoop-sized wand into the bubbles and when you lifted it out, it created these huge bubble worms!  Beckett loved it, and knew they were "Bubbles!"

If you could find gears like this, it would be a cool at-home installation.  Basically, they have magnets on the back and can be moved around however the kids want.  When placed next to each other, they move together, like a simple machine.  The more gears you add, the larger the machine.

This PVC painting window was similar to what they had in Bloomington. This time, Beckett knew what to do, and he painted the window, the wall, the floor, his shirt, my face... Pretty much everything he could in the amount of time it took for me to catch him and take the paintbrushes away.  :)

But he was determined!  He returned...with the bubble wands from the earlier exhibit.  He was hilarious dragging those things around.

There was a small backyard-type exhbit, with a tree house and lots of nooks and crannies.  It's hard to see in this picture, but Beckett climbed underneath the tree house where there were these little displays, kind of hidden, with stuffed bunnies, squirrels, and raccoons arranged in family nests.

The walls were puzzles.  (Tweet, tweet!)

You won't see too many pictures of his face because he was way too busy having fun to look at the camera!

This was a puppet show theater, and he was not too sure of the koala bear puppet.

Upstairs, they had a News Station, featuring Anchor Beckett Hild.  Or maybe Beckett Hild with Sports.  Or maybe weather?  Or..

This room was really neat. It was called a Sensory Experience.  The part in this picture is the "Visual" part.  It was dark, and when you touched this ball, light connected with your hand.  I like this picture - there was a mirror behind him, and the reflection looks cool.

He was pretty fascinated with it!

Driving another vehicle. 

The train tracks!

Flying a plane!

With Mommy - what a busy morning!

We had worked up an appetite, so we went to Ruby Tuesdays. It was only about 11, so (again) we were the only people in the place.  (Which was nice!) 

KISS!

We ordered a kids' meal of grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans and he devoured it!  I had a side salad and our whole bill was under $10.  Our waitress was really sweet, too.

We had a great date!