Today we took a field trip to visit the new children's museum in Madison (or MEW-seum, as Anna pronounces it). They had closed their doors to their previous location back in January and reopened in the middle of August, so this was our first visit to the new location. We took off after 8am to get there in time for it to open at 9am. Well. The website needs to be updated, because they didn't open until 9:30. It did mean we got a good parking space in their lot and were first in line to enter, but the kids weren't all that happy that they had to wait. :)
When we did finally enter, we were met with a bright, cheery environment that far surpassed the old location. Rob and I were particularly impressed with the use of recycled materials. Flooring made from old gym floors, benches made from old beauty parlor chairs and pianos and fire hoses, curtains from plastic bags, and even a curtain made from old Twister boards! We were able to speak with one of the employees, who also told us that the toddler walkway was made from pieces of the old Kohls building in town! Everywhere we looked were recycled materials.
It was very open and spacious with multiple classroom areas for their various events. There was a large art room and the kids loved painting on the glass paint wall. On the rooftop they had created a garden, and they did an excellent job! The had chickens, turtles, fish, and a few homing pigeons. Apparently, they also grow fruits and veggies up there. We got some great pictures of the kids looking at the street below--very thankful for large glass fences!
The under 5 area was the best one I've ever seen. It was large and had lots of activities for the little ones. Anna found some babies right away, but then quickly set off to discover the water play area. Ben found a drum and would probably still be there if I hadn't pulled him away. While we explored that area, Rob and Matthew went to the second floor to play on the gerbil wheel. I guess it was harder than it looked, because Matthew couldn't get it going. Rob did, but then couldn't get it to stop!
Anna found a large dollhouse, but it was encased in glass. She kept asking me to open it so she could play with the dollies. All three of them met up to make pizza and pies in the cooking area, which is usually one of their favorites at any museum. Rob and Ben messed around with an old pin ball machine--okay, so it was pretty much Rob :)
Oh, we just had a wonderful time! The new museum has a cafe, so we decided to eat there instead of our original idea. Wish we would have left, because the food was expensive. We opted for a heavy snack instead of full meals and then got another snack when we got home. What we had was good, but not worth the price! I think next time we'll just eat at a hot dog vendor from around the capitol square. (The museum is right near the capitol building.)
All in all, a very good day. Since Rob may continue to have Fridays off for awhile, we're going to try to do a field trip every other week. Fun, fun!
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