Thursday, August 19, 2010

Out On The Town Again

Mackenzie was finally feeling well enough to get out of the house for a small outing to Olympia.  We took the girls to the Hands On Children's Museum Wednesday morning.  We have been there a couple of times in the past, but it had been about 3 years since our last visit.

                                           The museum is in downtown Olympia on 11th Avenue.DSCF6030

The museum features activities and interactive displays that encourage learning through hands on play.   Mackenzie and Zoey always have fun when they come here to learn and play.  Their first stop today was at the Build It Center.

                                            Dressed in full gear for road construction jobs.DSCF6032
                                            Zoey drives and Mackenzie shovels rocks.DSCF6034

                                            Go to college, or you will be breaking rocks to earn a living!!!DSCF6037

The Hands On Museum also has a ship to play on.  The girls spent a lot of time there.  Mackenzie found some bags of play food and dishes and went right to the ship’s galley.  Zoey came in and set the table for a meal.

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                                            Zoey mans the wheelhouse.DSCF6042
One of the busiest areas of the museum was the Veterinarian’s Office.  The girls had a lot of fun pretending to care for the dogs in the kennels. 

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The favorite spot for the girls was the area called The Good For You Gallery.  This area promoted healthy food choices and exercise.  They had a cute grocery store laid out with food bins, bread case, fish and meat counter and the check-out table. 

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                                                 “Zoey, what type of bread should we buy?”

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                                            Time to pay for your groceries now.
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It was apparent to me long ago, but today proved it even more…..Mackenzie has inherited that “organizing gene” from me.  We entered the play kitchen and some kids before us had left it in quite a mess.  Stuff was all over the floor.  She wanted to make sure everything got put back in it’s proper place.

                                            The girls got to work cleaning house immediately.DSCF6075
                                            I guess that refrigerator needed cleaning out, too.DSCF6078
                                                Bruce sat at the kitchen table watching the action.
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A museum of this type is a great place for kids to really use their imagination.  No high-tech stuff here…just a lot of old fashioned things to play with and be able to be creative.  The girls enjoyed the ticket booth for the puppet theater.  Mackenzie went on stage while Bruce operated the sound effects console.  Such fun for all of us.

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It seems Mackenzie is well enough to go camping with us this weekend.  We’ll be leaving on Friday morning.  The weather has definitely cooled off around here and may even be downright cold in Long Beach.  We’ll take what we get and be happy about it!

Until next time…..so long for now!

18 comments:

Vera said...

I wish we had something like that museum when I was young. I would have been in heaven ☺ The kids are fortunate to have you as grandparents!

Dennis and Donna said...

What a fun place...I would have been knocking the kids out of the way to get to that stuff myself!!!

Carol K said...

Your pictures of Hands On Museum are just great. You have to go to those kind of places before the children get too old to have fun. Those were the days!

Along the Way with JnK said...

What a great place for the kids, agree with D&D, sounds like our kind of fun too!

Rick said...

That looked like a lot of fun for the kids! It's great that MacKenzie and Zoey enjoy those types of things rather than only whiz-bang computer games.

Hope the weather holds for your camping weekend!

K and D in the RV said...

What a wonderful adventure in a fun place! You are both fantasic grandparents

pidge said...

You have a couple of cute grandbabies there. Looks like a fun place for the kids. The one we have in Indianap0lis is not nearly so hands on. It has more history and that type thing. My grand daughter said she liked it, but I'm not convinced she did. She would have loved this one.

ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeR said...

No fair! That place is bigger than my house on wheels!

Gypsy said...

Can you believe people who would let their kids leave that kitchen in such a mess. Kudos to your granddaughters! (And to their parents and grandparents.)

Margie and Roger said...

Makes me wish I was a kid.

Sue and Doug said...

what a fantastic place!!..nice purse Bruce has!!..lol..have an awesome time this weekend at Long Beach!

Karyn-Lee said...

What a neat place! Always good to see a place that fuels the imagination of kids.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!

Happytrails said...

Margie,
I think your statement said it all "such fun for all of us." That is what its about... making those forever memories,laughing and having fun together, and just plain ole' being together...priceless.
Hopes for good camping weather this weekend for you guys.
Mike & Gerri

Chuck and Anneke's RV travels said...

Obviously, fun was had by all!

Kathy said...

Y'all find the coolest things to do with your precious grandkids! Can I be one too???
What a great place for play...did they realize they were learning too? "I don't wanna grow up..." K

Phyllis said...

Over in Philadelphia they have the "Please Touch Museum" for children. Wondering if it's anything like what you have there. If so, sounds ideal place to take our little ones.

Have great weekend with the girls. We are getting ours tomorrow and taking them on a train ride over in Wilmington, De. Our weather is expected to be perfect, hope yours is the same.

Jerry and Suzy said...

Fabulous! In the first pic, looks like the grands weren't really happy standing and waiting for the photo -- they looked anxious to be out there seeing and doing! What a wonderful place, and what wonderful grandparetns for taking them there!

Lin said...

What a cool place! I'll bet you were there for hours and hours!!