DISCOVERY PLACE

Friday, we zoomed out of the house headed for a quick errand to Charlotte for my hubby. It would take us an hour to get there and only 5 minutes to conduct business, so I decided with two kids in tow we should plan to head to the science museum for the rest of the afternoon. Discovery Place is really cool for my kids because they have lots of "hands-on" thingamajigs. You can even schedule Discovery Place to come to your group location for some hands-on science learning experience. They have a Rain Forrest, acquarium, and great dinosaur display. Frequently they have special displays on-site, and this day they had "The Circus Tent." You could actually learn how to walk a tight rope, jump on a bungy, and enter the tent for a little circus dress-up, step up to the stage, and let the make-believe begin.

First we went to the young tots section for a little dress-up. My Caleb looks good in an astronaut outfit, don't you think?Maybe he'll be a famous astronaut one day!

Then we headed to the acquarium where they had a "touch tank." Have you ever touched a starfish or sea urchin? Laci was a little apprehensive at first. After all, they sure looked a little rough and prickly. Caleb was up to the challenge. It's a good thing he didn't fall in head first.


And then wouldn't you know it, my battery went dead on my camera. So much for last-minute planning, right? I sure wish I had a picture of Laci and Caleb stroking the back of that Boa constrictor. The man holding this beast instructed them to take two fingers and gently run them down his back. Did you know that if you were to rub a snake back and forth up and down his back that it would feel to him like it feels to us if someone were to pull our hair? I didn't know this, but I guess it makes sense that if you go the opposite way of his scales that it might feel like this. Never thought about it much before. But if your kiddos decide to bring a snake home from the back yard, now you'll know how to gently care for him!!!

The dinosaur exhibit was really good, and they had a little puppet show, too, about dinosaurs, and their extinction. So I thought it only fitting the next day for lunch we pull out the dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. And as anticipated, this prompted the discussion of dinosaurs amongst the table. Laci was able to tell me what "extinction" is, and then we had a discussion about what scientists think is some of the reasons for dinosaurs becoming extinct. Wow, my little girl really did some listening. She listed all sorts of ways they believe dinos became extinct.

Ahh, another lesson learned!!
Oh, and by the way, if you have not tried the little dino-shaped chicken nuggets, they sure are good, and fun to eat too. They are Tyson's 100% all natural (so they say). But it's definitely a treat around here, and not something I buy all the time. At $5 or $6 a bag, WHO CAN AFFORD IT????