Friday, April 22, 2016

{Bay Area Kids Fun}: Lawrence Hall of Science

Here is where I normally have some super long introduction babbling on about stuff that has nothing to do with the post I am sharing. However I am really trying to work on being more direct (and short) with my writing, so lets just get into it. 
Here is my latest Bay Area Kids Fun post!

Mark tagged along with us this time and we spent close to 5 hours here exploring all of the ins-and-outs of this museum. Science museums are great for the whole family because there are ways for all ages to participate. Even Mark and I learned some new stuff and had some fun. For me though, the absolute best part of the experience was the view. All of the most beautiful parts of the Bay can be seen from this museum.





The first two attractions you will find are outside. Kids (and adults) can climb, slide, and crawl across Pheena the Fin Whale and thelife-size DNA structure.



I need to preface the rest of this review by saying that this is by no means a comprehensive list of everything that this museum has to offer. We would both be here for hours. I will be sharing our favorite parts and what I think sets this science museum apart from the rest. For a full list of the exhibits, go here.


We started in the front room upstairs. We've seen these pin-walls before, and they are always a big hit with Myles. It's pretty neat how well face shapes come out. Anytime I tried to do my face, Myles had to put his hand through it (typical threeager).

We also had to check out the Keva planks. I was totally amazed by what others guests had made with the blocks. What was amazing to Myles was the opportunity to destroy everything that was made. 

Next we headed downstairs. This is where all of the classrooms are located. During limited weekend hours you can get up close and personal with some insects, reptiles, and small mammals in the Backyard Zoo and Animal Discovery Room. The first thing we checked out was the Ingenuity Lab. Here you can design, build, and test inventions based on challenges the museum creates. The theme changes every couple months.
Myles helped Mark build a race car. 

Then we gave the Linkages and Moving Toys challenge a try. It was a little above Myles, but he was able to learn how it worked by looking at some that were already made.
And we had to throw in a little fun:

The other exhibit we looked at downstairs was the prehistoric animals bones. They have a triceratops skull still in the rock and a full mastodon skeleton cast that was found on Mt. Diablo.

After that we ended up in the cafe at the perfect time for a break and snack. The cafe has a full wall of windows looking out over the Bay. I couldn't get over eating with this view.

When we were done eating, he headed back upstairs. We spent several hours exploring all the exhibits on the main floors. There is so much to see and do in these areas, so I am just sharing a couple of our highlights.

Myles is still all about balls, so he loved the Energy Tracks. They have 5 different types of tracks set-up to help test the velocity of balls. This is supposed to simulate roller coasters and how they work in regards to speed. 



At Fold and Fly, you get to make your own paper airplane and then fly them with the help of mechanical airplane launchers. This was my second favorite exhibit of the whole museum. I had never seen a mechanical launcher before and it was awesome. They even have a little course set-up for the planes to fly through.



My number one favorite exhibit here is the Stop-Motion Stories. It was so fascinating to be able to see how stop-motion movies actually get made. And let me tell you, it takes a ridiculous amount of time and effort! Our movie was only about 18 seconds long, but took us at least 20 minutes to make. We were both pretty proud of what we accomplished though and I loved that Myles and I were able to work together to make something we both enjoyed.


We couldn't do anything too elaborate because Myles' attention span is still a bit short, but here is the video we made (his ideas, my computer work):

The last thing we did was go outside. Myles could have spent another couple of hours just in the outdoor area, but we were running low on time. When we go back, I think I will start outside first, because I know he didn't get to do as much as he wanted this day. I also really enjoyed all that was set-up outside, and of course, the VIEW!


We lucked out on a gorgeous day and Myles was able to play outside without being too cold. He was really into the water feature in the Forces that Shape the Bay exhibit. He used plastic water blockers to change the flow of water (simulating the Sierra Nevada) and learned about how we can influence the path(s) of water .

Myles, of course, was most intrigued by all the dead worms in the pond. He made it his mission to pick one up with a stick so he could see if it was really dead. 

Cost:
Adults: $12
Children 3–18, Seniors 62+ $10
Under 3: free
Pros: 
This will come as no surprise, the view! 
I love their outdoor exhibits; get the kids learning outside and you are a winner in my book!
They have some great ageless exhibits (stop-motion movie making) that the whole family can participate in and truly enjoy. 
The amount/variety of exhibits is outstanding; we were there for 5 hours and could have stayed longer. Myles was very engaged throughout the whole experience. 

Cons:
Some of the classroom exhibits (with animals) have limited weekend only hours.

Otherwise, I honestly can't think of anything else. We went on a day that was not busy at all, so even the parking was fine. I imagine on a busier day that parking might be an issue, but that's pretty common in the city areas. I would also bring a lunch next time. The food in the cafe was good, but we could have saved money by bringing our own.

Overall review:  

9/10
We will definitely be going back and spending a lot more time outside. It's a great place for the whole family to spend a day together, having fun and learning. And, the view  beats out any other museum in the area!


Bay Area Kids Fun Posts:
Children's Creativity Museum
 Habitot
Children's Natural History Museum
Children's Fairyland
 Lawrence Hall of Science
Sonoma County Children's Museum
Exploratorium 
 


Monday, April 11, 2016

Petaluma Classes and Entertainment Guide

Moving across the country to a city that you know absolutely nothing about is a very humbling experience. Besides a year in Florida, I had lived my whole life in the same city in Illinois. It is a decent sized city (second to Chicago), but it doesn't take long to learn everything the place has to offer (kids entertainment, food, classes, schools, etc.). People complain that there is nothing to do there all the time, but still I think we all find huge comfort in knowing a place well. 
It has been exciting discovering a new city (and surrounding areas), but it doesn't come without its frustrations. Even today with all the technology (apps, websites, social media), it can be hard to find everything that is available. And as a (mostly) SAHM, I need to know all the possible options to help get us out of the house. In my efforts to do so, I have come up with some pretty comprehensive lists. I figured others would find them of good use as well, so I am sharing them here publicly on my blog. I have broken them down into different categories and here is my first: 

This is an index of classes for children listed by category. At the end, I also added paid entertainment/entertainers to hire for parties. The file is uploaded to Google Drive in PDF format, so click the link above or below to open it. You can download and either save it, print it, or screen shot it from your smartphone. That way you can always have it.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6zXXO15vpz_N3pXdi1Wa3Fld00/view?usp=sharing


Also, if you have any additions or suggestions please comment below or email me juliacanderson85@gmail.com. 




Friday, April 8, 2016

5ive on Friday: Life Currently

If you get my 5ive reference.... "Did we just become best friends?" Back in an earlier life, I saw 5ive in concert when they were the openers for NSYNC. My friend and I studied all the dance routines from their concert special on Disney Channel. If you remember when Disney Channel used to air full concerts of all the greats (NSYNC, B*Witched, 98 Degrees, Britney Spears) then we just jumped from best friends to soulmates. The GOOD OLD DAYS people!

Ok back to the actual post. I am working on some top secret new projects related to this here blog, but they are slow moving right now because family always comes before work for me. But I promise they are coming soon! In the meantime, here are five things we have been up to lately:

1. In my last life update post, I talked about how I was getting ready for the Just Between Friends kids consignment sale. I have sold a lot of Myles' old stuff on Facebook, consignment stores, etc. but I still had most of his 2t-3t clothes and a ton of books/movies/toys that he recently outgrew pilling up in our garage. We talked about having a garage sale, but we really didn't have anything else to sell besides Myles' things. So when I got an email about the upcoming sale I thought why not give it a try. I plan on doing a whole post just on the process/results of the sale, but I did get my check back this week and wanted to quickly share that. Without going in to too much detail yet, I would say that in this particular instance, the money was well worth the time/effort put into selling at JBF.   

 2. My mom had took time off of work for a vacation to Florida she was planning with my step-dad, but my step-dad got a new job and couldn't take the time off to go with her. So sad right.... well not for me because I got asked to be the new travel buddy! We were going back and forth for a week or so deciding where to go, and then one night my mom sends me this email:

I'm so excited I don't even know how to act. It still feels not real to me, so I will probably not freak out until I am actually on the plane. The longest I have ever been away from Myles is like 8 hours (a couple different times), so I am a bit anxious about that. I know he will be fine and this is a much needed vacation, but I still will miss him dearly! It may sound crazy to non-parents, but a lot can change in just four days when we are talking about toddlers. T-minus 3 weeks!
 
3. I am currently in the process of changing Myles' room. We kept his blue and brown geometric nursery decor for 2 years. We moved into a new house just weeks before Myles turned 2, so I figured it was the perfect time to change the theme. I decided to go with dinosaurs (some dinosaur DIYs) just because it was the most timeless/neutral theme we both liked. That lasted about another two years, until it was time for a big boy bed. I could tell his convertible toddler bed wasn't going to last much longer and we just happened to have an extra full mattress that wasn't being used. So another perfect time to change the theme. I always try to convince him of something that he isn't going to grow out of within a couple months (toddlers change their likes pretty often!) and this time we chose 'outer space'! I love it because it is teaching him and it's fun! I have a ton of DIYs that I am working on and will be posting when they are finished, but for now here is his bed:
Target Pillowfort collection for the win!

4. We have been steadily adding to our smashed penny collection! I have always been big on 'life experiences/memories over things/stuff'. People probably think I'm a bit nuts when it comes to taking Myles places, but I will always choose to spend my money taking him places over buying him things! But we have to have souvenirs to remember the places by, right!?! The thing about me is though that I hate 'stuff'. I am a minimalist to the extreme. So the penny collection couldn't be more perfect! They all fit neatly in this cute passport book my mom got us and takes up very little extra space! I hope one day we will fill this all up and have to get another one. If your a penny collector like us, you have yo check out this website listing the locations of all the machines the whole world!

5. I'm not sure why it took me so long, but I finally created a Facebook page for my blog! I would love it sooo much if you guys would like the page and also leave a link to your Facebook blog pages so I can like you back :)



 I love following great blogs on all social media. Drop me links in the comments below so I can link up with you guys!