A Hymn to the Goddess

This evening we went to one of our favorite theaters presenting A Hymn to the Goddess based on the Egyptian myths of Isis. Marina decided to wear her t-shirt from Egypt to the show.

We ran into some crazy traffic on the way, but we were still the first to arrive. Our friend the theater manager met us at the door. I gave her the photos I took when we came to see Jotunheim. She said she would add it to the others from the shows we have given her.

The theater was warm and eventually filled to capacity. (All the shows sold out before the run even began!) It was a bit uncomfortable. We all liked the show. Afterwards we made sure we got Marina’s photos with the cast – it’s tradition now! Most of them had seen the collection by now and were happy to be a part of the photo. It was a fun way to end the night.

Aida

Over the years, Marina and I have seen quits a few operas and she appeared to like them all. Angie is also interested in opera. So we all decided to see Aida.

The show was not close to home. So we met up with Angie and we all made the drive there. We ran into some traffic issues, but we still arrived with plenty of time to find our seats and settle in for the show.

Aida was presented in concert format, so while the performers appeared in costume there were no sets and the staging was simple. The performers were very talented and they were accompanied by a full chorale. Despite that, Marina seemed to have a hard time getting into the show. I think she would have preferred to see a fully staged production.

After one of the intermissions, Angie brought water for us and she handed Marina a candy bar. That perked her up a bit. Once the show was over, we went back to Angie’s car for the long drive home.

Extreme Mammals and Mummies

Marina is on fall break this week. Today, we went to the nature and science museum to see their new temporary exhibits – Extreme Mammals and Mummies. Marina wore her Egypt t-shirt and cat ears to be ready for both exhibits. When we arrived, Marina decided she wanted to see Extreme Mammals first.

The Extreme Mammals exhibit had many examples of how mammals do amazing things. We saw examples of large animals, amazing motion, unusual abilities and adaptability. At the end, she had the opportunity to dress up which of course she loved. Naturally, she preferred to dress up like wild cats.

We stopped for lunch. Once we finished eating, we went directly to the Mummies exhibit.

The exhibition focused on mummies found in Egypt and Peru. Marina and I have seen exhibits about Egypt before, but the comparison with Peru was very interesting. Marina was moved by the mummies of children in particular. She had brought her hieroglyphics chart with her, so she tried to translate some of the message she saw. Once we finished the Mummies exhibit, Marina was ready to go home.

Last Days of Pompeii

We saw the Pompeii exhibit at the museum in September shortly after it opened. Marina and I both wanted to see it again before it moved on later this month. Apparently a lot of people had the same idea because it was very crowded.

When we arrived we had a little time before our schedule entry. So we looked at the Egypt exhibit. Marina has gotten so good about reading the signs herself and discussing what she reads with me. We did quite a bit of that today. We looked at the mummies, especially the difference between rich people and poor in the way they were preserved.

 Next we headed for the Pompeii exhibit. Marina and I looked longest at the artwork and jewelry. She was anxious to go to the tavern, where a woman was explaining food, the marketplace and games of the Ancient Romans.Marina was a bit shy at first, but ultimately she was up front and asking questions. She played a dice game with another little girl and was thrilled to win! She wanted to see what god or goddess she is most like, so we took the survey. Sure enough, she was Apollo again. We watched the time lapse video and looked at the body casts before heading out.

Marina wanted to see the health exhibit next. We visited her favorite parts and did a DNA extraction experiment Before stopping for lunch. After lunch, we went right back to the health exhibit. When I told Marina the Super Food Heroes show was scheduled in 15 minutes, she headed right for the stage and wanted to wait for it to start. She even convinced some other families to stay and watch. The show didn't disappoint. She was selected as Spinachiever again. She was thrilled! Fifteen minutes after that was the Pirate bacteria show. So we stayed for that as well.

Marina wanted to play in the Discovery Zone for a while. She had fun with the wind tunnel and huge building blocks. We stayed there until it closed. By then, we were tired and we were ready to head home. Marina looked at a butterfly display on the way out. Near our car was a flock of geese. She tried to chase them off, but they were pretty unflappable. So she gave up and got into the car.

Rainy Day and Monday

We had plans to spend today at the zoo with Michelle, but heavy rains this morning caused us to change our plans. Instead, we went to the Museum of Nature and Science. Apparently, many others had the same idea because it was much busier than we'd expected. But we still had a good time.

We started our day at the Egyptian mummy exhibit. Michelle impressed me with her knowledge of ancient Egypt. Marina was anxious to show Michelle the health exhibit, so that is where we headed next. The went through several of the exhibits including their heart rate, riding bicycles and mind power. Then they tried an experiment to see their cells. Michelle had done a similar experiment at school, so she helped Marina with it. Then they did an experiment with the sugar content in cereal.

After lunch, we went to the space exhibit which we tried out a few things, but it was really crowded. So we checked out the rocks and minerals. As usual, Marina was mostly interested in the precious stones. Once we went through there, we went through the Native American and dinosaur halls.

As we were leaving the Museum, the sun was shining in a beautiful blue sky. Despite the change in plans, we'd had a fun day.

A Day at the Museum

Marina is on Fall Break this week. Today we decided to go to the Museum. We invited Miss Judy to come with us. They have a temporary dinosaur exhibit we hasn't seen yet, so we went there first. It had some pretty impressive animatronic dinosaurs as well as Sue – the most complete T-Rex skeleton ever found. Marina wanted to go quickly through it but Judy and I held her up.

From there we went into the Ancient Egypt exhibit and dinosaurs. In each exhibit, Judy shared her considerable knowledge with Marina.


We stopped for lunch and then headed to the health exhibit, where Marina and Judy tried every station. There weren't many people there, so we got through easily.

Marina wanted to go the the kid's area. There she showed Judy the wind tunnel and she learned about magnets from a Museum volunteer. There were no kids at the dinosaur dig site, so she spent a long time there uncovering an Allosaurus. 

We looked around in the gift shop and I bought Marina a bag of sparkly rocks. She was quite pleased with that!

Egyptian Princess

For over a year now, Marina has been obsessed with Ancient Egypt. I have no clue on how that started. We watch The Ten Commandments together, the closest I could get to a movie about Egypt that she could watch. And she's been bugging me to take her to Egypt on vacation. (It will be at least 10 years before that happens!)

So today, we went to see a special exhibition at the art museum. I thought she'd really like seeing artifacts from Egypt. Before we went in, we went to a kids' area where she could color a collar and try on Egyptian costumes. Naturally that was a big hit.

Then we toured the exhibit. I was surprised Marina wasn't interested in it much. A few items caught her attention: jewelry, furniture and videos. Otherwise, she spent most of the time asking me when we could leave. Sigh, not what I had in mind.

After lunch, we looked around at other art. She seemed interested in art from China and India. But she was very impatient when I was looking at the European Renaissance. She was happy when we found another kids' area with activities for her. Ultimately, it wasn't easy for me to get her home. I was exhausted and she wanted to play for a while longer. She did fall asleep in the car on the way home. I would have liked to do that!

"Holiday"

I told Marina today was Labor Day, a holiday. She asked, “For the holiday, can we go to the Museum?” I invited Kyle and Bethany to go with us to the Museum of Nature and Science. They wanted to start looking at the fossils. Marina went through everything pretty quickly, we had trouble keeping up at times. She liked looking at the dinosaurs but she didn’t spend a whole lot of time there.

We took a break for lunch. Then we went to the Gems and Minerals. We got Marina to go through the fake cave this time. She’s always been afraid of it. We liked looking at the rocks, but, once again, moved fairly quickly through them. At one point she decided she was ready to leave. Kyle and I have to chase after her, leaving Bethany behind. She wasn’t too happy about that! We went to Space Odyssey where her speed viewing continued. Until there was an announcement of a show in the Planetarium. So we went in for that. Marina loved looking at the planets, especially Neptune.

We went to look at the animal dioramas. Bethany wanted to look for the elves. We found the ones we could before getting the cheat sheet. Marina was excited to see each one as we pointed it out. Then she’d find other people nearby to show where they were. As we walked out of the animal hall, Marina spotted the Ancient Egypt exhibit. She just took off to go see it. We all followed her over. She’s been interested in Egypt for some time now.

We were all tired when after that, so we headed out. Marina nearly fell asleep in the car. But she’d had a good “holiday.”