Merida at the Movies

After a little while at home, Marina changed into yet another costume. She dressed as Merida for the Brave movie event at the wildlife museum. Marina was excited to go.

When we arrived we saw several other girls dressed as Merida. Marina tried out an obstacle course they had set up outside. Then she tried out the toy archery set. She got a few good shots off! She also posed for a picture with Merida herself.

We went inside where there were crafts set up. Marina colored in a paper tiara, made a bear puppet and mask. Once she tried out all the crafts we picked out seats for the movie. I bought popcorn and candy and we settled in.

As the movie started, she leaned over and said, “Thank you for bringing me.” Later on she said, “I like seeing this movie with my mom!” Marina clearly enjoyed seeing Brave on the big screen again, despite having seen it many times before.

Archery Adventure

It's been nearly a year since our last archery class, so I thought it was time for us to go again. Marina decided to bring her American Girl doll Kaya, since she is a Native American and they used bows and arrows.

The class was taught in a format that was slightly different than the last one we took. For one thing the class was smaller, so we had much more time to practice.

Marina and I were both a bit rusty. She was much more patient than last year, so she had to focus more on the little things - mostly her stance and making sure to pull her arm all the way back. But she had some really good shots which suggests she is learning. At the end of class there was time for fun. Marina wanted to try shooting in her Merida costume to see how it went. That didn't seem to bother her at all. We were aiming at balloons. Since she wasn't able to pop hers on the target she took them down and stomped on them to break them.

Once the class was over, we had lunch in the Museum cafe and then headed into the Globology exhibit. Marina has been through it many times and she stopped at all her favorite spots. In the Coral Reef section she met some little girls and played with them for a while.

Next we headed to the Discovery Center where Marina made more new friends and played with them. While they were there, we learned of a live animal demonstration featuring a bull python. The kids were all anxious to see that. First we got a lesson about snakes, what and how they eat, their skin and their environment. Then the snake came out for a visit. Marina was happy to pet it a few times.

Next we checked out the temporary exhibit on the music of nature. It was fun to take the many sounds and hear them in a musical context.Marina really enjoyed visiting all the different stations.


Once we had seen everything in the Museum we headed home. It was a fun day!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

After our first experience with archery class, Marina and I were anxious to try it again. We took Archery II today at the wildlife museum. We found out that today at Disney World, Merida had her coronation as the thirteenth Disney Princess. Archery class was the perfect was to celebrate that occasion!

Marina wore a Merida t-shirt today as well as a flowery skirt. She also brought her American Girl doll Julie with us. Since the weather was beautiful, the class was held outside.

We started off with a few practice rounds. Marina still has a tendency to rush, but when she took her time, she did pretty well. My first two arrows almost hit the bullseye. Marina was so excited she insisted on taking a picture of the target.

We learned more about aiming and the targets were moved from 7 yards away to 10. That made it much harder. We got a chance to aim at balloons on the target.Marina was disappointed she didn't pop any of the balloons, but she was happy that she got to pop them after class.

Marina was a bit grumpy, so we had lunch at the museum cafe. Then we went into the Museum. We went through the GPS exhibit first. While figuring out the different stations, Marina met a boy and they helped each other. From there they went together to the animal habitats.They played together for awhile before he and his dad went home. We checked out a couple of other temporary exhibits before heading home. 

Right on Target

Ever since she saw the movie Brave, Marina has been interested in archery. She has a play bow with arrows tipped with suction cups and she practices with it often. However, she has been interested in trying out the real thing as well. So, I signed us up for an Archery class at the Wildlife Experience. Since Marina was under 12, I had to take the class along with her. She brought her American Girl doll McKenna along for moral support.

Today was a very snowy day, so we were a bit late for the class. It began with a lot of learning. We had to learn safety rules, how to hold the bow and handle the arrows. We had to figure out which was the dominant eye and how long our reach was. Marina was a bit restless through it, but she was listening.

Once it was time to try shooting, Marina was very focused. Her first arrow missed the target, but her second stuck. The instructors noticed she had a tendency to rush her shot. Once we convinced her to slow down and take her time, she did quite well. After her first round, she said, "I want to do it again!"

After the first two rounds, we had a bulls eye to aim for. Marina's first two arrows missed wildly. But once she slowed down, she hit the middle circle. She was so excited!

In the last round, all her arrows bounced off the target. Although in competition she would have score points for each arrow, she was upset they didn't stick. It was clear it was time for lunch.

After lunch, we went into the Wildlife Experience exhibits. They have a temporary exhibit on Geotracking, so, we checked that out first. Marina had fun finding clues and stamping her card at each station.

We also went through the Globology Exhibit. Marina picked up a scavenger hunt list and we went through each ecosystem looking for the animals on her list. On the way out, we saw an employee who was carrying a rosy boa. Marina was happy to pet the snake before it was put back in its habitat. After that, we headed home.We agreed we'd like to try Archery again!