Mindbender Mansion

Marina is on Fall Break this week. We made plans to go to the nature and science museum today. However, she asked if she could hang out with her boyfriend instead. I suggested that he join us at the museum. Marina loved that idea!

We picked her boyfriend up at his house shortly after lunch. Then we headed to the museum. We found a parking space up front right away. Once inside, we went to the third floor to see the temporary exhibit Mindbender Mansion. It was a series of puzzles arranged in “rooms.” They were pretty tough and the three of us worked together to solve as many as we could.

Once we went through most of the rooms, we moved on to the dinosaur exhibit. He hasn’t been to the museum for a long time, so he took his time looking at everything. Marina was very patient with him as he read the signs.

Next, Marina wanted to go through the space exhibit. There weren’t many people there, so they were able do whatever they wanted to. They played a game about the birth and death of stars, docked Space Shuttle models, looked through telescopes and experimented with the heat sensing equipment.

Before we left, we looked at the mineral hall. He seemed to enjoy looking at all the displays. Of course, Marina liked all the jewels and gold. After we looked at the minerals the Museum was getting ready to close. It was time to go home.

Jurassic Movie

Marina has been a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise for a while. So, of course, she was looking forward to the newest movie in the series, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. Today was the opening day, so I got tickets to see it at our favorite movie theater this evening.

Naturally, Marina wore her Jurassic Park t-shirt. We arrived early for the show and found a dinosaur greeting us at the door, we loved that! We got to our seats and ordered food and popcorn. There were quite a few previews before the movie. Marina was excited when it finally started.

This movie was more intense than the previous ones. Marina seemed a bit more scared of this one than the other ones we have seen. Near the end she got up to use the restroom. She admitted later she was a bit freaked out! After the movie was over, Marina said she really liked it despite being scared by it.

Jurassic Park in Concert

We have enjoyed going to the symphony for years. They often screen movies in the concert hall with the music being played live. When Marina heard they were screening Jurassic Park, she immediately wanted to go. I love the music from the film, so I got the tickets.

As usual, Marina wanted to cosplay. She wore her red Jurassic Park t-shirt, khaki shorts and hiking boots – very similar to Laura Dern’s outfit in the movie. She even put her hair in a ponytail.

We picked up drinks before the show and settled in to our seats. We both wished we had popcorn to much on as well! Once the conductor walked onstage, Marina was excited for the movie to start. She paid close attention to the movie and had very strong reactions to the action. We both agreed it was much scarier than when we watch it at home.

All About Animals

Since Marina is on her winter break, I decided to take today off to spend with her. We both slept in and took it easy this morning. After brunch, we decided to go to the Museum of Nature and Science to see two touring exhibits which are leaving soon. When we arrived we found it was very crowded. We managed to find a parking spot at the Zoo and we walked over.

We started off by going through the Extreme Dinosaurs exhibit. There were plenty of people  there, but Marina was still able to try out some of the hands on activities. She helped remove a dinosaur skeleton from the sediment it was encased in, touched real dinosaur bones, helped recreate Pangea and collected six dinosaur stamps through the exhibit. At the end she looked through a screen which showed the skeleton as the dinosaur might have looked.

After we went through that exhibit, we went through the exhibit next door – Nature’s Amazing Machines. This exhibit showed how animals are uniquely adapted to the animal’s behavior. Marina waited in line to try out two different types of wings. We play an activity where strength was tested. By the time we finished with that exhibit, we were ready for a late lunch.

Since the Museum was so crowded, we decided to go to the Zoo for lunch. Unfortunately, it took us a while to find a restaurant that was open. So we were very hungry by the time we finally sat down to eat. Once we finished our lunch, we decided to look around the zoo. The animals were quite active during that time. We saw four young lions chasing each other around, a snow leopard roaring, three sea lions sleeping all snuggled together and a seal swimming around.

We left the zoo before it closed and took a rest in the car. We had tickets to Zoo Lights, so we had a short wait until we could go back in for that. When we saw the line forming we went back into the zoo.

We knew that there would be princesses at Zoo Lights, so we went there first. They weren’t there yet, so we were first in line when Anna and Elsa showed up. After we took photos with them, we picked up hot chocolate and went in to see the lights. When we have gone to Zoo Lights in the past we’ve always seen long lines for the carousel and train. Since the lines were short this time, we decided to do both. It was fun to ride the train through the lights. Then we went to the carousel where Marina was happy to ride a black panther.

We spent the rest of the time looking at all the lights. We took a brief trip through the Asian animals where we saw a sleeping fisher cat. Once we went through all the lights, we were ready to go home. We’d had a fun day but it was a lot of walking!

Dinoasaur Zoo

We didn’t have any specific plans today, so Marina and I decided to go to the zoo. She enjoyed the dinosaurs they had on display and so we went to see them again.

It was a hot day, but the animals were very lively. We have a usual path we usually take through the zoo, but we didn’t do that today. We went through the primate exhibit, which we don’t go through very often. At one indoor exhibit, we went into a dark room to see the nocturnal primates. After our eyes adjusted, Marina was startled by one that popped into view. She loved telling that story all day.


When we arrived at the gorilla enclosure, we saw a mother holding her baby, which was very sweet. Then we came upon a window where a huge gorilla sat right next to the window, After a bit of a wait, I got a photo of Marina sitting by the glass. Right after I took the picture, the gorilla gave her a nod. She loved that!

We stopped for lunch then we rode the carousel and checked out more dinosaurs. We spent a long time watching the Tyrannosaurus Rex. We went through the bird exhibit and the Asian animals. The otters were very playful so we watched them for a while. By the time we reached the tigers they weren’t in their enclosure, so we moved on.

As we were walked to ward the exit, we heard a noise which turned out to be a snow leopard roaring. So we watched it for a while. Before we left, we stopped by to watch the lions for a few minutes. By this time we were very hot and tired, so we decided to head home.

Jurassic Zoo

Today was beautiful and not too hot, so we decided to go to the zoo. Marina wore her Jurassic Park t-shirt. Currently they have an exhibit called “Dinosaurs Alive” that we wanted to see.

We wanted to have lunch when we first arrived. So we chose to eat at the Asian inspired restaurant. We both ordered teriyaki noodle bowls. As we sat to eat, a mother pea hen and her chicks came over the tables. Marina loved watching them.

We had seen several of the dinosaurs on our way to the restaurant. I downloaded the zoo app on my phone which included a map of all the dinosaurs. Marina was very pleased to use it to find them.

 

As we went through the zoo, we saw all the “cats” which are usually Marina’s favorites. We also watched Dobby, the baby giraffe for a while. We also made it a priority to see all the dinosaurs. They were fun to watch! The one that impressed us the most was the T-Rex – it was huge! Marina froze in front of it, just as they instructed in the Jurassic Park movies.

We stopped for ice cream and then decided to ride the carousel. Marina started on a tiger but changed to a black panther because it reminded her of Jasmine. After our ride, we decided to go home. It was a hot day and we’d seen all the dinosaurs.

The Good Dinosaur

To celebrate the new year, we slept in this morning. After a relaxing morning, we went out this afternoon to see the movie The Good Dinosaur. We arrived early and bought popcorn and drinks. By the time the movie started, we had polished off quite a bit of it. Marina also finished her drink, so I shared mine with her.

The movie was cute. Marina clearly enjoyed the story and the characters, even if parts of it were sad.

After the movie, we ran into one of Marina’s former ballet teachers. It was fun to catch up with her as well.

Elementary, My Dear

A new Sherlock Holmes exhibit just opened at the Museum and Marina has asked to see it. Since she is on fall break this week, it seemed like the perfect time to go.

When we arrived, we got our tickets for Sherlock Holmes and went directly to the exhibit. We were immediately cast into the 1800's.

First we learned a bit about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his inspirations for the character. Then we were introduced to the detective methods of the time: photography, ballistics, telegraphs, botany, optics and even cosmetics. From there we walked into a messy room and were charged with looking for clues. Some of them were not easy to find!

Next, we walked into a crime scene. We had to look at the clues and then search for the source. We looked through plants to match a seed pod, recreated footprint and dragging patterns, compared blood spatter and evaluated a broken statue. At the end we discovered the solution. It was a complex mystery, but we had fun looking into it.

We stopped for lunch next and then went to Marina's favorite exhibit, health. There weren't many people there so she got through everything quickly. Once we went through, we decided to see the dinosaurs, which we haven't seen in a while. After looking at the fossils, we decided it was time to go home.

Jurassic World

Marina has been excited to see the new movie Jurassic World for a while. It opened today and since we didn’t have any other plans, we deiced to go. It was a rainy morning – the perfect day to see a movie.

We went to our favorite movie theater restaurant for the 3D version. I was concerned it might be too intense for Marina. We had watched Jurassic Park earlier this week in preparation. She didn’t seem concerned at all. But she brought her Princess Aurora plush doll just in case.

We ordered our usual food and settled in. Marina was happy to be sitting next to a younger girl. They entertained each other until the movie started.

The movie was intense but Marina enjoyed it. She appreciated all the references to the original Jurassic Park. She also seemed to like the big and scary dinosaurs.

After it was over, she enthusiastically told me what she liked about it. And when we got home, she changed her clothes into an outfit that was reminiscent of the heroine from the movie. For Marina, that’s the ultimate sign she liked the movie!

Summer Science

Ever since our last trip to the museum last month, Marina has wanted to go back. So we went this afternoon. When we arrived, the first place she wanted to go was the new kids area.

When we arrived it was pretty crowded. So Marina wandered through all the activities and found that the tables with animal activities were available. She played around there for a while. The she headed to the construction zone, where she built with many types of blocks.

By far, Marina had the most fun in the water play area. It's a very elaborate set up with fountains, whirlpools, faucets and sprayers. Marina loved a whirlpool in a glass case. She dropped balls into it and they spiraled down to the bottom. Sometimes a large ball would get into the bottom and plug up the bottom which made the glass overflow. Marina loved watching it.

After playing in the water, and getting soaked, we moved on to the dinosaur area. Marina crawled on a duck-billed dinosaur and hunted for buried bones.

After Marina had explored the whole area, we went to the health exhibit. It wasn't too busy, so Marina was able to complete her favorite activities. We also completed an experiment extracting DNA from wheat germ.

After going through the health exhibit, we decided to go home. We'd had a fun afternoon of science.

Michelle and Marina at the Museum

With Marina's cousin Michelle in town for the summer, we decided to spend some extra time with her. We had several options to consider for today, but with the temperatures expected around 95 degrees, we decided to spend the day inside. We went to the Museum of Nature and Science.

Marina's favorite part is the health exhibit, so we started there. The museum wasn't crowded today, so Marina and Michelle were able to try out all the activities without waiting. We tried out nearly everything before we caught the pirate microbial show. Marina was selected to go onstage as a volunteer. Later on, when the pirate asked for a grown up volunteer, she was more than happy to push me into the act. Fortunately, I narrowly avoided walking the plank.

We stopped for lunch. The table was very quiet showing how hungry we all were. We decided our next activity would be to find all the elves hiding in the museum. I brought my cheat sheet to help us along. We ran into several other elf hunters along the way. It was fun to help each other out.

Next up, we went into the space exhibit. Again we had missed the crowds, so there wasn't much of a wait for all the activities. The girls dropped meteors, searched for metal plates in the sand and played with refracted light. We attended a demonstration about liquid nitrogen. Marina was amazed when she saw a rubber ball shatter after being frozen by liquid nitrogen. 

On the way home, we stopped for frozen yogurt at our new favorite place. We're enjoying our summer with Michelle.

A Day at the Museum

Marina and I had planned to go to the Zoo today. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was so busy we couldn't even find a parking place, so we quickly changed our plans and went to the Museum instead.

We started our day in the space exhibit, one we hadn't visited in a long time. It was crowded with school field trips, but Marina managed to get a chance to try her favorite exhibits. She even got a chance to try a new game where she controlled a Mars landing.

We went into the Kids play area which was considerably quieter. Marina pretended to unearth a dinosaur skeleton and saw a tornado demonstration. She was having so much fun she didn't want to stop for lunch.


After we ate, we went to the health exhibit, Marina's favorite. It was also pretty crowded, but Marina didn't seem to mind waiting for any of it. However, since we go there nearly every time we go to the Museum, I talked her into looking at other exhibits.

So, we went to the dinosaur exhibit. Marina had very clear ideas of what was worth her time and what was not. Following that, she wanted to see the Native American exhibit. A few changed had been made there, all of which we noticed.

We'd had a good day at the Museum, but we were tired. And to treat ourselves, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

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.

Pirates and Lizards and Snakes - Oh My!

The Nature and Science Museum has a temporary exhibit called "Lizards and Snakes" which we hadn't seen yet. Marina was excited to see it because she says she loves snakes. The exhibit was packed when we arrived this morning. Still,we managed to get through the exhibit. We even saw a show called the Snake Hunter. Marina really loved the play area where there were costumes and puppets.

After lunch, we went to Marina's favorite part of the Museum, Expedition Health. By this time, the crowds has left, so we were able to do everything she likes. We did a household cleaner experiment and tried out every station. We also got to see the pirate show about bacteria. Marina was selected to take part in a quiz. She didn't answer her question correctly and had to walk the plank. She did so with good humor. She was looking forward to seeing the Super Food Heroes, but the last show of the day was canceled. She got over that quickly.

At the end of our day at the museum, we went to the IMAX movie "Flying Monsters." It was all about pterodactyls and other flying dinosaurs. Once it was over, the museum was getting ready to close. So we headed home. It was a fun time.