More Museum Visits

This week I had two museums on our list of possibilities, The National Gallery and Museum of American History. After a quick discussion, the kiddos and I headed out to the Museum of American History. I wanted to go to this museum, but they were less than thrilled with the idea. We decided it would be a quicker visit and then we could revisit the Air and Space or Natural History Museums. 

We ate lunch at our favorite spot walking the other way around the gardens to see everything we missed. The weather was warmer than last time, which meant wet toes. Aine noticed that most of the fountain visitors had their feet in the fountain. Quickly shedding our shoes, we followed suit. The water was "just the right temperature" according to Benton. 

After finishing our lunches and sharing a bit with the ducks, we strolled through the grounds. We all liked the spider sculpture the best on this side, but I think the tree is still my all time favorite. We left the park going the other direction, because a man seemed a bit too interested in my children. It was a good opportunity to bring up the topic that adults should never ask kids for help (finding keys, dog, etc). Adults should ask adults for help. We also chatted a bit about listening to that funny feeling you get. (I had a funny feeling that he was loitering a bit around us. He seemed quite interested in my 7yr old, and it gave me the heebie jeebies. Perhaps I had read too much of Stolen).

Once at our destination we tried exploring the museum in a traditional way, going from exhibit to exhibit, but I quickly decided that this would not work today. After regrouping, the kids and I decided on a few must sees. We picked the Star Spangled Banner, the First Ladies exhibit and the Girl Scouts display. The flag was much bigger than any of us thought it would be. Amazing to think of how it was made. Aine was pleased to see so many other Girl Scouts viewing the uniform and memorabilia display. It is the hundredth year of Girl Scouting this year and even the Smithsonian is celebrating. Aine and Eamon both noticed that the First Ladies varied quite a bit in size. Eamon wanted to find Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln's dress, and marveled at her small stature. We also liked the jewels from Michelle Obama's ensemble at the inauguration as well as her large shoe size.

While wandering around to view each of these exhibits, we stumbled upon the dollhouse which was a favorite of each of them. It was interesting to read about the woman who had collected the furnishings for the house and how she played with it. We also discovered a room of modern toys, which elicited outbursts of glee. The kiddos sat and played with LEGOs, Viewmasters, Etch a Sketches, Slinkies and Mr Potato Heads for a long time. Aine remarked, "I love LEGOS" and set to build a large stairway/spaceship/house. The three of them crafted and created for an hour or so as I assisted and then knit a bit. It was their favorite exhibit by far, and they took many photos of the neighboring displays (Superman costume, puppets, cartoon white boards and Patsy Cline's costume)

We stayed at the museum much later than we originally had planned enjoying it more than anticipated. As we walked to the metro station, we wandered through the Ripley Gardens. The flowers were so beautiful and necessitated a lot of sniffing and marveling. A late conference call meant we stayed away even longer enjoying dinner out. Dave met us after we dined and the kiddos ran around a neighboring green space laughing, yelling and catching fireflies. It was a great day.