Friday, October 23, 2009

The Nature Museum

This past week marked the 10 year anniversary of our local nature museum here in Chicago. They are celebrating with ten free admission days.


When we tried to go a week ago, we weren't so lucky. After walking there in the rain, pushing Ada in her stroller, my jeans were soaked and I hoped it would be a worthwhile trip. Unfortunately it was already past 4 pm when we arrived and they let the last guests in at 4 so we joined Andrea and Bella on the bus back to their place for an impromptu playdate.


This time, armed with hand sanitizer, we made the hike alone and did a mini one-hour visit before lunch and nap time.

It was awesome. Well worth the walk. We took the scenic route around back near the pond and went inside where Ada enjoyed the "under 7" play area. They have a wavy slide that evoked squeals of laughter. Very fun to watch.

A round of hand sanitizer and then it was up to the butterfly room. They have so many butterflies that we spend a good half hour just enjoying all of the fun shapes, colors, and sizes. Then we watched a butterfly hatch from it's thingymagigy -- there is a fancy word for it that escapes me. I never really thought about it but they come out all wrinkled and then drip some liquid that irons out their wings. Pretty freaking cool.

And all right down the street. Very cool.

Moral of the story: You'll surely be surprised by the fun adventures you can have when you push yourself to try something new. Venture out. The opportunities are endless.

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