I surprised the kids this morning with a trip to a new museum – The EcoTarium of Worcester, Massachusetts. It was a gorgeous autumn drive to “Wooster”. We saw four other patrons the three hours we were there. Enjoying museums without the crowds is a noteable perk to homeschooling. The kids played for over an hour with bubbles. The outdoor bubble exhibit was totally awesome. There were two habitats with rescued raptors – eagles and barn owls. The indoor exhibits were uniformly age appropriate and informative – dinosaurs, mountain formation, old growth forest features, wetlands, rocks and minerals, air flow, and photosynthesis. Their indoor wetlands habitats were really thriving with happy looking turtles and crabs. There was a planetarium that we did not have time to check out. It was such a great visit. The kids really enjoyed showing each other new things. Its been a while since they went somewhere really new and could explore on their own, instead of participating in a class.
Odyssey of Spheres, by George Rhoads. Katahdin is utterly enthralled with these ball machine scupltures. There is a great one in the Boston Museum of Science and a smaller one in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. I think making one of these is in his future.