Air and Space Museum

Princess Sparkley's Girl Scout troop visited a pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon, and rather than pay for the boys and I to get in ($9/person) we took advantage of the free parking at the Air and Space Museum (after 4pm) by Dulles.

We got there just before the Observation Tower closed at 4:30. It's probably our favorite part.

It was neat that we got to see the Space Shuttle that flew over us a few months back.

The museum closed at 5:30pm, we had to pick up PS 11 minutes away at 6pm.  Traffic was HORRIBLE.  It took us 50 minutes to make it to the pumpkin patch.  Luckily all the other parents were stuck in traffic also.  And then we still had to get home... 

Air and Space Museum visit - May 2010

Air and Space Museum visit -  September 2009

Museum of American History

My dad wanted to see the Museum of American History again, and, thanks to their handicapped parking pass, driving into DC and parking on the Mall wasn't so bad.  So, Mystery Baby went on his first out of state trip and his first trip to DC.

We have a picture of B, baby Princess Sparkley and I here from December 2002.  She's in the same Baby Bjorn, although I think we maybe angled it so the Capitol was our background rather than the Washington Monument.

And, from Princess Sparkley's camera:

Marine Corps Museum

We took Grandma and Grandpa L to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle (Quantico) VA.  They were really impressed and the kids were excited to see the new Chesty the bulldog mascot areas especially for kids.

Marine Corps Museum and a Hike

The Richmond cousins had a day off school (3/19) and wanted to meet us for some fun halfway.  Except, it turns out that there isn't a whole lot to do halfway between them and us, so we tricked them into coming a little further and we took them to Buddy's favorite museum, the Marine Corps Museum.  Then we took them hiking and played at a park in Prince William Forest Park.

In the gift shop, there is a Lego version of the Iwo Jima Memorial.

L->R: PS, S, Buddy and Pickles

Then we played frisbee and volleyball at a park (we picked up a couple of stragglers).

Then we went on a little hike and ended up at a stream we played in.

Then we followed them to IKEA to help load bookshelves, etc. 

Science Museum of Virginia

I didn't manage to take any pictures of any of the Thanksgiving prep or Thanksgiving.  My sister-in-law did, she owes me pictures.  It was yummy.  We all ate too much.  That about sums up everyone's Thanksgiving, right?

On Friday we went and saw the movie Hugo with the cousins, the aunt and the uncle.  Little Guy stayed home with B and the grandparents.  I had read The Invention of Hugo Cabret several years ago when the book came out and Aunt H told us about the movie when they visited a couple months ago so we hurried and read it with the kids before this trip.  The movie was in 3D and was pretty cool.

On Saturday  we went to the Science Museum of Virginia with everyone using Grandma and Grandpa's recipricol grandparent membership to a museum they go to in Ohio.  The rotating display was toy trains.  Perfect for all the boys and Grandpa!

Buddy (and Little Guy) especially loved the giant Lego set up a scout troop had done. 

The museum used to be the train station in Richmond, so we went outside and ate a picnic lunch next to the train tracks and toured a caboose.  The train tracks were a hit with the boys.  Buddy, Little Guy and cousin S spent most of the time going up and down the train tracks and I know Buddy and Little Guy were both pretending to be trains because I heard all their train noises.  :)

I like these pictures of Buddy because he's so happy that he's been able to spend the last 30 minutes being a train he can hardly contain a normal smile.

We saw rats play basketball and all of the kids pet a rat.  The kids "solved" a crime. 

We saw some science stuff and some optical illusions.

Aunt H, Little Guy and I pretended to be astronauts.  Little Guy and Uncle G pretended to be under attack by a pteradactyl.

National Museum of the Marine Corps

On July 29th, we visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA.  B and Buddy went there together a couple of months ago and came back telling us about it and assuring Princess Sparkley that it wouldn't be too scary for her.  (She's not a fan of load noised museum exhibits that might be scary.)  So we ventured back as a family and I really enjoyed it.  I think the rest of the family did as well.

Little Guy has some issues with looking at the camera.  Buddy tried to help out.  Then Little Guy went and had a talk with Daddy about how he needed to smile for the camera and he reappeared happy.

Ohio: Wright Patterson AFB Museum

July 1

Richmond Children's Museum

We finished up at the Children's Museum and then Aunt H took us to a candy store to For the Love of Chocolate.

National Museum of the Marine Corps

For awhile now, B has been taking the kids out on father/child outings individually.  Usually he and Princess Sparkley end up at a pet store or bookstore.  And then somewhere for a treat, usually Denny's.  He decided he'd take Buddy to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA because PS is terrified of going there because she thinks it'll be scary and all about war, and we figured Little Guy wouldn't enjoy it.  So today he took Buddy to the museum, and Little Guy, PS and I went to the giant mall nearby (which is sadly one of the largest tourist attractions in Virginia).

At the mall with the cell phone camera.

 

B's parents got him a graduation card that has Homer Simpson on it, and when you open the card, Homer sings, "I am so smart.  I am so smart.  S-M-A-T.  I mean S-M-A-R-T."  The kids think this is hilarious.  Then we saw this t-shirt at a store in the mall so we took a picture with the cell phone and sent it to B and Buddy.

Air and Space (on the Mall) and the Mall

We've been to the Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport (actually, the boys have been twice), but we had never been to the one on the Mall yet.  Today, B dropped us off at the museum and then went to study at the GMU campus in Arlington.

Notes on the pictures: We sat in on a little demonstration about the first flight and the Wright brothers.  Princess Sparkley raised her hand and answered a question (Q: When was the first flight? A: 1903) and she also volunteered which is the picture of her blowing paper out from her lip.  Buddy also raised his hand and answered a question!  (Q: ?.  A: Elevator)  Little Guy brought his tiny chocolate lab "Chocolate" on this trip with us.  You can see Chocolate in some of the pictures, including the one where he is between a pretend cat and Little Guy.  The picture of Buddy looking at a TV screen was probably my favorite part.  It showed a map of the US (when I took the picture, the map is flat so the "airplanes" or dots are up in the sky).  The map showed a typical flight day in the US.  Then it would break down airlines (UPS, FedEx, United Airlines, etc.) by color and show all the flights as white dots, and the specific airline flights in a color.  It was pretty cool.  They also showed the sky go from filled with airplanes, to no airplanes at all within 3 hours of the September 11 attacks.

Then we walked out on the Mall toward the Tidal Basin to check on the cherry blossom buds.  I like taking a picture of the kids with the Capitol in the background and another with the Washington Monument in the background each time we go (if I remember).  This time, a man was nice enough to offer to take a picture of me with the kids and then made us switch places with him so we could get one with the Capitol in the background as well.  The kids have their arms out in some of the pictures because we've just left the Air and Space Museum and they are being airplanes.  PS was not so sure about this.

Checking on the cherry blossom buds.

I strategically placed cherry tree branches to block out the crane next to the Jefferson Memorial.  I hope this construction is over with before we move so I can get a picture of the Jefferson Memorial without it being under construction.

Then meeting B and showing him the George Mason Memorial.

Fun things I learned: There is a McDonald's in the Air and Space Museum and a McDonald's kiosk on the outdoor patio of the museum.  For months I've been complaining about where to buy cheap food on the Mall.  I hate always having to pack sandwiches and bring a backpack, etc. but I also don't want to buy museum cafe priced food.  A few weeks ago we discovered a bunch of McDonald's near the Metro Center stop and I was thrilled.  Now I know about one on the Mall.  BUT, I didn't get close enough to see if had normal McD's prices (and a $1) or not.

And... they have started work on the Martin Luther King Memorial.  It's around the Tidal Basin, past the FDR Memorial, closer to the Lincoln Memorial.  Pretty cool that our kids will be able to remember when this wasn't here and when it was being built because someday, it'll be like all the rest of the memorials on the Mall that seem like national monuments that have always been here.

Smithsonian American Art Museum and The National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and The National Portrait Gallery share a building, so we tackled them both today after the National Building Museum.

Lots of portraits.  Lots of cool art.  Lots of walking.
Highlight for Princess Sparkley, a portrait of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of Girl Scouts), and Charles Shultz (accompanied by a peanuts comic strip and a picture of the cast of Peanuts).
Highlight for Buddy: not sure, he was disappointed that we hadn't seen any portraits of George Washington, then we hit the Presidential portrait wing.
Highlight for Little Guy: the big scary pig, the scary pictures, and the Metro ride into DC. 
Highlight for me: I actually knew who a lot of the famous Americans were (in the Portrait Gallery) and recognized some of the artists' names in the American Art Museum).  We didn't get yelled at by any guards (until we left through the revolving door and all three kids tried to squish in with me).  I was disappointed that this work was recently vandalized and not on display, it's one of the main reasons I wanted to go.
Highlight for B: ?

Peanuts section of the gift shop

B mapped our route around DC today, including museum loops, and it was 3.68 miles.  The kids did great. 

National Building Museum

Today we took the Metro into DC. I knew we wanted to go to the Museum of American Art on this trip into the city, so I was excited to see what else was near the museum and see that it was up near the National Building Museum.  I was even more excited when I saw that the NBM has a special Lego architecture exhibit right now.  Right up our alley (although Legos got a timeout this morning because B stepped on Legos three times this morning).

We started at the Building Museum because it closed earlier.  It's free, but there "suggest" a $5 donation.  We paid $5/person (except Little Guy) to go to the Lego Exhibit, so I counted that as our cheapo donation.  The donation box (pictured above) was one of the highlights for the kids.  It was a replica of the room (hall/entrance/courtyard) we were in, made out of Legos.

I thought the Building Museum exhibits would be a lot cooler (for kids) than they were.  B and I liked them okay.  Little Guy hated them.  PS and Buddy could usually find something in the exhibit that was of interest to them.  PS had read a little bit about the World Fairs so she liked that exhibit.  The city scape and symbols in DC were fun enough for Buddy.

The best part was the Building Zone (but most of the kids there could barely walk).  It's for baby to 6 years old and PS was allowed because we had a three year old with us.  They all enjoyed it (a lot), but it was obviously geared for younger kids.

And then on to Legos.

Famous Skyscrapers made from Legos.

Everyone's favorite part, creating our own Lego buildings.

Little Guy's building: an orange and white rectangle (two versions of it).
Buddy's building: on the left of him, it is multi-colored starts as a pyramid, narrows to a column and then a larger rectangular prism on top.
Princess Sparkley's building: sort of A-framed brown and black (above her head to the left)
My building: red, white and blue skyscraper with windows on the top level.
B's building: red and then black skyscraper with pointy roof.

 The National Building Museum used to be something else, but for whatever reason, when they turned it into something else, its architecture was perfect for it being made into some sort of architecture/building museum.  It's pretty cool.