Eggs, Fire Engines, Spiderwebs, and Rain

Today was day 2 of the Evans Family Day o' Fun. We went to the Children's Museum of Nature & Science after naptime this afternoon, which comprises five hands-on galleries specifically geared for kids aged 0-7.

The first gallery we visited was the Little Urban Farm, where kids can be a "farmer for a day". Alex started by collecting some eggs that these hens had laid.

We moved to an area where kids can "plant" all kinds of crops in these holes in the floor, gather them in burlap sacks when they're ready to be "harvested", and then sort them into baskets once they've been gathered.

Alex, however, decided to experiment with a new method of farming. Perhaps he was inspired by his egg-collecting experience because he just laid on top of the "soil" the whole time and waited for his crops to grow.

Our next stop was at the periscope. I'm not really sure what a periscope has to do with farming...but they had one that went through the ceiling and looked out at adjacent buildings.

Timothy was a lot more impressed than Alex was. Although he did try to imitate his dad, I don't think he actually saw anything.

Our last stop on the farm was at the horse corral, where A rode a pony that wasn't nearly as cool as the one his grandparents made for his birthday.

From the farm, we moved to the Explore Your Town gallery, where A (alongside unknown boy) went to work as a volunteer firefighter.

He LOVES anything vehicle-related these days and was elated to drive the firetruck. As you view these pictures, imagine enthusiastic car noises coming from Alex's mouth.

More cars...

...mirrors...

...and music.

Next, we stopped in the Water Room.

We skipped the Explore My House room because we were short on time, and besides, Alex explores our house everyday. Instead, we jumped over to the Explore My Backyard room, where Alex burrowed through an anthill...

...clung to the wall like a gecko...

...and once again, got stuck in a spiderweb.

No, we are not so cruel that we left him in there until he cried. This spiderweb happened to be especially stretchy, and Alex discovered that if you pull on it and let go, it will snap back and pop you in the nose.

We took a peak at some of the "older kid" exhibits on our way out of the museum, including one where you can pretend to be a meteorologist. Alex, always the performer, tried his hand at predicting the weather.

According to A, the forecast for tomorrow is partly cloudy with a chance of showers. But we're hoping that he's wrong because day 3 of the Evans Family Week o' Fun consists of hanging at the pool and packing for our trip to Fayetteville. And a whole day of packing just doesn't sound like fun.