Since Cory and I had a full day in Olympia to ourselves while Brian was working I'd put out a call to the
Seattle Mom Blogs members to see if anyone had any suggestions for things to do with small children in Olympia...
Someone suggested the
Hand's On Children's Museum and someone else offered to contact them for me...
Basically they gave Cory and I free passes to come and play. Even without the free, if I had known about this place I totally would have gone! It's beyond awesome!
We spent about 3 hours there and could have easily doubled our time. As it was we missed one entire section and I was kind of pushing Cory a bit so we could see as much as possible!
We started in the market section where they had a garden with veggies you could pick. Then there was a produce delivery truck. Finally the actual market where you could pick your food and buy it at the cash register.
There was a dairy case, a seafood case, and a bakery section, all just like in a regular store. Groups of children could easily pretend to be various employees here.
Just beyond that was a child sized kitchen complete with all the pots, pans, utensils, and play food you could want. I'm sitting at the small table where the cooked food could then be served.
Next up, ambulance with doctor's office in the background. We didn't spend any time in the doctor's office, but all the kids size cars throughout the museum were a hit with my son!
On to the other side of the museum where they had some truly unique exhibits. A section with "moon sand" to play in was super fun! There was also a vacuum tube wall that you could arrange sections of pipe, put plastic balls in and then push the button to watch them be pushed along with air.
The water table was by far the biggest attraction! It's such a cool thing
I could have played with it for quite awhile! The water starts at one end and then you direct it however you want with little plastic dams. Then there are all kinds of things you can put in the stream and watch them float down.
Another room had a giant size pin wall. You know those little 5 x 7 size boxes with hundreds of metal pins in them that you can push objects into to get their silhouette? Well, this one was big enough to push your entire body against. Way cool!
There was also a kids size dump truck, large plastic rocks, shovels, and hard hats so you could be a construction worker...
Finally we visited the toddler room which was nicely padded and had some fun stuff. Of course trains were the first thing Cory saw!
There was also a bucket of play-dough and some cookie cutter things. This was a hit since we don't have any at home.
Unfortunately by then it was nap time and we had to go for lunch, but we could have easily stayed much longer! And no, I haven't mentioned even half the exhibits they actually had there.
If we had reason to visit Olympia more than once a year I would definitely be buying an
annual pass. For the cost of 4 or 5 visits (parent and one child) you can buy an annual pass and go as often as you like. They also have options for grandparents and other combinations of people.
If you're only going to be in Olympia for a visit check out their
discount page and see if you can get a cheaper price (they have discounts for homeschoolers and military families too!) We totally could have used the out of town coupon!
And to top it all off they are in the process of building a new museum right on the waterfront that will be bigger and better! It will open in the fall of 2011.
The Hand's On Children's Museum gets a big thumbs up from our house!
eye of the god takes the fascinating history surrounding the Hope Diamond and weaves it together with a present-day plot to steal the jewel from the Smithsonian Institute.
I swear this picture is straight... does it look like it to you? This quilt was my favorite just because of the optical illusion it created! It doesn't hurt that the color scheme is one of my favorites...
Cora is one year and one day younger than Cory. She's working on potty training so we thought Cory might be interested. (As of this writing we're still working on it...) It was pretty funny to watch though!
Rub a dub dub, two kids in the tub!
Grandpa showing Cory how to dig... or is it the other way around?
We found this old board on the beach and used it as a teeter totter. Cory wasn't quite sure what to think of it, but we had fun!
Cory and Grandpa... I think they were talking to Mr. Yellow Slicker (who you can see in the picture below). Also, notice the beach is quite a ways below!
Grandpa and Cory playing cars on the road that Grandma made for Brian when he was a boy! Grandpa brought his Corvette car to play with and during the week bought Cory a Lightning McQueen die car. It is one of his most prized possessions!
Of course no trip to Newport is complete without a visit to the aquarium! Cory thought it was pretty cool, but after about 10 seconds in front of each tank he would say "I want to see something else" so we saw the whole thing in record time!
Cory, Nana, and Brian
My bubble blower takes his job VERY seriously!
Christa Parrish graduated high school at 16, with every intention of becoming a surgeon. After college, however, her love of all things creative led her in another direction, and she worked in both theatre and journalism.
Her rescue might be the thing they needed. Things like this don't happen in Beck County. Deputy Benjamin Patil is the one to find the infant girl, hours old, abandoned in a field. As police work to identify the mother, Ben and his wife, Abbi, seem like the obvious couple to serve as foster parents. But the newborn's arrival opens old wounds for Abbi and shines a harsh light on how much Ben has changed since a devastating military tour. Their marriage teeters on the brink and now they must choose to reclaim what they once had or lose each other forever.
We started in the market section where they had a garden with veggies you could pick. Then there was a produce delivery truck. Finally the actual market where you could pick your food and buy it at the cash register.
Cory and Dave
The hotel was right near the waterfront in Olympia so we took a nice walk the next night looking at all the boats.
Dinner was in a fun restaurant and when we realized we left Cory's sippy cup there I went running back to get it... I'm still kicking myself that I didn't take the camera because a) the sunset was gorgeous and b) the spot where I was standing by the bar in the restaurant had the coolest reflection of the bar wall in the window and then the sailboats around it where the light wasn't so bright. Who knows if it would have turned out, but I guess I'll never know...
Cory was awfully cute napping all by himself in a king size bed and then snuggling with Daddy!
Jackina (pronounced with a long “i” to rhyme with China) Stark recently retired from teaching English at Ozark Christian College to spend more time writing and traveling.
Kendy Laswell and her daughter, Maisey, used to do everything together--until one fateful summer when Maisey witnessed something she shouldn't have, and their relationship fractured. Now, Maisey is back home to get married and Kendy realizes this is her last chance to reconnect with her daughter. Will Kendy and Maisey be able to reclaim the bond they once shared?
