Science Museum

Erica has to work basically all day on Saturdays now. It's for the children...but it can be a bit rough sometimes on me and the boys. I love being Dad, but Ty is so little and Chase is so...Chase that going out and doing things is a bit above our current threshold for safety / sanity.

HOWEVER, not long ago Erica had a Saturday where she didn't have to work in the afternoon, so in the interest of her getting a break and Chase and I getting some air, we rode out to the NY Hall of Science and had a really great time. It's basically a big kids museum - and it's also on the IDNYC list of places you can snag a membership to for free if you go for it before the end of the year. 

Chase was great on the train, like he usually is. He didn't know why we were going anywhere and was curious. 

After we got in and he realized that it was similar to the Strong Museum we took him to in Rochester earlier this year, he became very enthusiastic about the whole idea.

Not overly enthusiastic about the lizard, mind you. It wasn't moving and I honestly am not sure if Chase could even see it. It was kind of funny.

They had a whole basement filled with various "maker" exhibits, and Chase loved looking at what others had made and making things of his own. This was the most basic area, but he dug the pens, tape, popsicle sticks and kid-safe scissors (a luxury unheard-of at home).

I joined in too...

And had a good time with some of the more adult stuff. I spent a good chunk of my afternoon teaching Chase to call things by name. This was a "spaceship." Capsule was too hard. Spacecraft might have been more proper.

At one point, we went upstairs in a giant elevator. This freaked Chase out a bit because it was so big inside.

Seriously, he was a bit nervous about the whole thing.

This may have been his favorite exhibit. A little martian rover mockup that you could "program" to move. I think we went back about three times.

Chase's "Wall-E"

At the end of the museum time we went and had a snack - the usual fare - at the cafeteria. 

This is what it looks at out front.

And because we made the trek to the Bronx Zoo, and because he turned three and won't be free anymore in the future, we stopped by the Queens Zoo to feed some goats. It was a good opportunity to teach basic economics. "Chase, I have six quarters for goat food, and that's it." "Let's use THREE of them first!" Yeah...we'll have to work on the concepts of 'making it last' and 'not all at once' and 'saving' later.

The Mercury and Gemini rockets from afar - he got excited to see them again as we were leaving.