Museum of Science & Industry

Yesterday we took Daniel to the Museum of Science & Industry for the first time and we had LOTS of fun! This was the last weekend for the limited-time Muppets exhibit and we'd been wanting to go. All week long, I told Daniel we'd be going to a museum and we would see lots of fun things there. It was cute to watch him processing this info, and he'd finally say "look it?" and I'd say yes, he'd say "play it?" and I'd say yes he could play with some things, and then he'd say "take it?" and well, no we wouldn't be taking things so much... it was a fun conversation to have!

I knew Daniel would LOVE the trains, the planes, the tractors, and the giant pinball machine. Daniel's favorite place was the Idea Factory play center for children- we spent a LOT of time here! And I loved watching him have so much fun. The Muppets exhibit was not too interesting for him- although he loved watching the clips on all the TVs and he enjoyed pointing out Kermit and Big Bird whenever he saw them, and he was very patient while we all made our way through the exhibit (it was the first thing we did), and he was super thrilled to finally go see trains afterwards. We were glad to have Grandma Mary Kay and Pop-Pop Larry with us, too! We had a great time exploring the museum with Daniel. He was beyond wonderful all day long- so patient, so interested, so easy-going, and just such a good boy. It was a long day for him with so much to see and do, but he pulled through as wonderfully as he he always does. He was VERY tired by bedtime though- since he never did nap. It'll be fun to keep going back as he gets older.

Ben and I both commented on how small Daniel looks when we go out and about, especially to large places like this. Daniel is certainly growing (I know this because his pants are starting to get short again!), but then we take him out somewhere and he looks SO small again! Just an observation we made...

Here are LOTS of pictures from our day! Enjoy!

Daniel checks out a real train...

and of course he LOVED the model trains, too!
He especially enjoyed all the buttons that did different things- he kept looking for more!

Daniel and Daddy in front of Chicago

Daniel reaches up to turn the crank

My awesome engineers!

Driving the tractor

More driving! Daniel loved checking out all the buttons!

Sitting on a cow

Daniel LOVED the balls in the Idea Factory play center!

Pop-Pop Larry helps Daniel put the balls in the tube- this provided endless entertainment!

I still have this image of Daniel in my head- walking around, with his bib on (so he didn't get too wet, and he was very agreeable to wearing the bib and actually kept asking for it back when he wanted to play with the wet balls more), carrying his two balls and just having so much fun. You can also see what I mean about him seeming SO small here!

Pushing the crank to turn the gears and send the balls up the ramp

Daniel looks through the kaleidoscope

Time to check out the magnets...

And the puzzles...before more fun with the balls again!

When we were looking at the model trains, Daniel noticed that people were "up there" (on the next level balcony) and he immediately wanted to "go up there", too. And once we got up there, Daniel was very excited to "ride airplane, go up sky". Nothing gets by him! He's super observant, even in large places apparently!


I love this picture because it shows how interested Daniel was in the watching the ball on the giant pinball machine. You can see his eagerness in the way he's leaning over to see better!


Here's a beyond cute video of Daniel having fun with the balls. You can also see how super patient Daniel was waiting for his turn, and again, how small he is compared to all these big kids! My heart melts when Daniel claps for himself and says "Yay Daniel!!"- he's absolutely beaming with pride in himself! Could he BE any cuter?!