Our Favorites at The Mind Museum

We went to The Mind Museum this morning... And we had a blast!

This inter-active museum just opened two days ago. And with museums, "inter-active" guarantees FUN!

There are five rooms and over 200 exhibits. Here are our favorites:

The Shadow Box at The Story of the Atom
You enter a dark room, strike a pose against the phosphorescent wall and wait for the flash. When you step away from the wall, your shadow doesn't follow you. It stays on the wall. It completely fades in 15 seconds.

The digital harp at The Story of Technology

Located on the second floor, this harp was Monch's favorite. He kept coming back to it. He gets to play with different musical instruments at school so I guess he found it curious that his hand merely sweeps through the air in the harp's frame and music comes out.

The mock dig site at The Story of the Earth

Monch didn't appreciate Stan the T-rex but he did get upset when I carried him out of the mock dig site. He enjoyed dusting the sand from the floor.

Various exhibits at The Story of Technology
Monch is at a stage where he's curious about everything. He doesn't have to understand, but he does like to touch, hold, press and crank things.

We ended our visit at the Science-in-the-Park. It was the perfect ending. The kids got to play and completely tire themselves out.

When we were getting our tickets online, I was a bit disappointed that Monch (currently one year and 10 months old) had to pay P450 or his ticket. Now that we're home and he's fast asleep (synapses construction on-going), I have to admit it was worth it.

I'm already thinking of going back next month with Monch's daddy.

Trip to the Zoo

This week's topic for my prep class is the letter Z. We do science on Thursday, so I decided we would "go to the zoo".

I told the kids on Wednesday, "Tomorrow, we're going to the zoo!" Earlier this week, I had printed "zoo brochures" for the kids. It was just eight empty cages on a piece of paper. Something they could take home at the end of the class.

On Thursday morning, I set up the classroom chairs to look like a bus. I had them take their seats and buckle their seat-belts as we drove to and around the zoo. I had prepared pictures of several animals and asked the kids to identify them along with what sound they made. And lastly, I put a stamp of that animal in their empty cages.

One of the students was dropped off by her mom just as "the bus pulled up at the zoo". The mom smiled at me and said, "So that's what Louisse was talking about. She said you were going to to zoo."

I was surprised and happy. I am a part of my students' lives now. I can make a difference.