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An Afternoon at CMOST

Posted on July 15, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

One of my goals this summer is to try to utilize our science museum membership. As I have mentioned before, there are a lot of museums that have free admission via the ASTC Travel Passport Program. One of the other museums is actually located right in our area. CNSE Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (locals call it CMOST) is in Troy.

Last time we went to CMOST was about a year ago and we had Bubbe and Grandpa with us. This time, I went with both of the boys on my own. I had a mission. I wanted to go with the boys to see the Molecularium show in the planetarium. We missed it last time. I still remember hearing about The Molecularium Project at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute when I was visiting for an event featuring Bill Nye.

When the boys and I went into the planetarium, nobody else was there. Since we were the only ones there, we moved to another area of the floor and got ready for the show. Listening to the boys was fascinating. NHL is going into fifth grade and clearly knows about his states of matter, but he really liked watching the adventure of Oxy and her crew. JSL was amazed with the entire concept. He had learned about some of these items in kindergarten, but this adventure really got him talking about science. The science teacher in me really adored this show for young children. Here is a sneak peek in case Molecularium is playing by you.

After the show, we wandered around the museum. The boys adored a private lesson with Dawn by the Hudson River area. She explained to the boys about the tide pool. Then, much to their surprise, she took one of the turtles out for them to see up close and even pet. She was fantastic and answered all of their questions as they came up.

We spent a lot of time in the new (to us) Nano exhibit. NHL read things to JSL and they tried different areas together. I have a feeling we could have spent a lot more time in here if we were able to. More about this area another day. For now, I will share my Instagram video from this section.

If you could go into a Molecularium for an adventure, what would you like to see at the molecular level? Think about the Periodic Table of Elements, organic materials, and even polymers that could be seen.

It's Me

Categories:
Educational Local Business

Favorite Dinosaurs

Posted on June 28, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

On Tuesday morning, NHL had his braces put on his teeth. To help distract him for a little while, the boys and I went to miSci to explore some of the new exhibits for an hour. While the Dinosaurs! area was not technically open, many of the sections were able to be seen while we were there.

We roamed around and the boys had their photos taken with triceratops together. Then, JSL put his head into T-Rex’s mouth. It was either time for his dental exam or he was making the kiddo lunch. We saw a few more of the areas that were visible. At the time, Instagram video was not working, so I made this Vine to share.

A few of the areas were still roped off until the member preview on Thursday evening and the official opening on June 29.

We went to the members preview and we had a wonderful time looking at all of the dinosaurs. While we had technically seen them three years ago while visiting the Buffalo Museum of Science, it was interesting to see them in different areas of miSci in Schenectady. More video and photos to come as I go through the photos and we head back to visit them again when it is a bit less crowded over the next few months.

So my question to you this week is inspired by the new exhibit:

What are the favorite dinosaurs and why? Perhaps you wrote a report in school as a child, or your son/daughter likes one for a special reason.

It's Me
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun. These days, Pamela at A Renaissance Woman is reviving the fun Friday Meme. Head over there to link up and join in the fun.

Aloha #244

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Aloha Friday Educational Local Business local event

Museums and Planetariums

Posted on June 21, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

We recently became members of our local science museum. I have to admit, this was the best investment we have made in a long time. Not only is it a great place for our family to visit together, we can all learn while we are there.

The boys have learned about optical illusions, magnetism, medical science, and many other items thanks to displays changing at the Museum of Innovation and Science in Schenectady. Recently, the Notion of Motion exhibit arrived from San Francisco’s Exploratorium. Learning about Physics has never been so much fun! We have also gone to all three of the current planetarium shows. The boys are now fascinated with stargazing and hope to check out more constellations and planets in our sky this summer.

The variety of exhibits, rotating Hands-On Science Classes (the Nano Technology one was fantastic), and alternating planetarium shows make our museum membership even more exciting. Then, something even more gigantic is coming on June 29. DINOSAURS! will be in Schenectady until the end of September and we are going to visit with them a little early next week. Yes, we were invited to the members preview and the kids are SO excited. We promise to take lots of photos and share more once we are done visiting the T-Rex and other dinosaur friends.

So my question to you this week:

Have you ever had a museum membership with your family? If you have, I would love to hear about it. If you have not, what museum have you been to with your family that you enjoyed? Interested to hear about new places to explore since our membership allows us to go to a lot of places for free!

It's Me

___________________________________________________________________________ Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun. These days, Pamela at A Renaissance Woman is reviving the fun Friday Meme. Head over there to link up and join in the fun.

Aloha #243

Categories:
Educational family Local Business

Pumpkin Picking with Kindergarten

Posted on October 13, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

Field trips are a lot of fun to go on and, I have to say, I think they are even better as a parent. I had so much fun going with you on your first kindergarten trip this week. We all went to Indian Ladder Farms. It rained in the morning before we went and was chilly. Thanks to that, we had a lot of layers on. I also broke out your rubber cowboy boots in case it was muddy,

We went for a hike and listened to the leader of the group teach all of you about how the mountain formed. Then she showed you some of the fungus that grows naturally in the area. Once our trek was over, she took us over to meet the animals. You were definitely excited about this since we went here last year with nursery school.

Everyone tried to feed the animals, including Rosie, some grass. You were not too sure about this because of her horns. Then, we saw Eeyore the donkey, who we had to keep away from. There were even some baby animals like big Rosie in the area with different critters. Our leader brought out a special guest for everyone to see up close. I was so happy that you agreed to pet the turkey.

After everyone washed their hands, we went to look at the apple area. The woman explained that because of the weather in the spring, Indian Ladder Farms only had about ten percent of the usual apple crop. This was the reason we could not pick our own apples. We still learned about the trees, went into a giant refrigerator, saw how the apples are checked, and then saw the cider making area.

After this, it was time for your class to have lunch. It was a beautiful view, but some pesky bees were not making it an easy dining experience. They kept trying to dive into the apple cider and all of the delicious lunches.

After battling the bees, we followed your class to the pumpkin patch to pick out one to take home. You picked out a great pumpkin, but then we noticed some areas that were rotting, so we went back to get another one.

Although it was cool, we were lucky that it stopped raining. Thank you for letting me share this adventure with you.

Love,

Categories:
animals Dear Kid Saturday fun jsl Local Business school

Fun Times at Snip-its

Posted on September 1, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

Getting hair cuts for the two of you has not exactly been one of my favorite items to accomplish over the years. I think we often wait until your hair is beyond ready to get a trim because it has always been an adventure. Whether it was bad cuts, too many noises, people that were not friendly with children, or our favorite person leaving – something always seemed to happen.

Over the years, I have documented a lot of your hair cut milestones. There was the time NHL decided to be a barber at six years old and we had a hair emergency. There was the photo shoot of JSL’s first hair cut back in November 2008. Thanks to this, it should not be a shock to either one of you that I had to take photos when we finally went to have your hair done at the Snip-Its last weekend (they opened during the winter).

I will admit that I am now kicking myself for not taking both of you here before this time. It was not just a place to get hair cuts, it was an experience. From the moment you walked in, the two of you were mesmerized. Snip-its was bright, beautiful, and beyond kid friendly. The two of you kept busy while I chatted with the owner and filled out some forms to get coupons in the mail. Then, it was time to get your hair done.

Both of you were so quiet the entire time. Neither of you were wiggly, upset, or bothered by the new location. Of course, I do believe I now know the secret of success at Snip-its. Yes, they have a great weapon to keep kids happy and it worked brilliantly.

The two of you were more worried about your gaming than anything else. There was a milestone of sorts on this adventure. JSL, you finally had a haircut that used clippers. Since you are going to kindergarten and the amazing hairstylist showed you not to be afraid you agreed. When we asked if it was too short, you said you wanted more off. I have a feeling you would have kept going until you were bald because you were so happy. When it was finally time to go, you used your passes to get your prize.

I know that we will be back to Snip-its because we all had a wonderful experience. The people there were fantastic with both of you, they get working with kids and that means a lot. Thank goodness Daddy was on his toes. Before we went in, we took a photo of the two of you with the figure outside the store. When your hair cuts were done and paid for, we did another one. Here are the results:

I hope both of you agree that we will be heading back to Snip-its again when your hair needs some attention. We will leave it to the professionals who know what they are doing and work well with kids.

Love,