Museum of Life and Science...

We were supposed to be camping all weekend.  Chris reserved a double campsite right on a beautiful lake since he has a 4-day training holiday.  Unfortunately, it's been raining ALL weekend.  On Friday, we drove about an hour and a half towards the campsite but when the rain picked up intensity and started pouring down, we reluctantly turned around.  The boys were all very disappointed with the change in plans but I know we made the right decision-- especially since the dog was with us and I've been nursing a cold.

But that left us with a 4-day weekend with Daddy home and no real plans.  So yesterday we decided to take the boys to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC (a little less than 2 hours away).  It was a super cool museum and we spent the better part of the day exploring and playing.

This exhibit explained clouds
and water molecules.  

A cool weight exhibit demonstrated how
math equations balance out on the scales.

Motion censors showed who
is moving fastest!

Turtles!

Optical illusion center with
different sized chairs to play on.

This "social center" was really interesting.  As noted above,
it was fun to watch the group and see who
determined the game rules.  

This was one of my favorites--
a huge ant farm!  

  It's fascinating to watch ants work. 

In the Design Station, we each created our
own "helicopter" (so to speak) and sent it in the
wind tunnel to see whose flew.

Guess whose made it to the top first?
Yup.  MOMMY and Peter's!  

Look at those eyes…
filled with wonder, aren't they?

Here we are in some old, real part of a spaceship.
But if you've seen the show LOST, it seems like
part of the Darhma Initiative, doesn't it?  Creepy.

The boys loved this station!
They created their own mini movies with small
figurines and Magnatiles.  After each new frame, you
take a picture.  Once all of your frames are done, it
sequences into a short movie.  Super cool!

The outdoor part was enormous.

Sand station

Animals

Farmhouse

About to enter the Butterfly Room.
Pete wore his special insect shirt for the occasion.  :) 

Butterfly chrysalises

Disgusting cockroaches
in the Insect Room! 

This contraption simulated leaves falling.
The kids picked them up and a magnet brought
each leaf to the top again.  Then the kids would run
and try to catch them.  Surprisingly, they played
here for quite awhile.

A "mist park"! 

This was the coolest thing and definitely
my favorite activity.  

This was the last station we visited. It
converted sound waves into pictures.

Neat! 

Before falling asleep for the entire ride home,
Peter ate this ENTIRE apple.  Seeds and all!
The only thing remaining was the stem.  What in the world…?

We returned home to this beautiful sunset.

While Chris goes into the office for a few hours (4-day vacation weekends are never really that), I'll be unpacking from the camping-trip-that-never-was and re-packing to join Grandpa and Ita and cousin RJ at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA tomorrow!  I'm sure the boys will all have a blast!  Lots to do before then though...