Brighton Blade 2-25-09

The Eyes Have It
By Krista Clinton

A couple of weeks ago, three of the five members of our family had to go to the eye doctor. The appointments were made months in advance, the children were taken out of school, the drive was made to Denver and the parking fee paid. Then the receptionist informed us that the doctor was on vacation that week and, even though all of the other patients were called and rescheduled, our family was somehow overlooked ... but we could reschedule for two months later! Ugh! I was very proud of how calmly I walked away.

But I believe that every bad situation can be turned into a good one. So does my husband. So, being the strict rule-driven parents that we are, we decided to play hooky for the rest of the day and head to the Children’s Museum for a fun-packed afternoon.

If you’ve never been to the Children’s Museum, for whatever reason, you need to check it out. The price is right for only $7.50 per person or you can buy a one-year membership for $80. The cool thing is that you can try it out and pay the regular price and when you leave, if you decide to get a membership, can put the admission that you already paid towards the membership price. Or you can go the first Tuesday night of the month for free.

When we first walked in, there was an old fire truck for the kids to climb all over and play in. There were plenty of fireman hats and jackets for the kids to wear to help them along in their role-playing. The room was also jam packed with manipulatives to teach the children what to do in case of an emergency; who to call, what to say and what to do. The boys loved this area.

Upstairs there is an art room. Now, we are an art family, so a lot of time was spent painting, cutting, gluing and stamping. This is a parent’s dream...all of the mess and not in your house.

Right across from the art room was the coolest room ever. It was loaded up with recyclables and tools. And I mean serious tools – saws, screws, safety goggles – they had it all. Each child can pick an instruction page on how to make something, what you will need and then head to a station to build their object. Our family made a helicopter, a train and a car.

After the building is where we saw the boys separate from the girls. Our daughter spent a lot of time making her car all by herself and then headed back to the art room to “decorate” the car. The boys moved on to explore the train room, the sports room and the animal playground.

We all met back up again just before the museum was to close. The kids had a blast and didn’t want to leave. It was a great afternoon, and I can’t wait to go back again when our friends come to visit on spring break. I didn’t have my camera the first time since we were supposed to be at the doctor’s appointment, but I’ll be sure to have it handy next time and post some pictures on the blog.