A Night At The Museum

One of the many perks of living in the Washington, DC Metro area is access to the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian is composed of 19 museums, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo. My children love to visit the Natural History Museum. In fact, no matter how many times we enter the main doors, the African Bull elephant in the rotunda still elicits “ahs.” Other favorites include the National Gallery of Art and the National Air and Space Museum.

On May 22, Ben Stiller will reprise his role as Larry Daley in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. These films use history as the backdrop for humor and adventure, and we are fans. Amelia Earhart, Teddy Roosevelt, and my favorite… Cowboy Jebediah played by one Owen Wilson ( Yahoo, Mr. Wilson!). I just purchased the first film on DVD for my daughter and while she is not a fan of “naked dinosaurs” – she prefers skin on TOP of the bones – I have a feeling this will be on the preferred movie circulation in the coming months.

Kobold’s motto is “Have fun learning!” and in that spirit we would like to share toys inspired by our visits to the Smithsonian Institution.

The Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum is incredible and is a MUST destination. You’ll have the chance to see a “naked” T-Rex and the very fierce Allosaurus.

Interested in the Wild West? Visit the National Museum of American History and learn about Buffalo Bill and life on the plains or visit the National Postal Museum and learn the history of the Pony Express and mail transportation.

A visit to the Air and Space Museum allows your child to learn about early aviation and see the creations of the Wright brothers and NASA. Star Trek lovers can also see the Star Trek Starship Enterprise Model! You do not want to miss the Lockheed Martin Imax Theatre presentation of 3D Sun nor The Stars Tonight at the Albert Einstein Planetarium. Can’t make it to DC this summer? Then bring the knowledge of the universe home through the 4M Solar System Planetarium or 4M Create a Night Sky kit.

For some reason many families neglect to include the National Gallery of Art on their “must-see” list. My daughter loves to wander around the museum and look at the works of art. Right now she is a fan of Edgar Degas, the mobiles of Alexander Calder, and the still lifes of Martin Johnson Heade. She is still trying to understand Grey Monolith by Hans Hofmann and is convinced Hans goes to her preschool. In fact, she is certain that she has "seen that artwork outside one of the classrooms..." Help your artist "figure it out" with the Faber-Castell Young Artist Paint Set.

If a trip to DC is not in your immediate future, please visit the Smithsonian Institution websites. All of them have resources for children and many of them have virtual tours you can experience from the comfort of your home. We are always checking on the pandas and the flamingos through the National Zoo’s animal webcams. Virtual visits can be full of learning and fun too!

Have a great weekend! And don't forget to have fun learning! - Ashley

Curious Minds Want To Know!

Last year a friend gave me a book titled Curious Minds: How a Child Becomes a Scientist. I love science, my friend loves science, and in fact she is married to a scientist, so I was excited to explore the book. The book is a collection of interesting and entertaining essays from twenty-seven scientists “about the moments and events in their childhoods that set them on the paths that would define their lives.”

The book is not an “ABC” guide to growing a scientist. Some contributors attribute their path to genetic factors- a predisposition to love reading for example. In fact several of the essayists remark on their love of reading. Others point to the necessity of “rich opportunities to learn” provided by parents, travel and the great outdoors. The book does not provide you with a road map to making your child love science. What reading the book did for me was remind me of the thrill of discovery. My daughter loves learning, and we are fortunate to live in a city that provides plentiful and easy opportunities to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, or whatever the topic du jour is. While she has learned valuable information on the museum tours, she learns the most roaming (with hair free, of course) across the earth. Her mind and spirit flourish when she is fishing with her grandfather, rescuing turtles, studying clounds or just wandering around outdoors. She prefers to learn through books and doing. In fact, my favorite memory from last summer involves her stomping along the beach with her net catching and picking up anything she could find (especially anything that the older boys on whom she was spying were brave enough to touch). It was magical to watch.

Last spring my father, "Papa Charlie," helped my daughter build a garden. We grew radishes, lettuce, basil, pumpkins and four kinds of tomatoes. We dug up worms. We picked a gazillion tomatoes. We were frustrated that the pumpkins would not stay alive and had to research ways to "save" them. In the fall, Papa brought a volcano kit to build with her. They worked on the volcano secretly for a day and then took it to her preschool to launch. Needless to say it was a big success….

We need to create opportuntities for our children to experience discovery first hand. Look for these moments- whether created by a museum event, a science kit or a tidal pool.

After all, as a certain supermarket magazine used to say, “inquiring minds WANT to know.” ~ Ashley