National Museum of the American Indian

My husband and I have been making a list of stuff we want to do in the D.C. area before we move (that is if we move, we'll be here for sure until May 2012 but after that who knows).  It seams like we keep on doing the same things over and over again and it's not that they aren't great things it's just there is so much to see and do we might as well see it all.  The first thing we did on our To Do List was the National Museum of the American Indian.  I must say I was quite surprised how interesting and kid friendly this museum was.  Both my husband and I thought the museum was about US American Indians but were were pleasantly surprised to find out it was about Native Peoples of the Americans not just the United States.

All of the exhibits were really well done.  The 3 main permanent exhibits are: Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World, Our Peoples: Giving Voice to Our Histories, and Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities are all very interesting and give insights into Native life.  The best part of these exhibits is that the museum recruited curators from the different tribes and bands so the depictions of these People are told from their own perspective.

There were lots of hands on activities and movies for Tavish to play with so I'm sure he enjoyed himself.  Callen slept though most of exhibits so I'm not sure he got much out of it.  One of the highlights of the museum is its fantastic restaurant. Unlike the American History Museum which has terrible food and the Air and Space Museum which has McDonalds, the American Indian Museum has themed food.  The food court is split into different areas each which showcases traditional Native foods (there are hamburgers and chicken fingers for the picky eaters).  Even if your not planning on checking out the museum, it's a great place for lunch if you are in the area.

In the world of D.C. museums this is a great one to go see if you have time or are very interested in Native People.  I would recommend the American History (but not for lunch), Natural History, and Air and Space Museums over this one.  But if you have the time I'd would check it out, especially if they have an interesting live demonstration on, which they usually do (we missed out on the chocolate festival they were having a few weeks ago and I 'm kinda sad about that).

 "Cheese"

Kyle with his hands full, admiring a snow machine 

 Tavish taking a boat for a ride

 Tavish love the Rainbow

 Statue of an American Indian

 Tavish having fun walking on the wall outside the musuem

 Now time to rock climb (that's my boy)

Callen not too sure about what his brother is doing

Air and Space yet again.

Can you tell that the Air and Space Museum in Dulles is one of our favorite museums?  This was Callen's fourth trip and at the time he was not even three months old.  As always we had a great trip, we took in an IMAX - Legends of Flight and my dad and I even rode on the spinning simulator (lots of fun aside from the fact my glasses fell off and it took about 20 minutes to find them).  For the most part though the museum has not really changed much in the other 3+ times that we had gone (read here) but I did get a tip from another mom blog about how to take better pictures in this giant museum.  I alway use my flash (I'm a very beginner photographer) and for the most part did not know any better so when I read on the Snot, Tots, and Espresso Shots blog that the flash washed out the pictures, I decided on this trip to go flashless and these were my results:

 We enjoyed the IMAX (which was a great place to feed Callen)

 Tavish loves the little computers

 Callen just hanging out

 McDonalds came though with a great toy

  And in my opinion photos much better than my last trip.

Natural History Museum

While the older boys (my dad, my husband, and Tavish) were off at the Monster Trucks, my mom, Callen and I headed to the Natural History Museum.  Now a few of you may recall that my last trip here was a huge disaster but I knew my mom would like to see it so I decided to brave it again (this time Adults out numbered kids).  Thankfully the security guard from hell was not working so things were already off to a better start.  There were two really interesting exhibits that caught my attention this trip.  The first was the crocheted coral reef.  I kinda wished I spent more time looking at it as it is quite remarkable.  It's amazing what people can do with some yarn, a crochet hook and inspiration from some of the most beautiful creatures on earth.

The second was the the Written in Bone exhibit.  During the last part of my pregnancy I discovered a new favorite show, Bones, and the Written in Bone exhibit reminds me a lot about that show.  I must go back when I have more time to really explore this exhibit as it is quite fascinating.

My mom and I sped through the museum and looked a few of the other exhibits but I'm sure we say not even half of what was there.  I'm pretty sure I could spend a few days exploring the Natural History Museum and I'm looking forward to checking out a few of their IMAX shows.  I'm sure I'll get back in the next few weeks.

The Natural History Museum is a must see in D.C. and a GREAT place to bring kids (providing they are not super grumpy).  The museum is quite loud so don't have to worry about loud toddlers disturbing anyone.  Kids of all ages will find something they like from dinosaurs to butterflies and they even have a discovery room for older kids.  I highly recommend going when it opens at 10am because it gets really busy, even in the off season.  If you are a local then I'd avoid it in June when school tours take over D.C. and I'm sure it's pretty busy in the summer too.  My husband and I HATE crowds so we are all about getting seeing things in the off season but if this is your only trip to D.C. I'd brave the crowds.

 My mom by the stunning Orchid Garden

 One of the Orchids

 Giraffe doing the splits in the Hall of Mammals

One of my favorite areas, the Deep Sea

Without Daddy - Day 4 (Air and Space - Again)

Today we finally managed to get out of the house and we heading for the Air and Space Museum.  While Callen is only 2 months old it was his third trip to see the planes.  Even though both my boys have been to this museum a few time I still think they really enjoy it, well at least Tavish does Callen is a bit young to care.  However, watching someone see all the planes for the first time is quite an experience, Owen was in awe of all the planes and really liked the space shuttle.  Both boys were really well behaved for the most part, they enjoyed a fun ride on the simulator and lunch at "Old McDonlads" is always a highlight.  I do think the highlight of the trip was our trip to the tower where we got to watch the planes land.  It was really funny listening to Owen yell, " another plane mom, another plane".  Despite the few minor squabbles about the use of the little computers, all and all it was a very very good trip.  

After the Air and Space museum it was time for naps.  Callen was not really into napping but it gave us the perfect opportunity to snap a few pictures of him while Tavish and Owen slept.  The rest of the day was pretty low key which is good as we are going to be pretty busy for the next few days.

 Owen trying to get into the Drayton Paper the Western Review 

 Up Up and Away

Watch it the Space Shuttle is Eating my Head 

Enjoying the Simulator Ride 

 Owen getting his coin

My Computer... 

...No MY computer 

Showing off my New Wrap 

 View of the Planes

Afraid of Heights but still Wanting to Take a Look

 The View from the Top

Auntie's Turn 

 Time for the Boys to have Nightmares - Thank-you Transformers

 This is what I need to get to GP next time... in about an hour

 Group Pic

My Canerican or Ameradian - Technically he's just American but we're working on that :)