Super Fun Friday

We went on a field trip today to the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem.  We had heard great things from our dear friends and knew it would be worth the trip.  We even invited three of them along to be our guides on this fabulous adventure.  It was epic.

We started our adventure on the gi-normous outside play structure.  That doesn't really describe it.  It's a multi-leveled, area of absolute awesomeness.  The kids ran and played for quite awhile before deciding to head into one of the houses.

Let me explain.  The "museum" part of the village is housed by two fabulous Victorian houses that have been completely renovated.  Each room contains something fun and awesome.  I keep using that word.  I can't help it.

The exhibits are similar to the Portland Children's Museum, but there is just something magic about it all being housed in this very unique and special architecture.  Going up winding staircases with beautiful woodwork to find a room where you can practice Mandarin characters on a piece of slate while looking out the nearly floor to ceiling windows...seriously awesome.

Everyone had a blast in all the different rooms.  We had a picnic lunch outside at tables painted with game boards for Shoots and Ladders.  Yes, they played when they finished eating, thanks to an app to roll dice on Erik's phone and some handy dandy rocks that served as play pieces.

We finished the day with a visit to the nearby Salem Carousel, a hand-carved masterpiece well worth the $1.50 admission.  Everyone picked their horses and I realized looking at the gleeful look on my seven-year-old's face that this was his first ride on a carousel.  I know.  Negligent parents.  He's seven.  What can I say?  It just hasn't been a priority.  Anyway, they BOTH loved it.  A lot.  I don't have pictures of Paul because he was around the bend with the Daddy-Man.  But we will go back for sure.  It was amazing.

Here are some pics of the day!

 This was my favorite moment of the day.  These are the homeschooled kids, who found a room that had couches and books.  Clearly, it was time to stop and sit and read.  And they all did.  I did NOT pose this picture.  After they had checked out all the exhibits in the room, they all just gathered around while Paul read aloud about nano technology, the topic of the exhibit.  Meanwhile about a half dozen kids visiting with a school group wandered in, spent less than five minutes and wandered out again.  We were there for at least 15 minutes.  It was sweet.

 This thirteen year old girl loves to play with my kids while simultaneously not allowing them to get away with anything.  I love her.  A lot.

 Very cool.

 The kids spent about 20 minutes play acting in this jungle themed room that included a stage.  The pith helmets were very inspiring, along with the presence of many puppets and velcro-armed monkeys.

 This eleven year old boy has the heart of a servant and loves my five year old, even when he is being a turkey.  And he looks awesome in a foam pith helmet.

 I'm a dork.

 Part of the play acting.  She is the secretary to the ruler of Jungle Land.  And she has lost some monkeys.  Very upsetting.  ;-)

 The crew in the big chair on the porch.

 This eight year old girl can keep my seven year old entertained forever with only a piece of string and her imagination.  She rocks.

 These awesome goggles and aviator's cap belong to the sleepy eleven year old behind Luke.

 The crew checking out the carousel, waiting to ride.

Luke found a horse with armor.  He could not be happier.