Glimpses of The Thinkery and a Hike to see Dinosaur Footprints

I felt like we had been focusing too much on book work and memorization in home school laterly, so we needed to engage our minds a different way.

We needed a fun hands-on day of learning, so I whisked everyone away for a day filled with field trips. Here it is in a nutshell.

The first stop was The Thinkery, the children's science museum in Austin. We have always LOVED science museums and were so eager to explore this one.

This was the neatest musical instrument ever, a water piano. It splashed everywhere and drenched the player, but it was oh so fun! The sound quality was surprisingly clear and resonant. It reminded me of the rich tones of a cello.

Diego loved these water drums and played for ages at this station. Water spouts mounted in the ceiling dropped precisely-aimed droplets to play the drums. 

More water table experiments with redirecting water. 

Joseph enjoyed picking vegetables in the toddler zone, which is themed after a giant garden. 

This was a really fun interactive light display. The colored zones change colors when you touch them. Diego loved this screen. 

Joseph also enjoyed the giant pegboards, like a Lite Bright station. 

Light-themed puzzles for the brain intrigued Matthew and Sarah for quite a bit. 

Matthew took a moment to read stories in the welcoming reading nook. 

I was treated to a gourmet dinner in the farmers' market stand. Matthew and Joseph had such fun 'cooking' all sorts of dishes for me to eat. 

The outdoor playground was filled with nets perfect for climbing. 

There was also an outdoor river where children could play with water and catch several floating plastic toys as they rushed by. 

There was a spot where you could take self portraits and the images would be displayed on a mosaic on the wall. Matthew and I played with this station for a bit. He's pointing to my picture, and to the left of my portrait is Matthew's picture: an upclose portrait of his open mouth. 

Afterwards we played outside for an hour, feeding ducks and enjoying the little lake  next to the museum. 

After a picnic lunch and playground time, we headed home and stopped along the way for a little hike down a cliff to see fossilized dinosaur footprints along a river bottom. This was our first time seeing real fossils in the 'wild'. It was so neat- you could follow the footprints along the riverbed for quite a distance. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed the bit of exertion, even when Diego gave up on the return hike and begged to be carried back to the van. 

I'm so thankful for this aspect of home school life: we get to embark on learning adventures together and create meaningful family memories. I cherish these moments when our children get to explore together!