I took Deacon to the Children's Museum of Wilmington last weekend and we had a blast! Jeff was out of town at a conference, and I had a coupon to get us both in for free so off we went Saturday morning.
It's a kid's paradise, I tell ya. There are so many things to do for kids of all ages, it's pretty hard for them to get bored. But it isn't hard for them to get WORN OUT. We were there for a couple of hours and that's what it took to get through the whole thing and have time to play. But that's about all Deacon was good for, so it worked out great. It was really a nice outing for us. :)
We started off in an area designed just for toddlers 4 and under. This room had an enormous tree in the middle of it that you could climb under/through or crawl up on (via stairs). There was a slide to slide down on one side of the tree. Deacon found this car and promptly claimed it for his own. Thankfully, there weren't any other kids in there when we started so he got to play with it for awhile. He enjoyed sitting in it but also pushing it around. We did eventually give other kids a turn. :)
We headed outside afterward before it got really sweltering. There was a gutted schoolbus that Deacon just thought was the coolest. The kids can climb up in the driver's seat and push all the buttons. They can turn the A/C controls. I thought it was pretty cool, too. :)
They had this whole courtyard full of stuff for kids to do -- the school bus, a little mini house to walk through, this bridge to cross and the little tunnel to climb up in. They also had a wagon with water and water toys to play with (Deacon's was more interested in the puddles on the ground around the wagon...lovely.), and a big rope spider web that older kids can climb up.
But oh, the trains! The trains were the big hit with Deacon. Which further confirmed that I'm doing the right thing for his birthday party this year. ;) I liked to NEVER got him away from these train tables! He had the best time just walking around and playing with all the trains. He recognized a lot of the engines because he watches Thomas the Train almost every day. He was so cute to just sit and watch. The train tables were a big hit with other kids, too, and Deacon played pretty well with all of them. :: heart swelling with pride ::
I did eventually get him away from the trains, though. :) We found a little camping site -- I thought it was so cute. I immediately thought of my brother and his family + my mom & dad who happened to really BE camping while we were at the museum. Deacon liked getting into the tent with the sleeping bags, but he got a little spooked by those fish sitting there. He made a break for it after he spotted those.
We found a little restaurant, complete with tables to sit at and order food, plus the means to prepare the food for the customers. Griddles and burners, lots of fake (but so real-looking) food. A lot of the older kids enjoyed that. But Deacon did grill me up a pork chop. Mmm, tasty. :)
We went outside one more time before leaving. This will definitely be a place that we come to from time to time. So thankful to have a place that encourages our little ones to imagine and dream!
For more photos from our 1st trip to the museum, click here.
