Museum Week

Discovery Channel has Shark Week; the Sharp Family has Museum Week. This past week we visited 6 museum/learning centers. They were:
1. Rock City (geography/earth science)
2. Ruby Falls (history/earth science)
3. Chattanooga's Model Railroad Museum (history/math... scale, you know)
4. Vulcan (history/science/geography)
5. Anniston Museum of Natural History (history/science)
6. Berman World History Museum (history/science/geography)


We drove a lot but it was worth it! Each place we visited had something new for us to learn and it was a nice break from routine. I highly recommend visiting a museum. My kids l-o-v-e museums.


Some fun things we learned are: Magnesium is a mineral that, if ingested in high doses, gives you diarrhea. The first Olympics that were held in the US were in St. Louis in 1904... the same year that Vulcan was exhibited in the World's Fair in the same city. Maggie still hates skeletons. A flute can be a flute and a gun at the same time. Cave formations can look like bacon. Momma is afraid of heights. Museums can never contain all there is to know in this wonderful world.



Our all-time fave is the Birmingham Museum of Art. We go there about 2 or 3 times a year. It's free, which is always good. We go to our favorite exhibits first and then do a little exploring. Surprisingly, the kids love the Oriental section. We usually spend the first 30 minutes being shadowed by our own personal security guard until they realize that the kids know proper museum etiquette. After that the guards are usually friendly and helpful. Proper etiquette involves staying at least 2 feet from a painting (even when you're pointing). If you want to look more closely at something, put your hands behind your back as you lean in. No running. No yelling. If we practice these things all is well.


I am thankful that we could have Museum Week. And now back to reality.