Denver Children's Museum

 After our visit to the aquarium and lunch at the Mexican place, we headed over to the Children's Museum. 
(We had originally planned to visit the zoo, but when they forecast temperatures of 103, we opted for indoor entertainment.)  It was much cooler there, and quieter too.  There were less people and more space to move around, and the kids could run and play.

 We all LOVED the baby/toddler area.  So fun, and very well designed and decorated.  I was really inspired to try to create that type of atmosphere in my daycare.  Problem is we have the daycare in our home and don't have a separate space for it, so it's difficult to do that.  I'm considering finding a different building where I can re-create something like this.

 This area was a pond - made with a fabric covered squishy pad and pillows that look like rocks.  They had hand puppets that looked like turtles and other pond animals.  The chicken is a puppet too, but the three year old brought it over from a different area.

 There were carpet covered climbing things and tunnels through logs.  The whole floor was green for grass, with a blue stream running through it.  They had laminate in areas to look like bridges over the stream.

 There were mirrors where the babies could see themselves.  Mine was more interested in trying to pick at the bracket holding the mirror to the wall.

 Each area was set up with a different theme.  They even had a boat - the Minnow (lol) - that would wiggle when the kids moved.  They had fishing poles and stuffed animal fish with ropes on their mouths so they could be hooked.

 His uncle was wiggling the fish.  He wasn't sure what to think of that.

 Looks like he's excited to go fishing, don't you think?

 Upstairs, the different rooms are more geared toward older kids.  But the three year old was still able to participate in most things.  The eight year old spent most of his time (while we were in the baby/toddler area) building a massive train track.

 I love that there are so many tables and that he was able to connect them all together.  They have little stools that help bridge everything together.

 He even made it so it went downhill to the shorter stools.  I think he used every piece of track in the room.

 They also have a room that is all about bubbles.  Very fun, but very messy.

 There is a room full of art easels and tables and chairs.  They have aprons too, which is much appreciated ;)

 The baby's favorite thing was all the stuffed animals and puppets.

 He was so excited by all the toys that he even figured out how to crawl!  Now he goes everywhere.  (And since we've gotten home, he has been trying to pull himself up to standing too.

 They even have tunnels that go a long ways.

 And there are costumes too - this is a bird of some sort.  They also had an earthworm costume, a squirrel, and something else I can't remember.

 Near the market area they have a pizza kitchen - complete with real pots, pans and utensils.  The pizza parts are felt and the kids are able to create whatever type of pizza they want.

It's nice that the pizza kitchen is right next to the store - so when you run out of supplies, you can run to the store :)

 

 This is the rocket room.  The eight year old said this was his second favorite area (after the trains).  The hanging parts are planets and the kids were able to shoot paper cones through the planets.  They could make their own cones or use the ones that are already there.

 The cones are placed over tubes that can be adjusted and aimed, then they press the blue "air" button and watch the gauge to see how high the psi is.  When it's fully pressurized, they hit the red "launch" button.

 They have a puppet theater too, with the curtain and everything.  There were so many areas that I can't even show them all to you - like the veterinarian clinic, the magnetic "word wall," and the "recycling center" - where kids could build things from trash.  (They even supply patterns).

 This room was really dark, and had a white lighted floor, which would react to you. Wherever you stepped, a light circle would form and follow you.  If you got close to someone else, your circle would either grow really big, or combine into two half-circles.

 Everyone had fun testing that one out.

 (See my baby doing pushups in the background?)

 He was getting pretty close to standing up.  I guess now that he has figured out how to crawl, he's going to try to do everything at once :)

 Outside they have "Hopscotch" - a chalkboard cow.  I think it's fun that they have old metal tractor seats lining the area where the cow is.  I don't think you're really supposed to sit on the cow, but oh well.

 Right next door to the museum is an amusement park.  They had a fun looking ride that is called "Halfpipe" - and has a skateboard that rocks back and forth.  The people sit in little clusters at each end that also spin around. Thinking about it makes me queasy - ha.  No stomach for amusement park rides anymore.

After our busy day, we decided to make a rest stop at Krispy Kreme.  It was a fun, exhausting day :)