Visit to Eureka! Children's Museum

Yesterday we drove for 2 hours to go to Eureka! Children's Museum in Halifax, England. This was our longest road trip so far and it was fun to see more of the countryside.

I took several pictures from the road to try and catch a feel for what it looks like driving around:

This is a picture of a church tower in Halifax. I was standing near the sandbox at the museum so I don't know any details about the church.

I like this picture because to me, it captures what the roads look like. You see the british stone walls on the left. A car parked halfway on the road that you must drive around to pass. You see the stone houses and get a feel for the "older look" that England has.

Entering a roundabout. This one has 5 exits and it is a 3 laner which means it is a little more complicated to navigate than a 1 or 2 laner. We had to make sure we were in the correct lane so we could make our exit off the roundabout without bumping into another car. We'd be lost without our GPS!

On the left you see a covered barn with tons of baled hay. These are very common to see--I imagine because the growing season for hay is short so it must be stocked for the winter.

You see lots of sheep grazing as you drive along.

On the left is a group of row houses. Most of the homes here look very similar to this. A group of rowhouses won't have much distinction other than how someone has landscaped their front yard.

The children's museum was worth the long drive. There were so many hands on interactive things for the kids to do. It was very crowded since it was half term break and many children are on holiday. The museum had a section that was a "city" for kids. A grocery store, bank, post office, mechanic, and house were all set up so that kids could pretend to shop for groceries, operate a cash register, deliver mail, rob a bank, print out their own money, give a loan, work on a car, and "drive" a truck. We spent a long time in this section trying out all the different things.

Isaac navigating with the map.

This is how I practice my driving.

Ewan worked in the auto shop and got to dress up as a mechanic. He had to deliver the package he's holding to the right place.

Changing a tire.

Stamping money at the bank.

Graham had a blast shopping for groceries at the store.

The museum had a great exhibit about the human body that the kids liked. There was even a video showing a birth (not super graphic but it birth nonetheless) and how babies breastfeed after they are born. There were close up shots of babies nursing. I thought to myself--"How wonderful that children can see something so normal promoted about the human body!" and then I wondered if the US would ever let something like that be shown in a children's museum--or any museum for that matter. It amazes me how liberal (and skanky) the US can be on some things and how conservative the US can be on other things. Sometimes we get it backwards, I think.

Outside the museum were rides, a HUGE sandbox--like as big as a public pool sandbox, a giant connect four game, some tunnels and other climbing gear.

That red on Graham's cheeks is more hives. He is still welting up in hives all over his body. He's on some antihistimine and hopefully we'll figure out the cause soon.

Ewan and Isaac learning about teeth.

Learning about sound.

The museum had a bike kids could ride and when they pedaled hard enough the lights dimmed and a skelaton appeared on the other side of the mirror to show what bones move when you pedal a bike. Ewan thought it was cool to see how bones work.

Isaac crawling through the tunnel.