Houston Museum of Natural Science

The kids did not have school today, so we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science along with Michelle, Emily, Madeline and Madeline.  I thought I had been here before, but after visiting today, I realized that this was my first time and it was the Houston Museum of Fine Arts I was thinking of.

All the kiddos before we walked in

We first decided to check out the dinosaur exhibit (one of Jase's favorite creatures).  The Paleontology Hall is currently under construction so not all of the fossils were available for viewing.

Next, we headed over to the IMAX to watch "Born to be Wild".  It was a good little movie about two ladies taking in baby elephants and orangutans who did not have mothers, due to poachers.  Along with teams of caretakers, they would raise them and eventually transition them back into the wild.  The kids enjoyed it and sat through it better than expected.

Next stop...The Insect Wing.  They had a bee area for the kids to play in and all 5 of them loved it.  At dinner tonight Jase said that this was the funnest part of his day..."The Bee Hive" as he called it.

The upper level was The Amazing World of Arthropods.  Here they had interactive games, living insects, and chrysalis corner- where you could witness butterflies emerging...very cool...loved this.  And while we were there, we were able to see the workers clean the chrysalis showcases and even capture the butterflies that were ready to be released into the Butterfly Center. Below you'll see a picture of Jase sitting in a Roach Dome...gag!! He was very amused by these little creatures!  Do you have the chills yet?

We ventured to The Butterfly Center next, where we were able to witness several species of butterflies freely fly around.  If one landed on you, you were asked not to touch it.  I found THIS informative article on touching butterflies.

We then headed back inside and were stopped by a volunteer and he told us he was about to have a chemistry show with experiments.  We took our seats and waited for the show to begin.  The volunteer was very knowledgeable and did a great job of including his spectators with the experiments.  We learned about density, acids and bases, and polymers.

The African Wildlife Exhibit was pretty neat.  There are over 120 life-size specimens on display for you to take in. 

We finished up our trip in the Gems & Minerals Exhibit and oohhh'd and aahhh'd over the jewelry in the Gem Vault.  What a great day it was and fun was had by all!

We finished up our evening by praying and thanking God for His creation.  There would not be anything in that museum if our Creator did not have His hand in it all.