Michigan Science Center

This museum has been on our "summer bucket list" for two years now.  And for whatever reason, we've never crossed it off.  Let's be honest.  Scott and I are Detroit-handicapped.  We cannot figure out directions downtown to save our lives - even with GPS on our phones and in the car.  It never fails.  We get lost.  We turn the wrong way on a one-way street.  Parking is always stressful.  We are the blind leading the blind.  So, we stayed in our comfort zone the past two summers.

I'm pleased to report we finally got the courage to traverse the crazy construction on Woodward, the difficult parking, and the unknown.

And, oh my gosh!  What a hidden (to us, at least) gem!  I can't believe we've put this off for two years.  Working trucks, a model bridge, space shuttles, science experiements, a kid's town, and more!

That's about as genuine as a smile gets these days with Sean.  He was totally in his element.  Working the machines, learning about the "Motor City" while getting a lesson or two from Grandpa, who by the way is days away from retiring from 30 some years from Chrysler.

An exciting temporary exhibit was "A T-Rex Named Sue"!  Between Jurassic World (no, we didn't let him watch that, but he's still obsessed with the previews), The Good Dinosaur (yes, we approved this one), and now this exhibit, he seems to be obsessed with dinosaurs right now.  Which is a nice break from working trucks and cars.

We moved on the to the lower level that had a kid's town and a bunch of science-hands-on type exhibits.  We stopped for a 20 minute show on electricity, complete with the hair trick.  Yes, I was a willing participant.  Too bad the boys both have such short, poker straight hair.

The Kid's Town was cute!  For ages 2-5 they had a bunch of different rooms to play in like a diner, a vet's office, a "field house", and even a stage to perform with costumes.  They definitely took advantage of all that each room offered.

I think we all enjoyed the costumes they had available...

We went back upstairs to see the space exhibit before our tickets for the noon Planetarium show "Stories in the Sky".  We got lucky and there was a boa constrictor out for people to see and touch.  I was surprised that both boys willingly touched the snake.  In fact, my mom, who's biggest fear is snakes, actually touched the snake too.  Maybe it was because Evan asked her to...

The Planetarium show was a little disappointing.  I was hoping they'd show the planets and the sun, but it was all about the stars and constellations.  At times it felt really boring.  But, maybe that's because it was geared towards small children.  Either way, if we do a Planetarium show again, we'll opt for the adult show.

After the show, we did a quick tour of the health section, which included the large heart behind the man with the snake in the picture above and some life-size couch potatoes.  Of course, Scott insisted I take his picture next to those...I wonder why...?

Overall, we had a wonderful time at the Science Center!  I'm so glad we finally went and to boot, we bought a year-long membership (it would have cost the same amount to just attend Saturday).  I'm excited to come back and to explore some of the hands-on activities we didn't have time for.

We grabbed lunch at the Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria and Brewery before heading back home.  The food was great, but we weren't huge fans of the set-up of the restaurant.  Order your drinks at the bar, order your food in the back, grab your own silverware and plates, etc.  Too stressful with two small kids!  It would be a great place for Scott and I to go back to...but then again, there's the traffic, the navigating, the parking....