Skirball

the.coolest.kidmuseum. Today I was mesmerized (as was Little S and even Baby J) during our visit to the Skirball Cultural Center. The museum is in L.A. and my friend Cass and I have been wanting to take the kids for awhile, now. Noah's Arc, a giant 4-room interactive space filled with all things animal, is their big attraction and it did not disappoint.

Little S walked in with her hands over her ears - this is her new gesture to indicate she's nervous/uncomfortable/or something is just too loud (the arc was quiet so I think she was indicating her nerves about the giant boat and animals). When all the other kids moved into another room to create a thunderstorm with musical instruments Little S stayed and explored the space on her own, got comfortable with everything and then had a great time playing.

A perfect circle... she creates these types of scenes at home - the animals or her dolls set in a circle so she can read to them. She loved the big gorilla and carried him around looking for his food (she was concerned she couldn't find bananas for him to eat among the plastic fruit).

Another favorite: the play food area - she loves creating place settings

The animals filled every space of the giant arc - most were created using repurposed materials in the most clever ways

I'm loving this place!

After the arc, we visited the Super Hero exhibit. Little S was excited to find a stash of dress-up clothes and then played in the phone booth with Colin.

Don't forget about the drop-in art studio. Today the kids made African wrap dolls. Little S wanted the pink sparkly fabric and the blue sparkly fabric for her doll.

Cass's minivan was at max. capacity - two adults, two baby seats and 3 kids in the back being entertained by the dvd player (that helped with the 2 hour ride home). We all had a great time during our adventure in the city today.