Don't forget to "take the left turn at Albuquerque"

For anyone who hasn't been subjected to numerous hours of Looney Tunes (it was one of the new dvds we picked up for this trip)... Just re-name this post My Favorite Museum. If you have Looney Tune expertise you will realize why this was my children's favorite catch phrase as we passed numerous road signs ticking off the miles all the way through New Mexico.

I've been to A LOT of museums in the last year. I've been to children's and science museums in many of the biggest cities on the East Coast- many of which are nationally recognized. So after seeing so many museums you may be surprised to know that my favorite museum (so far) is Explora Children's Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On one of our trips across the country I was looking for something we could do to break up the ride and decided to check it out, after all it was free with our membership. Honestly my expectations were low. Their website is not impressive and regular price for entry is only $3-$7 per person, Where many of the museums we have been to admission is $20-$30 plus per person.

We've been to Explora twice in the last 6 months and each time we go my kids (and I) learn so much. At Explora interactive doesn't mean a flashy display with a button for the kids to push- interactive means they learn by DOING! Not only are the displays conducive to exploration and experimentation, but there are many staff members roaming the area eager to help the children explore and learn. And the museum is set up so that when kids create something they have a space to display and share it, which inspires other kids to create and display.

Unfortunately pictures just can't do justice to this awesome museum, so you'll just have to take a left turn next time you pass through Albuquerque.

These are pictures of the big kids working on their chain reaction creations.

When we went this time we made time to run around outside for a little while just to breathe some fresh air. FYI the orange face is Lauren's craft project.

I wish I could say that this picture reflected Kate's demeanor for the week or day or even the hour, but she was definitely teetering emotionally. She was unpredictable during the entire trip with mood swings and hysterical crying fits at random times. I was getting worried that we had scarred her already challenging emotional psyche, but after 2 days of consistent sleep in our rental home in Arizona she is beginning to stabilize. Phew, because I was at the end of my fragile emotional psyche too. As a bonus they don't charge any extra for anyone crazy, I mean brave, enough to ride the sky bike- Rusty obliged the children by taking a daring ride over the museum for them as they were too short and didn't weigh enough to do it themselves :)