The Longest Post Ever

When you get home, turn on the computer, and pull 185 pictures off your digital camera, you know you've had one exciting adventure. With that, I give you: Robert & The Long Island Children's Museum, A Photo Retrospective.

First things first: The Tot Spot, where toddlers can run around and raise havoc in neatly timed half-hour windows. First, a "ride" on a Long Island Rail Road car:


Then it was off to the construction site:

And a climb up the stairs to the lighthouse, where he flashed the lights, blew the foghorn, and yes, talked on the phone:


We finally coaxed him off the phone by pointing out the slide.

Then it was off to the boat! (And shopping!)



Robert "scanned" each item on the register and dropped in the basket.

Robert noticed that the motorcycle needed a fill-up, and he was happy to oblige:



Once our thirty minutes in the Tot Spot was over, it was off to the Bubbles exhibit, which was, well... awesome.




They had a big round bubble maker you could stand in and pull up, making a big cylindrical bubble. Robert didn't quite get the hang of it. But you get the sense we'll come back to this exhibit, don't you?


The Blue Man Group sponsored an exhibit with all sorts of funky instruments and neat black-lighted displays:





The sequence of pictures below feature a cylinder with little plastic balls that vibrate as you adjust the frequency with the little black knob:



Robert, of course, found the cords and tried to unplug the whole thing. If he ever stars in the Wizard of Oz, he'll be Toto.





Upstairs, they have a "Changes & Challenges" exhibit, a house set up with all sorts of features for disabled people, including a fake seeing-eye dog.

One of our (the adults) favorite exhibits was the News 12 studio, where you can sit behind the anchor desk and read the news:

Or stand in front of the green screen and pretend you're Nick Gregory:





The music exhibit featured all sorts of neat percussion instruments from around the world:








We stopped in the wheelchair-accessible minivan so Robert could "drive" a little bit:

The Pattern Studio had a series of mirrors set up where you can see multiple versions of yourself. They started at a 90 degree angle and got smaller:



This is my favorite picture:



There was a wall where you could stick magnetic blocks to complete the patterns. Robert picked it up right away.



He needed help with the ones he couldn't reach:


The "It's Alive" gallery featured bugs and turtles and fish and plush intestines and things. Very odd.


I know, you were expecting pictures of plush intestines. We apparently forgot to take one.

The landing on the central staircase features a bunch of different communication features, including this archaic phone with some sort of dialing device on the front. Robert seemed to know exactly what was up, though.


Who on earth could he have been talking with?




You know what? Let's head back to the bubble room.



I told you we'd figure out that cylindrical bubble!



I tell you, if you're going to go to one of these children's museums, mid-day on a weekday seems to be the time to do it. The "Sandy Island" gallery had cleared out, so Robert played in the sand while Mom & Dad sat and rested:


Note how empty the boardwalk is, behind him. That'll be important in a minute.


Wait. Is he playing, or cleaning up?

Yep, he's cleaning up. What a good little dude. If only he picked up as well at home!

"Dad! A bird!"


Yep. Definitely cleaning up.




Wait! The bubble room again!






All in all, a phenomenally good time. A huge, huge, thumbs up to the LICM for a great experience.