homeschooling day at the museum

Yesterday we participated in The Children's Museum's (in West Hartford, CT) very first Homeschooling Day, where they offered classes for various grade levels and provided a fun location for homeschoolers to gather. Like a dope, I forgot my camera (sigh), but this photo was taken during our last visit there, in the exhibit where kids get to read a news broadcast from a TelePrompTer while they can see themselves on TV. Zoo Boy in particular loves this exhibit.

I only signed the kids up for one class a piece, since this was our first experience with classes at this museum and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. As it turns out, I wish we'd done more, but there's always next time!

Zoo Boy took a class for kids in grades K-2 called "Meet the Animals". He had a bit of trepidation about taking a class in a new place, but when he discovered that a friend from our Monday Homeschool Classes was going to be in class with him, he readily went in and apparently quite enjoyed himself. They did NOT meet these rattlesnakes (although they do reside at the museum), but they did get to meet and learn about African Hissing Cockroaches, Frogs, Bearded Dragons, Chinchillas, and Tortoises.

J took an astronomy class in the planetarium geared towards kids in grades 4-8 -- I was pretty excited to be able to get him into a class for older kids, since his knowledge about space is pretty extensive. From what he told me, the class was perfect for him, discussing theories about black holes and technical information about our solar system, galaxy, and the universe.

J drew a series of pictures tonight for my benefit, to show me where we are. In this first one, we are in a town that is (follow the arrows...) on the earth, which is in the solar system.

The solar system is in the Orion Arm of our galaxy, which of course is in the Milky Way Galaxy.

And the Milky Way is located within the Local Group, which is located within the Virgo Cluster (a much larger group of galaxies than the Local Group). And that's where we are.

What I really wish I had my camera for was the OODLES of fun the boys had playing with their friends after classes were over, both in the museum, and then outside when the museum kicked us all out because they close at 4:00 (the nerve!). They are looking forward to the next time the museum holds a Homeschooling Day! And they told me that we were right in the assumption we made a couple weeks ago when we first visited here -- this museum IS much more fun with friends.