Keep It Local: National Children's Museum!

Woo-hoo! It's finally here! We've been waiting for the NCM to open for, well, for what seems like forever. So we were particularly psyched when mom said we were going to get a chance to preview it before it opens to the public tomorrow (plus, I got to play hookey from school, so you know I was really excited). There was a lot going on when we were there, but the bottom line is this: it's on the smaller scale of children's museums, BUT it's open structure, changing programming, and friendly, involved staff, including some professional actors facilitating play, makes it unique among kiddo museums we've visited.

We spent the most time playing in the "cooking" exhibits, including a wood-fired pizzeria and a global kitchen in the World Cultures exhibit. I may or may not have spent a significant amount of time stuffing Cookie Monster's face. And he may or may not have eventually patted his tummy and walked away. Yep, I outdid the cookie man.

Cam liked the global dress-up area, but was also a pretty big fan of the Sesame Street themed 3 & Under gallery, which features a climbing structure and Cookie Monster's lunch truck (serving up sushi -- Cam's fave! -- among other fare). The 3 & Under area also has a nice protected area for the little littles and it's own art and crafts room that features literature-based projects (right now, it's "The Hungry Little Caterpillar").

Mom liked the NCM's incorporation of politics, international focus, and the food truck (obvi).

We were so busy playing that we refused to take a break to check out the zoo-centric performance going on in the NCM's theater, but it sounded pretty neat. The museum preview only ran for a little bit today and our goal was to get a good overview, but we can see ourselves returning several times to play more in depth (we didn't even scratch the surface of the arts & crafts room, the oversized wooden blocks in the 3 & Under area, or the global literature display (Harry Potter in several languages!)).

It's going to be interesting to see how the NCM handles crowds, we're sure it will get busy in there fast, but definitely put this on your list of places to go in the near future. I may have thrown a tantrum for the first time in probably two years when mom made me leave, if that gives you any idea of how cool I thought it was. If you want a more detailed outline of the exhibits, check out our previous post on the groundbreaking ceremony.

NCM is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Labor Day and Memorial Day, and will remain open until 7 p.m. during the summer months. Admission is $10 per person (infants 12 months and under are free) and the museum also offers group rates and membership options. GEICO will also be sponsoring free nights of familiy activities one evening each month, with the first free night taking place on Friday, January 18, 2013.  Check out the museum's website for further info.

I loved this pizzeria in My Town, which had cool "conversation starters" topping the dining tables.

Cam in My Town's firetruck

Making campaign pins with My Town's "reporter."

Registering to vote.

The World Cultures area is featuring Tanzania at the moment.

Learning about Tanzanian culture in World Cultures.

Harry Potter!

"But I want all of it, mommy!"

"What? Don't you cook corn like this in your house?"

3 & Under's play structure.

"for babies."

We got so used to all the press at the preview snapping pictures of everyone that we decided on our own to stage cute photo ops and make mom take pictures of them. "Did you get the one of us kissing, mommy!?!?" Seriously.

There's Something Happening Here: National Children's Museum "Groundbreaking"

Ever since mommy first became pregnant, people have been passing along rumors of a children's museum in Washington, D.C. that "will be opening soon."  That was more than four years ago.  But, in case you haven't heard the news yet, the National Children's Museum REALLY will be opening soon.  Mom lucked her way into attending the "groundbreaking" of the NCM last week at National Harbor.  As some of you may know, although this was news to mom as it predated her "kid days," the Capital Children's Museum was actually founded in 1974 and served the area until 2004.  Just prior to its closing, Congress designated the CCM as the National Children's Museum and a search was on for a new location.

Since CCM's closing, the NCM has operated as a "museum without walls," by serving the region through outreach programs, traveling exhibits and partnerships with other organizations.  And since 2009, NCM has operated its Launch Zone at the National Harbor.  But the NCM has also been busy on building out a permanent spot at the Harbor too, which will include both indoor and outdoor spaces. And guess what?  The indoor experience is now scheduled to open Winter of 2012!  The NCM indoor space will have two major exhibit areas:

(1)  3 & Under: designed for infants and toddlers under 3 feet tall, this exhibit area will feature Sesame Street characters and themes, including: a baby crawlers area; tactile experiences; a climbing structure; a global lunch truck (!); a sensory water bed; motor skills play areas; and arts, crafts, and storytelling areas.

(2)  Our World: geared towards children over the age of 3, this exhibit will feature three main areas: Map Zone, My Town and World Cultures, all of which will serve to give children a global perspective. Highlights include an airport conveyor; freight dock/shipping yard; a school; campaign office (obvi); home; fire station; a pizzeria; a kitchen; an interactive clothing store; and a language area.

In addition to the two main exhibit areas, there will also be a theatre and program rooms.

AND the outdoor experience is set to open in May of 2013!  Current plans include gardens, play areas (for, among other things, building forts and engaging in imaginative play), and an open ampitheater.

So there you have it.  Get yourself ready (and be ready to purchase a membership -- unlike the Launch Zone, the NCM will not be free) and get yourself to the Launch Zone, which will be closing in September 2012 in preparation for the grand opening of the permanent museum space!

Everybody Walk the Dinosaur: Toddler Tuesdays at the NCM Launch Zone

We've been to the NCM Launch Zone before for some of their weekend events, including Pirate Day, but hadn't checked out any of their weekday programs yet.  So when this past Tuesday looked like rain all day and our playgroup was canceled, we headed out to National Harbor to check out Toddler Tuesdays with some of our buddies.  Mom was not having an all star day (and it was only 9 a.m.).  Her first mistake was likely taking us to Target before our outing that day.  Target trips are usually reserved for those witching hours, when everything has already gone to H anyway.  A pre-outing Target trip was just setting all of us up, but we decided to rally and push through.

Because we were going to the Launch Zone, I expected pirates upon arrival.  So we had a long talk in the car on the way about why there weren't pirates during prehistoric times and when mom tried to explain the concept of evolution to me, including that people actually evolved from apes, I laughed and told her "that doesn't even matter."  One of our other buddies had a long talk about extinction on the way, too.  Plus there's this song we know from school about dinos being in the bible .... Who knew a little trip to the Launch Zone would raise such big issues?

Anywho, we got there a little bit early (Tuesday drop in programs run from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and found a good spot on the street.  We ran down to check out the Awakening, only to find it blocked off.  Harumph.  So instead we ran around on the pier with mom yelling after us to stop running.  We pretended mom was a dinosaur trying to eat our stomaches.  And laughed and laughed and laughed.  And then we started running again and, well, I bit it.  Badly.  My knee, my elbow, both hands, and my face.  Ugh.  After I screamed "I can't walk!" for about 5 minutes, mom convinced me to shake it off and we headed up to the Launch Zone (where the nice staff members gave us a few bandaids!).

The Launch Zone isn't big, but they do a good job of spreading out different activities.  There was a "make a dino print" station where staff members helped kids make imprints of dino feet in clay (which we got to take home) and make crayon rubbings of dinos, a match up the dino station, lots of dino books, and lots of dinosaurs with which to play.  Cam of course wanted to play with the resident dollhouse, which was fine for a while, but then some small skirmish (with mom) over the dollhouse washing machine set her OFF and she wouldn't stop screaming.  And she wouldn't let mommy put her down.  Fortunately, a nice staff member (with whom I was OBSESSED) spent a lot of time with me reading books.  Cam eventually got it together and we hit up Potbelly with our buddies for lunch (where I tried to start eating my PB&J on the floor and pushed mom right over the edge).  Oh and then we returned to the car to find a parking ticket -- issued two minutes before.

We'll be back (hopefully when mom is in a better mood!)  Haven't been to the Launch Zone yet?  Here's what's going on for the rest of the month:

Toddler Tuesdays: Prehistoric Adventures
May 15 and 22nd -- 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Drop-in program designed especially for ages 2 to 4.  Activities may include stories, games, art and movement.

Imagination Playground Play Date
May 20 (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.), 26 (11 a.m. - 6 p.m.), 27 (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.), and 28 (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
Go play with the Launch Zone's new Imagination Playground -- open-ended play tools that let kids use their imaginations to build castles, pirate ships and more.

SunWise Kick Off
May 19 -- 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Go join the Launch Zone as they kick off a summer of sun safety!  Learn about UVB rays and SPF through fun activities like making your own sun visor and UV color-changing bracelet.  In addition, at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., NCM will present its original production of Princess Sunni's Birthday.  Best suited for ages 3 to 8, the performance will help kids learn about sun safety.

Pirate Jet: Pirate Day at the National Children's Museum!

Ahoy Matey!  HAPPY International Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!  We kicked off a pirate filled weekend by heading over to the National Harbor to the National Children's Museum Pirate Day at the soon-to-be Museum's temporary Launch Zone.  Pirate Day was pretty cool -- we got to make telescopes, eye patches, and take part in a treasure hunt.  And part of the treasure hunt took us over to The Calleva -- a pirate-ship ropes course and zip line.  I'm a few years off from taking over that scene, but it looks AWESOME.  And both Cam and I actually stood still for a while to watch it.

And even though NCM's Pirate Day would have been cool enough in and of itself, the National Harbor was pretty awesome, too.  Monstrous brand new developments really aren't our typical bag, baby.  But if you are going to do it, you should definitely do it like the National Harbor -- literally right on the water, lots of good restaurants (NH Restaurant Week is coming up! -- October 3 - 16) - even if they are chains, a cool D.C. landmark sculpture (The Awakening), a W boutique hotel, and a South Moon Under for your mom.  We had lunch at Ketchup -- mom was excited to dine at Ashton's former LA joint which apparently now resides in Maryland, hmmm ... wonder what happened there.  But, after lunch, it wasn't too hard to figure out.  It was awful.  Really.  Even the ketchup.  At least they bumped some good tunes and we got to sit outside.

Keep in mind that you can take a water taxi from Old Town (Alexandria, VA) to the National Harbor, which we've read about others doing.  Since its unlikely mom will spring for that green yacht I had my eye on, I bet we'll be taking the water taxi next summer.  Arggg!!!  Now go have a barrel o' rum and celebrate you scurvy dogs!