children's museum and park

we had babysitting duties for my nephew caden this weekend so we figured it was the perfect time to check out the new children's museum downtown. after a quick run around the bases at the park at petco, we hit the new park outside the museum (more below) and then walked across the street into the wide-open interior.


housed in a rob quigley-designed building, you walk across a bridge over the basement floor into an open space where the membership desk is located. since it's a bit spendy ($10/person) we got an annual membership, so i can take my nephew and jay can take his niece and nephew. we figure three visits will pay for the membership, and we'll be back often based on caden's reaction today.



there are some really creative interactive areas, including a room that projects video onto the walls that's just fine for making hand shadows with, a big ramp for sliding hand-made cars down, and art-oriented features like the painted car shown here.



speaking of art, there's are interesting "pieces" on various walls, including the popular climbing area. but the biggest hit of all (and the only line in the place, which was not overly crowded) was the room full of tire-shaped pillows. caden loved burrowing in these and sliding down the mattress leaning against the wall. in fact you may have to do battle with your kid(s) to leave the place, as we did even after spending a couple of hours. now what other museum can you say that about for a 3-year old?

we had read the new park was a bit disappointing, and it sure felt that way. a couple of lonely swings, a spider-like contraption to climb on, and that's about it. there's still room for more items, so let's hope it improves.