A day of discovery

On a rainy afternoon, we decided we needed some action, so we headed into our local science museum, Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse, for a day of learning and fun. There were several things to do, and while admission comes with the outdoor playground — a huge castle area built by community volunteers — we stayed inside and had a blast.

First, Jake and Daddy climbed into a cockpit of a T-37 for takeoff:



Then it was on to bigger and better things ... Space (Mommy told Jake to stir the oxygen tanks. LOL)



Funny things happen when you are in outer space:





There is a wood shop, where kids can explore with tools, with Mom and Dad right there to assist. This sawing thing's not too hard:



TaDa!



There were animals to pet. Jake got to pet a boa constrictor (the python was adamant about not leaving his cage) and a ferret. He got to see a tarantula (Mom was disappointed we couldn't hold it), chinchilla, hamsters, bearded dragon, turtles, fish and this guy, a hedgehog:



Jake had to put up with Mom and Dad, who got a little carried away with dress-up time. Enough with the boots already:



He had so much fun, but we have to admit he got a little of a big head:



His favorite thing was going through tunnels and having to climb up and down ladders to get out again. This is probably where he'll spend all of our next trip:



There were a couple of sand tables (the water tables are in the outdoor park), one of which was a fossil table. Jake had to get a closer look at one of his finds:



And after all that action, it was good to sit down and relax and make crafts. Jake and Daddy and Mommy made a stick man to take home and Jake settled in to his newest passion of coloring:



Here he is with his final product. He surprised us by resurrecting his portraits (we call them Veggie portraits because they kind of look like the gourds.) Notice his stacked name. He starts to far to the edge of the page and has to stack his letters:



We had a great time. Thanks Leonardo's!

By the way, Leonardo's came about because of a lot of dedicated people, chief among them Owen K. Garriott and his former wife, Helen. Owen is an Enid, Okla., native and former NASA astronaut. He went into space twice, with the Skylab 3 mission in 1973 and aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1983.