On the trail of...

...mammals. A trip to the park netted Annie deer tracks, squirrel tracks, and raccoon tracks! And this evening, if the weather cooperates, it will be time for a bat walk!

Science Exploration Day

This event, hosted by St. John Fisher College, has long been a hit with Annie. Gray got his first taste this year, and he definitely agrees with his sister. Each year, area colleges and science-related businesses come together for this event, each setting up some sort of fun science exhibit. Most are hands-on type things.

Rich and a colleague always man the MCC booth in the evening. This year their booth had owl pellets for kids to dissect, pond water to examine for microscopic organisms, and a frog call game.

At other booths, they were able to silver-plate pennies, make a screwdriver, mix concrete, examine a variety of skulls, hunt for shark teeth fossils, see a variety of animals, like coatis and giant millipedes, up close and personal, and numerous other things (there were about 40 booths this year).



(Gray with a model of a real murder victim's skull.)

nature, and lectures, and black bears...oh my

One of our local favorites, Tinker Nature Park, held their Earth Day Celebration this past Saturday. So off the kids and I headed. (Rich couldn't join us because he was off at "soccer coach school".)

















We made sure we were there in time for the Black Bear Presentation. Master Gray has long been a fan of the bear, in all its species forms. However, had I realized how long the presentation was going to be, we probably would have skipped it. It was really aimed more at adults than at young kids. But Gray amazed me...he sat totally captivated for the entire hour! (Even Max did okay, though he got a little squirmy and came up in my lap for a bit.)


Afterwards, we just headed off on a little hike through the park. Always good to blow off a little steam after having your butt planted for so long, right?

a little culture...the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Now this is what I call a field trip! Since the boys (both big and little) were off for spring break, we headed to Grandmother's house. Along with seeing Grandmother, we had another mission for this trip to southeast Pennsylvania...visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Frida Kahlo was Annie's latest "artist of interest," so when I found out the museum was holding a special exhibit of her life and work, I knew we had to find a way to get down there.

And it was well worth the trip. Frida Kahlo was such an incredible woman...I just can't help but admire the way she lived her life to the fullest despite the tragedies and pain she endured. Seeing her paintings in person was just the most amazing experience...one I hope Annie will always remember.

Unfortunately, photography was prohibited in the Kahlo exhibit itself, but we did get some shots while we explored other areas of the museum.

field trip!

Oh yes, Annie is one lucky girl to have a Daddy who teaches at a community college. It allows her to do some things she probably wouldn't be able to do otherwise. A big for instance:


We've been studying birds this quarter for science. Rich just happened to need to set up a lab practical for his vertebrate zoology class. Hence, Annie got to accompany him up to school Friday afternoon and help him dissect a pigeon. Now one might think that
being a vegetarian and all, that this might bother her. Apparently not. She seemed to be of the opinion that since her dad had to do this for his class anyway, that it wouldn't hurt for her to learn something from it.



While there, she was also able to examine some bird skeletons.




And then, for a change of pace, they also visited the Mercer Gallery there on campus.



Yes, Miss Annie had a very fun, informative afternoon indeed.