Saturday, August 9, 2008

Bubbles, Bugs & Butterflies

We headed out fairly early this morning to Bubblefest at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. It's at the base of the Space Needle, and I was a frequent visitor when I was little. I was excited to see how much the Science Center had changed and what other neat adventures Ian would have today. I always love to see the wonder on his face as he sees things for the first time. Hard to believe that only 9 months ago, we were still getting used to him and "hotel room parenting" as we spent our final days in Hangzhou.

We arrived in a sunny Seattle in under 20 minutes from our house and found a parking spot immediately. Unfortunately, there was a really long line to get in and we ended up waiting with a squirmy toddler for more than a half hour. Luckily, the forecasted cold and rainy day did not live up to the weatherman's expectations and it was actually sunny and nearing 70 (gasp!) at 11am.


Once inside, I realized that not much has changed about the Science Center since I was a frequent visitor about 25 year or so ago. There are new dinosaur, insect, and butterfly exhibits, but most of the rest is exactly as I remember it. The bubble in "bubblefest" was basically several bubble machines in the courtyard and a few craft booths for older kids. I realized throughout the entire center, that Ian will have the most fun and get the most out of places like this when he is 4 or 5 and up. He's still too young and doesn't quite grasp that fun could be had. He's really full of curiosity, but still gets overwhelmed easily. He was timid around the dinosaur exhibit and petrified of the butterflies, which surprised me. If one flutters by gently in the yard, he'll point and say "wuwufy", but here, there were thousands and BIG. They were a little intimidating. I had a hard time seeing how many were injured, many lying on the floor with broken wings. I know that in order to have an interactive atrium of butterfies with lots of traffic, there's only so much they can do to try to prevent that, but it was still sad.

We did attend a bubblologist show, where a "bubble expert" put on a great show doing amazing things with bubbles. He sat on the floor with Shawn and watched the entire 30 minutes in awe.

He also seemed intrigued with the insect exhibit, although I think part of that calmness came from the fact that they were safely behind plexiglass. He especially liked the "snow ants" which were covered in white fur and are indiginous to desert climates. We'll have to look for some in Arizona on our next visit.

We continued to lunch and he really started to melt down. It was nearing 1:30 and he was well overdue for a nap. After being a little freaked out by the dinosaurs and butterflies, he was probably battling with whether or not he enjoyed it. I think he did overall, and I would like to go back again so he can experience the "water lab" and children's museum, but for now, 3 hours of new and different was enough.

He fought sleep as long as possible, but gave in by the time we were on the freeway. Two hours after arriving home, he's still asleep (as are dad & Polli), probably dreaming of bubbles and butterflies.

In the pics below, I've included one that shows Ian in the car seat a couple days after arriving home from China and today. Amazing how much he's grown in such a short period of time. The others are a variety from the day in Seattle. The pics of the bubble scientist didn't turn out very well due to the lighting, but we still managed to get a bunch of great shots with Ian and a variety of critters.

Hope everyone enjoyed the Olympics Opening Ceremonies. It was surreal to see Beijing again and the performances meant more to us than most people watching, I think. Overall, I think it's the best Opening I've ever seen. George Bush looked bored (and probably nervous given the comments he made about China the day before) but overall, I enjoyed watching. If it comes out on DVD, we'll probably buy it.


Ian in his car seat then and now. The seat configuration is different now, but it's still easy to see that his build has completely changed.


Ian waiting in line at the Seattle Science Center. They really need to make a "waiting with a toddler" line. It was one of our least favorite moments from the day.

He was unsure about the dinosaurs. This is the only shot of the two of us looking in the same general direction.

Checking out T-Rex

Ian and the cockroaches. Yuck...But he seemed to like them.

Checking out the giant Millipedes

The furry white ants were cool. Looked like they were regular ants rolled in cotton.

Inside the butterfly atrium. He was in awe and a little scared. These weren't like the cute little butterflies in our neighborhood!

Finally getting close enough for a picture.

But ultimately, this is what he thought of the butterfly exhibit.

The koi pond in the butterfly exhibit was his favorite part...A little like the koi pond inside the White Swan lobby in Guangzhou.

2 comments:

  1. Cute "before" and "after" with the car seat! What a great way to visually see how fast he's grown.

    I totally agree with you about the opening ceremonies - I've been on the verge (and over the edge!) of tears since the first coverage began yesterday morning on the Today show. We were thinking of trying to find the ceremonies on a keepsake DVD for Aidan - no DVR here, or Tivo, etc. and I'd love for Aidan to know what we were seeing while we waited for her!

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  2. Love the before and after koi pond and car seat pics - it is amazing how much our kiddos have grown since China. And yes, we watched the opening ceremonies twice - just amazing (well, not the parade of nations twice).

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