Cincinnati Museum Center

Friday we grabbed the kids, some friends, and snacks.  We were on a mission to visit the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.  We had so much fun!  First came the game plan.  You see, the Cincy Museum Center actually offers 3 museums in one building plus an Omnimax theatre.  I forgot to mention the "revolving" exhibits (which is Cleopatra right now) and the fact that it is still a working train station!  That should give you some idea how BIG this place is!  

Our first stop was the Cincinnati History Museum.  For me, this was a must see.  They have a huge model of Cincinnati, called Cincinnati in Motion.  To say Ren loved it would be putting it mildly.  He was going from station to station pointing out things and using the interactive displays to learn more.  Both Chuck and I thought it was super cute when we got to the Crosley Field portion and Ren said "Hey Mommy, isn't that where the Reds play?".  While Great American Ball Park does resemble Crosley, according to my Dad "it in no way compares".  He would love seeing that model!  Then it was onto my favorite part of the Cincinnati History Museum, the Cincinnati goes to War exhibit.  I have a thing with WWII and the 1940's in general.  My cookbook collection is proof of that.  Not to mention my vintage Christmas decor that is put up each year.  I was so thrilled to be checking out all the exhibit information.  The kids, well, they loved the streetcar.  Yup, you read that right.  The museum has a full sized street car and they thought it was the coolest thing ever!  Well, the coolest thing since the steamboat exhibit.

[caption id="attachment_4583" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Riding on the street car"][/caption]

Then we headed out to the main area for some snacks.  Followed closely by the Museum of Natural History and Science.  This was where A was in her element.  She spent quite a long time looking at the different displays.  She wanted to know all about glaciers and by the end of our tour, she had learned a lot!  Next came the cavern tour.  We actually did this one twice.  Once on the easy route, just in case someone got scared.  Then, at the begging of the kids, we did the harder route.  It was so neat!  Well, it was really neat right up until the kids ran us into a small area.  By small I mean A had a hard time fitting through.  Chuck and I had to dunk under a rock crawl through the opening, only to find out there was a way that was so much easier to navigate a few seconds later.  At least the kids got a good laugh at our expense.

[caption id="attachment_4584" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Taking a break for snacks! "][/caption]

To round out our day and saving the little ones favorite until last, we headed to the Duke Energy Children's Museum.  Oh. My. Goodness.  We walked in and the kids literally gasped!  Then they looked at each other and each took off in a separate direction.  Do I need to remind you that we have 3 kids?  Oh, and there are only two of us?  Yeah.  Chuck and I glanced at each other and followed someone.  Chuck went after Ren who headed straight to the building centers.  There were blocks and rocks and rockets and all sorts of things to feed his creative imagination with.  Within minutes he was building sky scrapers and rockets to the moon!  I took off after the girls and reached A first.  She was in the area to learn about different cultures.  I loved that she was asking questions and wanting to learn more.  Thank goodness for the people who volunteer/work there.  They answered many of her questions!  I'm sure you're wondering where CS was?  Well, she was washing dogs and helping sick kitties.  If that didn't make sense, she was pretending to be a veterinarian.  The Children's Museum has various areas set up for little ones to explore different jobs.  There's a vet's office, grocery store, cafe, house, nursery, mechanic's shop among others.  CS was content to help the dogs and cats.  She has such a huge soft heart for animals (much like Chuck) that it didn't surprise me at all that she wanted to stay there.  She had on the little lab coat and everything!

[caption id="attachment_4582" align="aligncenter" width="293" caption="Whoops! Building rockets is hard work!"][/caption]

If you are local and haven't been to the Cincinnati Museum Center, I highly recommend you go!  There really is something for everyone.  If you're not local and ever get the chance to visit, please do so.  If only to take in the beauty of the building, which is gorgeous!