Places to Go - Christmas in Washington D.C. - Trains at the Botanic Gardens & "Wondering" through Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery of Art

WONDER

I'm probably the last DC blogger to post on this, but F, T, and I FINALLY made it to the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery to check out Wonder and we all were in complete awe. T literally gasped each time we entered a room, then exclaimed, "wow, look at this!" Let's keep in mind that T is 6. And a boy. And he didn't want to leave an ART MUSEUM. That alone is crazy impressive.

The FREE!! exhibit runs through July and is (literally) amazing. Click here for more info.





Bugs = Art, T was enthralled.









After the exhibit, we ran into a demonstration about the persecution of Ethiopia's Oromo people. Sad stuff, but also great to be in a city where you can educate yourself about the world's problems just by walking down the street.
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TRAINS AT THE BOTANIC GARDENS

Last week, the kids had an early release day from school, so I decided to take seven children to the Botanic Gardens to check out this year's seasonal train exhibit. I like to think that I'm capable of great feats, but seven children might have been overplaying my hand. Oh well, each and every child loved the trains and had fun collecting the scavenger hunt stamps located throughout the building. Perhaps a little too much fun as they ran from room to room. But oh well, its hard to stay home when this crazy warm weather begs one to explore.

How about everyone else? How have you been holiday-ing lately?

Places to Go - Katy Perry's Portrait & Kids in a Box at the Smithsonian American Art Museum & National Portrait Gallery (Washington D.C.)

Happy Monday everyone!! I felt like we/I needed a break from the vacation posts. Plus, after almost a month touring Europe, I'm even more in awe of how truly awesome DC really is. The first week after we came back from Europe I had a hard time readjusting - first of all, I had a pretty steady stream of photography work for the first few days (which was wonderful, but exhausting), plus after 3.5 weeks alone together the kids could not stop fighting, and a revolving door of playdates kept circulating through my living room (so. many. kids).

Anyways, when KidFriendly DC posted a picture of Katy Perry's portrait at the Smithsonian Portrait museum I realized how much I needed a non-pool outing. Luckily, all I had to do was mention the Firework singer and the girls were all in (like moths to a flame).

While I hate the parking situation, I love the Smithsonian art museums (the Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum share a building, though, somewhat oddly, not a website), they are rarely crowded and the modern art gallery on the top floor is one of my favorite places in DC. Lots of empty space. Cool couches. Amazing large scale installations. If you ever need a place to relax in the big city, this is the place to be.



A new way to read the Constitution.





We also checked out the museum's Watch This: Revelations in Media Art exhibit (only open until September 7, GO NOW!!), where the girls could have spent hours playing with the video camera that films you in a box.








And then we randomly wandered into the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. And this is when I realized the true amazingness of DC. I had no idea this place even existed. Basically, several of the collections that the museum previously housed in storage are now available to the public in Luce's three floored gallery, which looks like the secret garden of libraries. The Luce Foundation also has scavenger hunts and audio tours, which the kids and I cannot wait to try out on our next visit. But, as our time was limited, we spent our first visit perusing aisle after aisle of hidden treasures, the girls especially loved the crazy jewelry collection, where drawers open up so you can explore more.

Places to Go - Lighthouses and Trains at the US Botanic Gardens (Washington D.C.)

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Just a quick reminder that the US Botanical Gardens has their annual train display up (we went a few weeks ago, back when I could still walk). This year's theme is lighthouses and they've (as always) made a really beautiful exhibit. The gardens are open from 10-5 every day (including Christmas), click here to learn more.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Places to Go - Museum Classes for Kids with the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Washington D.C.)

As any long-term reader of this blog probably knows, I'm a huge fan of bringing kids to museums. Even little kids. So I was pretty excited to learn that Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center ("SEEC") is now offering weekend and weekday classes for children aged 6 months through 6 years. SEEC has offered similar programs through their lab school for years but its main mission is to serve Smithsonian families and space on the campus is limited.

A few weeks ago, SEEC asked me if I wanted to watch one of their classes in action. We met at the Smithsonian's American History Museum, the location of one of SEEC's two centers (the other center resides next door in the Natural History Museum) and walked over to the Sackler Gallery with about 10 preschool-aged children. Even for me (the huge fan of kids in museums) the somewhat austere Sackler gallery, which features dim mood lighting and nothing that visitors can touch, has always seemed out of preschool range. Luckily, those in charge knew what they were doing.

Museum-going with SEEC feels like a VIP affair, a few badge flashes and we were in - no bag checks, no cranky guards frowning with disapproval. Our group made our way down the stairs to the bottom of Xu Bing's hanging sculpture entitled Monkeys Grasping for the Moon, where we plopped ourselves on the floor and turned to look at the artwork. The teacher explained that Bing built the artwork specifically for the Sackler Gallery (cool, huh)? The teacher then asked the kids of what the art reminded them and we started talking about monkeys and words and chains of objects. I was impressed as none of the dialog seemed forced, the teacher definitely had ideas she wanted to emphasize, but she encouraged the kids to articulate their own thoughts.

After about ten minutes, the kids seemed a little antsy. So the teacher brought out a barrel full of plastic monkeys and handed these out to the children. I learned SEEC programs usually bring in objects for children to hold during museum visits, ensuring that their little hands always have something to touch. The students then made predictions about whether or not plastic monkeys can create horizontal chains (the children already knew how to use the monkeys to make vertical chains). Everyone voted and we tried the experiment, where we learned that some monkeys could make a chain but that the links fell apart when too many monkeys were involved.

After the plastic monkeys returned to their barrel, the teacher read Elphinstone Dayrell's Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky aloud to the children. After which we stood up and prepared to leave. Since the class was run as part of the preschool, the kids made their way to the playground. But if this were a weekend class, the attendees would have returned to the classroom for an activity or art project.

After saying goodbye to the children, I walked on over to SEEC center to tour their infant classroom. Preparations were underway for an infant weekend class, which involved a trip to the National Gallery of Art. "Really?" I thought. "Infants in the National Gallery might be taking this whole early childhood education a bit too far." But I changed my mind when I saw the materials. The museum visit would focus on fall colors and the staff was making colored rings for the infants to hold/play with/teethe. Then, back at SEEC, a sorting activity full of various buckets of brown things, orange things, red things, and yellow things was set up for the babies, which seemed like a perfect age-appropriate activity.

Basically, the whole program really impressed me. I'm pretty bummed that two out of my three children are too old for the classes (and T is at the outer edge of the program's age cutoff).

A new season of classes opens this January, click here for the link and to register. The program also offers a biweekly early explorers class for children 18 months to 3 years and their caregivers (click here for more info).

Look, Touch, Learn
Recommended Ages: 6 months – 18 months
Saturdays: January 31 – February 28 (excluding February 14)
Each week we discover our senses and engage in play that will help your child learn about themselves as well as, build their cognitive, emotional and motor skills.

The Same on the Inside
Recommended Ages: 19 months – 3 years
Saturdays: January 31 – February 28 (excluding February 14)
It is never too early for your child to begin to understand and appreciate diversity. Each week we will begin with everyday jobs, like eating or getting dressed and then we will learn how they are done in other parts of the world. Families are encouraged to share their own traditions as part of the class!

Animals in Art
Recommended Ages: 4- 6 years
Saturdays: January 31 – February 28 (excluding February 14)
Children discover the significance animals play in art from all over the world.

*Note - SEEC sponsored this post, but the opinions expressed are (of course!!) entirely my own.

Places to Go - Flying Through the Air at TSNY's Trapeze Class (Washington D.C.)

For the last few months or so, our friend Val has become rather enamored with TSNY's trapeze classes (located in Yards Park, down the block from Nationals' Stadium). So when she asked if the girls and I wanted to join her, we couldn't wait. Sign up was easy enough, though if you're enrolling children there are are a few important things to know:

(1) Children as young as 4 are allowed to "fly", but it is up to the parent to gauge whether a young child has the attention span or patience for the class (at age 5, I didn't think T could hack it).

(2) A parent or guardian must be present when children under age 18 are in class, unless they are enrolled in a camp program or special arrangements have been made with the school. Plus, the parent or legal guardian has to sign a waiver in person.

(3) Classes are expensive - $55 per person for evening classes; $49 for morning classes. If you purchase over 5 classes, bulk discounts are available. Further, if you sign up for a second class immediately after finishing your first class, then the third class is free (awesome!).

(4) Each class lasts two hours and contains 10 people or less. All age groups participate in the same class and everyone takes turns trying new tricks consistent with their personal skill level.

(4) Don't forget socks! (They're required.)

Before class, P - the gymnast - could not wait to climb the ladder, but height-shy F was a bundle of nerves. The staff did a fantastic job assuring F that her that her fears were perfectly normal and that she could break/stop at any time. After 3 nerve-wracking first tries, F announced that TSNY's motto is right on track - "Forget Fear. Worry About the Addiction." So of course, we've already signed up for round 2 (and this time, I'll be up there as well).

If you're interested in trying out a class, click here for the schedule.

Happy Monday everyone!!