What's the Deal: Discovery Gateway Children's Museum, SLC, Utah

A few weeks back, my sister Diana and her girls, Alyson and Chloe, came to visit. I love it when she visits and so do my kids, because Aunt Diana, frankly, is a lot more fun than Mom, and they know that when Aunt Diana comes to visit, they will get to do a bunch of stuff that Mom is normally too tired (lazy) to let them do, like go swimming and stay up past 6:30 and leave the house and other crazy stuff like that. Accordingly, one hot afternoon, Diana, Wendy and I packed up all of our kids and headed for the children's museum.

When we arrived at the museum, Diana spotted this sign, and stole my camera to take a picture. It says, "Strollers: To make more room for play please park your stroller around the corner by the elevators." Of course, the sign was SURROUNDED by strollers.


There were a lot of cool exhibits that I didn't take pictures of, because I was too busy running around yelling, "Sarah? Sarah, where's Carter? Oh, there you are, o.k. Oh - Abby? ABBY! Carter, where's ABBY? Oh, Abby, I see you. Wait, where's Sarah again?" And so on. (You know how they have those barbaric leashes for kids? I totally want one. Or three.)

There was a child size working grocery store where they check their groceries out, use the cash register, talk over the loudspeaker, etc. See how Sarah is just patiently waiting for them to check her out, not getting bossy or demanding or anything? (So obviously her father's kid!) Another little girl kept hogging the cash register and I was about to ask her to let Sarah have a turn and Sarah gave me this withering look like, "Do NOT embarrass me, mother." Uh huh. Yeah. She's FIVE.


Did Abby want to play in the grocery store? No, Abby did not. Abby wanted to play in this - old fake metal car. It didn't do anything. It wasn't even a REAL fake car. It was just - a fake pretend car with no pedals or gears or anything. All you could do was steer it. But - hey - that car had some other kids in it, and you could boss them around and tell them you were the mom and they were the children and then make them listen to you sing a song. An audience, trapped in a car with you. That seemed to be the primary draw of the exhibit.


There was a puppet show. See that person hiding back there behind the puppet show? That's my sister Wendy. She put on the puppet show. See all those empty seats? Yeah. The kids all left. Abby stayed for a while, out of pity, I think.


Here is another puppet show. That chicken puppet? I believe that's Wendy again. Notice that the children have all wandered away.


After Wendy was finished putting on puppet shows for imaginary audiences, the kids took turns being on the news, watching themselves on camera...


Next they went outside to examine the (real) flight for life helicopter. Carter was worried, because every few minutes the helicopter would start making helicopter sound effects and vibrating and he was quite convinced it was going to take off into the sky at any moment.

Back inside, they played some games. Abby picked her nose a little. (Here is a tip for first time parents: Don't ever say, "No child of mine will ever ______." Because then karma will bite you in the buttocks and YES THEY WILL.)

We did a bunch of other stuff - dressing up...



...and farming activities and playing games and building buildings and other things like that, then ate dinner and headed over to the fountains to cool off. Wendy and Diana did not want to get wet, the big wussies. But the kids and I had no such compunctions - it was hot, and the water was cold. A little bit later, drenched and tired, we all headed home.


P.S. Wendy - don't hurt me. XOXOXOXO

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