Thanksgiving Point Madness

LOTS of pictures in this post; beware! (Unless you like pictures. Then enjoy!)

The museum's "kid-sized" door, right next to the full-sized door

After my grandmother's funeral, the girls and I still had a few days until we flew back to Tucson. This was somewhat different from most of our other family trips, though...since it was late February, all the cousins were still in school! What to do? Easy...we'd spend a whole lot of time at Thanksgiving Point!

 My sister Jocelyn lives just a few minutes' drive from Thanksgiving Point, which over time has morphed from a charming garden & reception center into a sprawling entertainment and event destination in Utah County. The gardens are beautiful, extensive, and well-cultivated. Over the last several years, a farm/petting zoo has cropped up, as has the Museum of Ancient Life, a movie theater that includes one giant-sized screen, a golf course, a wellness center, and now...

This climbing gym reached up three stories; and there were advanced rooftop tracks you could attempt if you paid an extra fee. We spent the bulk of our time in this area.

...the Museum of Natural Curiosity! When we last visited Utah a couple of years ago, this massive children's/science museum was still under construction. But it was open for business this week, and I'd heard glowing reviews of it from both my sister and my Sahuarita friends who had visited it on their vacations. We were excited to check it out, and aunt Jocelyn and cousin Laura (the one Carlin kid not yet in school) were happy to show us around!

This multi-story tower had several "flights" of interlocking elastic bands that kids could use to either climb higher, or "fall" to the ground

Lorelai "falling" through the tower

We were not disappointed; it was an incredible experience for my kids. I loved it too, even if the activities weren't all meant just for me.

This was a pitch-black "sensory tunnel" that you had to feel your way out of. Lorelai and Celeste loved it. Aurora and I, not so much.

Climbing on one of the many rope ladders

Aurora preparing for a daring flight

The tree sculpture in the Kid's Town section of the museum, complete with many small businesses

Another view of Kid's Town

The girls found costumes, backdrops, and sound effects for their "performance" at the Kid's Town theater

Lorelai at the stop-motion animation booth; Hi, Wallace & Gromit!

Celeste "robbing" the Kid's Town bank

The magical "empty harp"; there were no strings, but sensors "felt" your hands and played the correct notes. Amazing!

This was my favorite room; an automated percussion chamber, in which you could create your own rhythm section. I spent an unhealthy amount of time in this room, and lost track of my kids as a result of it.

 I wasn't able to chase the girls around as closely as I would have liked, due to my bum ankle. Despite all the active play areas, though, I never felt the kids were in any danger. It was huge, busy, creative and safe...in other words, the perfect museum!

In the more "science-y" part of the museum, studying motion, force & energy

The flat silver circle was rapidly rotating; it was fun to put objects on it and see what happened to them!

Having fun with magnetic attraction

Celeste playing with magnets & metal filings suspended in liquid

 W

Setting off a pint-sized geyser

Creating your own water flow with a variety of pipes

The "water center" at the museum; I suspect it's more busy in the summertime

The girls' (unsuccessful) attempt at building a stable structure inside this "earthquake table"

Nothing fancy; just building sand structures with cousin Laura!

Yes, there's even a playground outside the museum, complete with zip-line. This place had everything.

We spent hours there and the girls still grumbled when it was time to go home, even though Jocelyn and I were completely exhausted.

We headed for a Del Taco to refuel, then we had to hurry home so the Carlin kids could be picked up from school! But it wasn't playtime yet; everyone had homework to do...even my girls! I'd had enough advance notice about our trip that I was able to collect some homework for Lorelai and Celeste to bring along with them. It was cute to see them all sitting together, studying away...and it was also a reminder that all our children are growing up fast...and so are their parents! We closed the day with a large pizza dinner and a peaceful evening at home watching TV and bonding with family.

But one day at Thanksgiving Point wasn't enough! The very next day, when the Carlin kids were back at school, we decided to visit either the Museum of Ancient Life or the petting zoo.

In the interest of time (we had a busy schedule that afternoon), we decided to go to the petting zoo. It was a somewhat chilly morning, so we reasoned that it would shorten our time there. (This was a recurring theme throughout our Utah trip. The weather was quite nice the whole time we were there--mid-50s or even higher--and yet our girls kept whining about how "cold" it was. Ah, my sweet sheltered Arizona children).

With admission to the petting zoo, each girl got a ticket for a pony ride...always a plus for them!

 

We also had enough change to get everyone some feed, so all the kids had a great time feeding the birds and nuzzling the mammals.

 

The girls loved the Clydesdales!

The best part about all this? Thanks to our family membership in Tucson's International Wildlife Museum, we were able to attend all these terrific centers for free! It was such a great bargain; all the Thanksgiving Point museums are definitely worth paying for...but if you can avoid it, all the better!

 

 One of the many benefits to visiting family and friends in Utah is having this large family entertainment center so conveniently located to where we are staying. It was a great opportunity for our girls to play, and to make our mini-vacation feel like a vacation.