Staycation: The Science Centre

I took this past week off to hang out with the kids, and do some activities we've been talking about but haven't had the chance to do based on time or age (Blake's, not mine).

On Monday, we hit the Ontario Science Centre. I haven't been to the Science Centre since I was in high school. And, on that visit, we spent most of the time hanging out in the cafeteria telling funny jokes and laughing our asses off. Not so much with the enlightenment, but definitely fun.

This time, we met George's brother's family, and his cousin's family to do a tour that started with the Harry Potter exhibit. All of us are fairly big fans, so it was a good chance to see the costumes and props used in the movies up close and personal. And, I must say, it was very cool seeing Hagrid's huge costume, Dolores Umbridge's sickeningly pink, confectionary suits, and the surprisingly small sizes of the costumes for the kids -- hard to believe they were that young when this whole franchise started.

After being suckered into $4 chocolate frogs for the kids in the gift shop, we had lunch and then headed out to see the rest of the Science Centre. A particular favourite was the cave, where the kids decided to hide in the nooks and crannies:

Faith and her cousin, Ava

Wyatt, Blake, and Nathan

Other highlights included the examples of snot, complete with a simulated sneeze, and the Kids area where they ran around like maniacs. I decided to keep the kids at the centre after the others left so we could see the Under the Sea IMAX picture. Stunning - even though Blake fell asleep half-way through. (No, we didn't see any sharks in the movie, in case he asks.) The nap was good though, so the kids could keep going through the rest of the exhibits, including the Science Arcade, where they got to pretend to drive, learn about leverage, and have fun with mirrors:

Faith & Cordelia

We ended the day with a trip to Swiss Chalet to refuel before the trip home. Faith learned she liked Caesar Salad (thanks to Cordelia), and Blake charmed the waitress by handing him her plate at the end of the meal.

The trip home was uneventful (the best you can ask for with TO traffic). We got home exhausted but very happy with the whole experience.