EdVenture in December
It wouldn't be a vacation without driving down to Columbia, SC for the day and visiting the EdVenture Children's Museum. This is our 3rd visit in a year, but our first time getting to see the Snowville exhibit.
It also wouldn't be a trip to the museum if we didn't lose sight of Jayce at least once while we were there.
Brian and I always each take one kid and split up. Jaina loves to run from one thing to another at the museum. Jayce likes to stay and perseverate on just a hand full of exhibits. Or, ride the elevator up and down for an hour. This time, he actually got on a stair climbing kick and we walked up and down 4 flights of stairs until Mommy's legs were screaming and told him "NO MORE!".
So, Brian took Jaina to play on Eddie the Giant. I was in charge of Jayce. He wanted to stay on Eddie, too. I followed him into the stomach, but when he wanted to go down the slide, I had to leave him there and meet him back down by the giant sneakers. Brian was climbing down an artery and he said he'd see him when he got down. Well, the artery does not end up at the same side of the giant as the green slide did, so when Brian came back up to the stomach, he hadn't seen Jayce at all.
I quickly ran down the right wing of the museum and looked in the grocery store, the barn, the fire truck, the car, Snowville, and the indoor hockey rink. No sign of him. So I ran back to Eddie and touched base with Brian. No sign of him. So I ran down to the left wing. Through the African market place, through the camel of Egypt, through the music room, TV studio, and even checked his favorite message in a tube exhibit. Nope.
I thought quickly about checking upstairs since he LOVES elevators, but knew I couldn't possibly check all 4 floors in a timely manner. So, I went straight to the front desk to report him missing.
Thank goodness that there was a winter camp thingy going on at the museum that day. I've NEVER seen so many workers at the museum before. That day there seemed to be a couple young adults in EdVenture t-shirts in every exhibit room! And they all had walkie-talkies :)
I gave the girl a quick description of Jayce, told her how old he was, and what his name was. And said that he probably would not be crying or even know that he was lost.
Just a few quick minutes of some back and forth on the walkie-talkies and then Jayce was being led through a side entrance to the front desk to me.
Was he scared? Of course not. He wasn't lost. He knew exactly where he was at all times.
The worker that found him then relayed the conversation that they had had together.
"I spotted him right away because of his colorful shirt that matched the description. I went up to him and asked him what his name was. He said his name was Jayce. So I told him he needed to come with me. He asked, "Why?" I told him that we needed to find his mommy. He then looked around and just realized that he was by himself. He said, "Okay."
When I asked him later why he went to Snowville instead of staying with us at Eddie, he said, "I just wanted to go without you." Well, there you have it!
We then went back to Snowville together this time!
Snowville!
Farmers Eva and Jaina:
Jayce absolutely LOVES to send messages back and forth to himself through the tube. Unfortunately, he also thinks that no one else is allowed to use this exhibit while he is there.
Jaina tries her hand at being a weather girl:
It sure is hot at the beach!
Jaina and Eva report the news together:
Jaina made several crafts, but liked her snowfall and trees the best:
I started a butterfly, but didn't get a chance to finish:
Eva climbing up Eddie's spine:
The grocery store was really crowded with both kids and parents alike, so Brian sat on the sidelines waiting for the girls to move on to a new exhibit.
Jayce was mesmerized by watching the cleaning crew mop up a spill. He then read the sign, loudly, to let people know they could fall if they walked on the wet floor.
Jayce buys greenbeans at the grocery store.
Jayce wasn't scared of the fireman statue this time!
Through the fire tunnel:
It also wouldn't be a trip to the museum if we didn't lose sight of Jayce at least once while we were there.
Brian and I always each take one kid and split up. Jaina loves to run from one thing to another at the museum. Jayce likes to stay and perseverate on just a hand full of exhibits. Or, ride the elevator up and down for an hour. This time, he actually got on a stair climbing kick and we walked up and down 4 flights of stairs until Mommy's legs were screaming and told him "NO MORE!".
So, Brian took Jaina to play on Eddie the Giant. I was in charge of Jayce. He wanted to stay on Eddie, too. I followed him into the stomach, but when he wanted to go down the slide, I had to leave him there and meet him back down by the giant sneakers. Brian was climbing down an artery and he said he'd see him when he got down. Well, the artery does not end up at the same side of the giant as the green slide did, so when Brian came back up to the stomach, he hadn't seen Jayce at all.
I quickly ran down the right wing of the museum and looked in the grocery store, the barn, the fire truck, the car, Snowville, and the indoor hockey rink. No sign of him. So I ran back to Eddie and touched base with Brian. No sign of him. So I ran down to the left wing. Through the African market place, through the camel of Egypt, through the music room, TV studio, and even checked his favorite message in a tube exhibit. Nope.
I thought quickly about checking upstairs since he LOVES elevators, but knew I couldn't possibly check all 4 floors in a timely manner. So, I went straight to the front desk to report him missing.
Thank goodness that there was a winter camp thingy going on at the museum that day. I've NEVER seen so many workers at the museum before. That day there seemed to be a couple young adults in EdVenture t-shirts in every exhibit room! And they all had walkie-talkies :)
I gave the girl a quick description of Jayce, told her how old he was, and what his name was. And said that he probably would not be crying or even know that he was lost.
Just a few quick minutes of some back and forth on the walkie-talkies and then Jayce was being led through a side entrance to the front desk to me.
Was he scared? Of course not. He wasn't lost. He knew exactly where he was at all times.
The worker that found him then relayed the conversation that they had had together.
"I spotted him right away because of his colorful shirt that matched the description. I went up to him and asked him what his name was. He said his name was Jayce. So I told him he needed to come with me. He asked, "Why?" I told him that we needed to find his mommy. He then looked around and just realized that he was by himself. He said, "Okay."
When I asked him later why he went to Snowville instead of staying with us at Eddie, he said, "I just wanted to go without you." Well, there you have it!
We then went back to Snowville together this time!
Snowville!
Farmers Eva and Jaina:
Jayce absolutely LOVES to send messages back and forth to himself through the tube. Unfortunately, he also thinks that no one else is allowed to use this exhibit while he is there.
Jaina tries her hand at being a weather girl:
It sure is hot at the beach!
Jaina and Eva report the news together:
Jaina made several crafts, but liked her snowfall and trees the best:
I started a butterfly, but didn't get a chance to finish:
Eva climbing up Eddie's spine:
The grocery store was really crowded with both kids and parents alike, so Brian sat on the sidelines waiting for the girls to move on to a new exhibit.
Jayce was mesmerized by watching the cleaning crew mop up a spill. He then read the sign, loudly, to let people know they could fall if they walked on the wet floor.
Jayce buys greenbeans at the grocery store.
Jayce wasn't scared of the fireman statue this time!
Through the fire tunnel:
Always terrifying when the child seems to disappear. We've all had those moments. Glad all was well.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness! That had to be so scary. (For you, not for him. LOL!)
ReplyDeleteLoosing site of your child is terrifying. It's only happened to me once. My son didn't think he was lost either;)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun tradition...minus the loss of child. I have a little panick going on just reading about it!
ReplyDeleteThat museum looks like so much fun! (of course, except for losing track of your son) Glad he was okay & having fun :)
ReplyDeleteGreat little museum . Luckily Brian was with you too and all the museum workers. I am always so high strung and panic stricken, so who knows what I would have done. Probably my normal.. Screaming seems to be the first thing that comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteI make Joshua carry a walkie talkie and I carry the other one and Justin I am usually holding him or he's too scared to do anything without me.
William did that to us at a local amusement park. It took over an hour to find him. We had 3 adults plus Jonathon in our group. We just started giving him the freedom to not hold a hand. He was probably about 10. Security found him swimming in the creek. He didn't come out. They had to go in for him.
ReplyDelete