Like most moms I know, I consider our area's children's museums a staple in my rotating repertoire of awesome rainy-day activities. So when I received the assignment to visit a few museums outside this realm – places that aren't just for kids – I wondered how my children were going to respond.
My 5-year-old son, Nathan, and 3-year-old daughter, Caitlyn, ventured off the beaten path with me to visit four King County museums in one week, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Given the right mix of interactive activities and parental encouragement, my kids were getting their dose of history and having fun, too.
This week: Museum of History & Industry
The whole family made it over to the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) on the first Thursday of the month, when the museum offers free admission. MOHAI's history of Seattle covers a vast span of time – from 1792 to the present. And there is quite a bit for children to get their hands on, which is why my family gives it praise.
Two exhibits were especially fun for Nathan and Caitlyn: "Salmon Stakes: People, Nature and Technology" and "Hall of Icons and Eye Candy." In the first, my kids played on a mock fishing boat, donning the provided fishing gear, giving orders on the radio and bringing in the stuffed fish in the net. They also enjoyed trying their hands at the cannery, working with other children to manipulate levers and wheels – corresponding with different jobs in the factory – to guide metal balls along a track.
The "Icons" exhibit indeed had eye candy for us all. This eclectic set of Seattle paraphernalia includes the pink Lincoln's Toe Truck (literally with toes on top of it); Boeing's first plane, the B-1 Flying Boat; the hydroplane Slo-Mo-Shun IV, which started the summer tradition of races in Seattle; and, Nathan's personal favorite, the replica of 1930s downtown Seattle with over 140,000 Legos. At the end of the hall lives the taxidermal Bobo the Gorilla, a Woodland Park Zoo icon from the 1950s and 1960s.
There are plenty of activities and interesting relics to engage kids at MOHAI, and parents may just sneak some time to read up on their Seattle-area history.
Next week: Rosalie Whyel Doll Art Museum
Taryn Zier is a freelance writer based in Lake Forest Park and mother of two avid museum-goers, ages 3 and 5.
