tagged: kids, library, museum, Pittsfield

An afternoon Full of Education

Posted by Barbara in Family

The entrance to the Museum.

Once again here to take us around the Berkshire’s kid friendly places is Barbara and her son Evan!  Don’t forget, if you enjoy Eidetic Berkshire then be sure to sign up for our e-mail updates whenever a new post goes up! You can also follow Eidetic Berkshire on facebook or follow me on twitter! I am always open to guest bloggers as well so please feel free to contact me about participating!

Kaitlyn

An afternoon Full of Education

The morning started off with a slow start. Knowing that my boyfriend would be spending most of his day at work, I was trying to think of something new and fun to do with my son Evan. While we were eating our breakfast and watching Marmaduke I kept trying to come up with ideas. Then the idea of going to the library popped into my head like a firework bursting on the 4th of July. I have a huge love for books and I know that my son has a interest in them as well. I thought it would be the perfect day to take him on his first trip to the library.

The book we sat down and read at the library.

We parked in the lot on Bartlett Ave and entered through the children’s section of the library. We took a quick walk through the children’s section so I could tell him what the library was and how things work. Then we picked out a book for us to read and cuddled up on a bench and looked at the pictures and let our imagination take us to a galaxy far away.

While we were there I remembered hearing about the library letting you check out passes to local attractions. We finished our book and headed upstairs to the main section of the library. We went up to the front counter and asked if they had any passes to the museum since it was only a short walking distance away. Lucky for us they had a pass so we could go and check out the museum!  All I needed to get the passes was my library card. It was a very easy process and we had till 9:30am the next morning to return them. The staff were friendly and all helpful with any questions I had about the passes.

After getting our passes at the library we took the short walk to the museum located on North Street. We entered and were immediately greeted with a friendly smile by the guy at the front desk. After telling us the passes were good for the 1st floor and basement,  he explained to us a little about the museum and where things were located within. He was extremely helpful with my questions and made a great impression.

The first room that we entered was the “Dinosaur room” as I called it. It featured exhibits about dinosaurs and had a area for children to pretend they were looking for fossils. They have protective goggles for the children to wear while playing in the fake dirt. They also had a play corner with toy dinosaurs and other toys for younger children to play with.

The entrance to the museum.

Evan was on a mission to keep checking things out so we ventured off to the next room where we found exhibits of the wildlife here in the Berkshires. He really enjoyed looking at all the animals on display. He pointed at all of them and told me the names and sounds that they made. It could be a great place to take your little ones to teach them about animals! The room also had interactive stations for older children to use and learn things such as pH levels in water.

If you have children who are more interested in science and rock collecting then the next room will be a special treat for them. It displayed different minerals and rocks from local and surrounding areas as well as rocks from far away. It also had a display that showed you the rocks under florescent lights and how they changed colors. My son thought that was pretty cool!

Evan looking at the lights after we finished dancing.

The room that had the most for everyone I think is the “Innovation room.” It had video’s for the adults to watch and different tables for your children to color and brainstorm at. It was made to be interactive especially with those who have families. They had different questions and thinking areas. They want your children to use their minds in creative ways. They had one exhibit that caught our attention most. It was a small almost like dance area with lights that changed colors and patterns when you moved. We spent about half an hour there just dancing and being goofy!

After shaking our booties for a while we then went down to the basement where the aquarium is located. It was my favorite area when I was little and I couldn’t wait to show Evan! The first stop when we got there was to look at the tank that held the turtles. He was so excited! Evan kept smiling, pointing, and saying turtle over and over. We went and looked at all the fish and frogs and I explained to him what they were and what they ate and such. He thought the seahorses were neat! What I found to be interesting was that they had “Berkshire pond” tank. It had all the fish and critters from the ponds around the area. A lot of which I am sure we have seen on walks around the area or even in our backyards.

Then we went into the reptile room which mainly consisted of snakes. I hope you aren’t afraid of them or you may not want to enter the room. They had stools and seats for children to sit and observe the habits and behaviors of the snakes. Evan sat for a few minutes in front of the boa constrictors. One of the boa’s was being extremely active and this caught his attention. Most of the other snakes were hiding so we didn’t get to see all of them but he still had a blast seeing them first hand. Evan has several snake toys and when he saw the snakes he kept hissing just like they do!

Evan getting ready to touch the horseshoe crabs at the touch tank

On our way out after exploring and learning lots of new things we stopped at the touch tank in the aquarium. They have two different tanks for you or your children to touch and explore. The first one we went to held four horseshoe crabs. I had always been fascinated with them since I was a child so I thought it was awesome! Evan looked at them for a while before being brave and putting his hands in the water for a touch. He was a little scared at first but then he smiled and thought it was great. He kept saying splash and touching them over and over. I made sure to watch closely to make sure he wasn’t being rough. Then we made our way over to the other tank that held some snails and a lonely starfish. I wasn’t very impressed with this tank. I remember it being filled with a lot more things when I was younger. Evan however thought the starfish was neat and seemed to be having the time of his life. We dried off our hands and started making our way to the exit.

Evan’s first trip to the library and museum overall was a success. It was a great way for us to get out of the house and have some interactive bonding time. He learned all sorts of new things and so did I. I loved how the museum encourages your children to use their minds and explore. I hope that you all take the time to go and visit the library and museum. While you are out you can also take a nice walk downtown, have lunch at one of the many restaurants, and check out the stores. North street has made a huge comeback and it’s progress is only going further!