On Saturday, we met friends at the Gwacheon National Science Museum. It's really close to where we live and it is fabulous. I cannot wait to go again. It was so big with so much space for active, wild kids. It was the perfect thing to do on a cold and gloomy day. For grownups, there is a coffee shop inside--real coffee shop with espresso, cafe au lait, etc.--that helped perk me up after an early morning writing sesssion and a cleaning commitment at Dahin's school. Plus, I can't get over the fact that museums in Korea are sooooooo affordable. As they should be. For our whole family it cost under $10 (boys were free). They have a planetarium, which we weren't able to check out but will for sure on our next trip, and many awesome exhibits. After attempting to snap some photos of the kids inside (Oliver, above, is the only one who cooperated), we made a b-line to the dinosaur area outside.
The dinosaur area was really cool--many,many life-size figures of dinosaurs, bridges, hills, tunnels, and a playground, which brings me to another reason I love this museum: at least three spots outside (that we saw) where kids could play and explore.
The first indoor exhibit area we caught was the traditional Korean science area. There were all kinds of exibits from traditional house-building to food storage, maps to astronomy. Below, Dahin finds her doppelganger in the astronomy exhibit.
Ronan is in love with outer space. The boys did a whole discovery section on outer space. They did all kinds of assignments, learned about their 'signs,' and a song about Cassiopeia ('oh, caaaas-sio-peeiaaa..."). Ronan was giving me a little lesson on 14th century astronomy in which the earth was king and square and the universe was round (or something like that). It was great to see him so excited about something.
Oliver's a little map freak, so he enjoyed walking across this old map of east asia.
During potty breaks, Dahin demonstrates that her phone can be a constant attention-grabber; even in a museum (yay).
The natural history exhibit area was just awesome. Being a failed paleatologist (ok, I never really tried at that one, but still loved the idea when I was a kid) I was like a kid in a candy store. I walked around with Oliver and kept trying to read the signs to him as he said, "Let's go!" I also made him pose with many of the dino-bone figures, which, after a few times he refused to do.
With all these cool bones, fossils, and sharp teeth, the computer is what caught his attention. The museum includes several computer areas in each exhibit area. Perfect for kids who like to punch buttons.
Tired of me asking him to pose in front of dino-bones, Oliver took my photo in front of a woolly mammoth that looks like it's about to stampede me (a little catharsis, little buddy?)
The natural history section also included an exhibit on the natural wildlife of the peninsula. The kids loved seeing the toads, turtles, plants and stuff, but what they really loved were the sharks. They weren't big sharks, but good enough for the kids to yell, "Sharks!" and hang out by the tank for a good while. Dahin, below, snapped a multitude of photos at all the exhibits.
The natural history exhibit included "Dr. Fish." I'm sure this exists elsewhere, but it's very popular in Korea. There's a restaurant somewhere in Seoul called Dr. Fish--you stick your feet in water as you eat and these little fish come and nibble off your dead skin cells. Sounds gross, but people seem to like it. We got to stick our fingers in little side tanks and let the fish 'tickle' us.
Above, Dahin ponders how she can rule the world (mwa-ha-ha!) as she spins the globe. Below, the kids stop off at a hand sanitizing station. These were all over the museum as well.
There was a great kids area with lots of hands-on exhibits with water play, stationary bikes that measured energy, music, art, homes (including this little fun house that helped kids learn about gravity and the plumming system). Jack exited the children's area early because he said, " It smells like sinchong flu (H1N1)." He's so funny. We stayed for a while, but it was pretty musty and had that 'kid' smell. Didn't ruin our fun, though.
After we left the museum, we headed to a nearby roasted duck place. It was so, so good. The dinner was relaxing and cozy.
It was, obviously, still Christmas at the roasted duck restaurant (below). I liked the atmosphere--felt like we were on vacation in a mountain get away. When you head outside after you eat, there are sweet potatoes roasting in a stove and you can see the ducks roasting in the massive roaster. There were rides on the side of the building for the kids. They had fun, but at one point, Oliver forgot where we were (around the corner eating sweet potatoes) and thought we had left him and his friend and Ronan. Ronan ran and got me to say that Oliver was crying and when I went to check, he and his friend Leon were gone! I heard a sound coming from the parking lot and Leon was running toward us with Oliver, in tears, running behind him. Apparently, Oliver had panicked and ran into the parking lot; Leon had followed him to get him to stop. Good thing Ronan came to get me. I have to remember that about Oliver--even when we're at a playground, I have to constantly remind him where I am and check on him. Even if I see him; if he doesn't see me, he freaks out and cries. It doesn't happen as often now that he's entering big boy status, but the duck restaurant incident reminded me that it can still happen. Poor little guy. Glad his brother and friend were looking out for him.
Once your meal is done, you can head downstairs and outside to get some roasted sweet potatoes for desert. Each patron gets 1 or 2 after their meal. Coffee is on the house as well. Lovely place--hope to go back sometime soon.
On Saturday, we met friends at the Gwacheon National Science Museum. It's really close to where we live and it is fabulous. I cannot wait to go again. It was so big with so much space for active, wild kids. It was the perfect thing to do on a cold and gloomy day. For grownups, there is a coffee shop inside--real coffee shop with espresso, cafe au lait, etc.--that helped perk me up after an early morning writing sesssion and a cleaning commitment at Dahin's school. Plus, I can't get over the fact that museums in Korea are sooooooo affordable. As they should be. For our whole family it cost under $10 (boys were free). They have a planetarium, which we weren't able to check out but will for sure on our next trip, and many awesome exhibits. After attempting to snap some photos of the kids inside (Oliver, above, is the only one who cooperated), we made a b-line to the dinosaur area outside.
The dinosaur area was really cool--many,many life-size figures of dinosaurs, bridges, hills, tunnels, and a playground, which brings me to another reason I love this museum: at least three spots outside (that we saw) where kids could play and explore.
The first indoor exhibit area we caught was the traditional Korean science area. There were all kinds of exibits from traditional house-building to food storage, maps to astronomy. Below, Dahin finds her doppelganger in the astronomy exhibit.
Ronan is in love with outer space. The boys did a whole discovery section on outer space. They did all kinds of assignments, learned about their 'signs,' and a song about Cassiopeia ('oh, caaaas-sio-peeiaaa..."). Ronan was giving me a little lesson on 14th century astronomy in which the earth was king and square and the universe was round (or something like that). It was great to see him so excited about something.
Oliver's a little map freak, so he enjoyed walking across this old map of east asia.
During potty breaks, Dahin demonstrates that her phone can be a constant attention-grabber; even in a museum (yay).
The natural history exhibit area was just awesome. Being a failed paleatologist (ok, I never really tried at that one, but still loved the idea when I was a kid) I was like a kid in a candy store. I walked around with Oliver and kept trying to read the signs to him as he said, "Let's go!" I also made him pose with many of the dino-bone figures, which, after a few times he refused to do.
With all these cool bones, fossils, and sharp teeth, the computer is what caught his attention. The museum includes several computer areas in each exhibit area. Perfect for kids who like to punch buttons.
Tired of me asking him to pose in front of dino-bones, Oliver took my photo in front of a woolly mammoth that looks like it's about to stampede me (a little catharsis, little buddy?)
The natural history section also included an exhibit on the natural wildlife of the peninsula. The kids loved seeing the toads, turtles, plants and stuff, but what they really loved were the sharks. They weren't big sharks, but good enough for the kids to yell, "Sharks!" and hang out by the tank for a good while. Dahin, below, snapped a multitude of photos at all the exhibits.
The natural history exhibit included "Dr. Fish." I'm sure this exists elsewhere, but it's very popular in Korea. There's a restaurant somewhere in Seoul called Dr. Fish--you stick your feet in water as you eat and these little fish come and nibble off your dead skin cells. Sounds gross, but people seem to like it. We got to stick our fingers in little side tanks and let the fish 'tickle' us.
Above, Dahin ponders how she can rule the world (mwa-ha-ha!) as she spins the globe. Below, the kids stop off at a hand sanitizing station. These were all over the museum as well.
There was a great kids area with lots of hands-on exhibits with water play, stationary bikes that measured energy, music, art, homes (including this little fun house that helped kids learn about gravity and the plumming system). Jack exited the children's area early because he said, " It smells like sinchong flu (H1N1)." He's so funny. We stayed for a while, but it was pretty musty and had that 'kid' smell. Didn't ruin our fun, though.
After we left the museum, we headed to a nearby roasted duck place. It was so, so good. The dinner was relaxing and cozy.
It was, obviously, still Christmas at the roasted duck restaurant (below). I liked the atmosphere--felt like we were on vacation in a mountain get away. When you head outside after you eat, there are sweet potatoes roasting in a stove and you can see the ducks roasting in the massive roaster. There were rides on the side of the building for the kids. They had fun, but at one point, Oliver forgot where we were (around the corner eating sweet potatoes) and thought we had left him and his friend and Ronan. Ronan ran and got me to say that Oliver was crying and when I went to check, he and his friend Leon were gone! I heard a sound coming from the parking lot and Leon was running toward us with Oliver, in tears, running behind him. Apparently, Oliver had panicked and ran into the parking lot; Leon had followed him to get him to stop. Good thing Ronan came to get me. I have to remember that about Oliver--even when we're at a playground, I have to constantly remind him where I am and check on him. Even if I see him; if he doesn't see me, he freaks out and cries. It doesn't happen as often now that he's entering big boy status, but the duck restaurant incident reminded me that it can still happen. Poor little guy. Glad his brother and friend were looking out for him.
Once your meal is done, you can head downstairs and outside to get some roasted sweet potatoes for desert. Each patron gets 1 or 2 after their meal. Coffee is on the house as well. Lovely place--hope to go back sometime soon.
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