Thursday, December 11, 2014

A visit to Exploration Place, part 2


Once again, I am at Exploration Place, but this time I have more time to enjoy the exhibits, the views, and the people.

Step into the Kansas Room and you are met with "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for  amber waves of grain" that circles the room.

Don't get squeamish.  This was a favorite of kids and showed the life and death cycle of a small bit of Kansas.

One of my favorite activities is this flower rubbing station.  One young couple stood next to me while I was busy making my own.  He was doing an excellent job creating a flower out of multiple crayon colors.  When I complimented him, he said he was making it for his wife, who was beaming with pride.  I was touched by this simple gesture that took on such meaning.

Moving on, I watched as some young people created dams or released the water, just by moving a few blocks.

While there, I took a photo of the confluence of the Little and Big Arkansas Rivers.  There was practically no water in the rivers, even lower than it had been a few weeks earlier.  No wonder we have a water shortage.




It was time to see some of the fauna, flora, and maybe even a bit of fungi as we explored what was native to Kansas.







Fauna?



I had to get a close-up of this box turtle because he was looking right at me.






One of my favorite adventures is the tornado.  As an aside, when I was at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS, they were charging $2.00 (US) for this same experience. 

There's always a line to experience this, an event I have personally experienced five times in my life.  I'll tell you, enjoying it in a machine is far better (and less scary) than in real life!!



Soon we will be visiting a Kansas town in miniature because I chose to skip the farm. 

But first, I had to take one last look at the river

as it ran past Exploration Place.  These snow geese didn't have much water to sit in

because we are in desperate need of any moisture we can get.

Next time we'll visit Kansas in miniature, so look for that soon.

Thanks again for joining me on this leg of my journey through one of the major attractions in my city.

10 thoughtful remarks:

massofhair said...

Fantastic educational post, great images and facts. Sweet to see the flower rubbing being done to make someone happy.

Love your tours:-) xxx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh Elizabeth! It's past my bedtime but just had to have a look at the next instalment! This really does look the most thrilling place to visit! I know I will never see it IRL but these photos and your lovely descriptions have taken me there anyway! Thank you so much for sharing! Big hugs, Chrisxxx

Rita said...

Great museum! Be a fascinating place to bring kids, too. :)

johanna said...

this time it was an easy decision to choose my favorite (though the whole experience surely was great): the box turtle!! only Thing i´m wondering (if i understood right) - why can People with a fishing license take it as a pet?! in my opinion ecologic thinking People would leave it in the natural Environment anyway...

Craftymoose Crafts said...

The only time I have experienced a weather simulation has been at Disney World. It was awesome which I can only say because I knew it was totally safe.

I don't get to museums much so I enjoy your tours-thanks!

Darla said...

What an interesting place to visit. I enjoyed the turtles the most.

Darla

Divers and Sundry said...

I've enjoyed my trip-by-proxy through your museum. This is right down my alley :) Thx so much for the great photos.

The river is so low! wow! That's not good :(

Dianne said...

quite an impressive museum! btw...how can I get the Captcha 'prove you're not a robot' turned off? I see yours is on too. stupid Google. sigh...

~*~Patty S said...

Really enjoying the Kansas pride I feel while looking at your museum photos.
Turtles always make me smile
and your photos of the river certainly are dramatic...
wondering if you'll get some moisture leftover from the Pineapple Express hitting the west coast just now?
Thank you for taking us along with your nice photos!
oxo
p.s. hope my little collage pack arrived in your mailbox!

froebelsternchen said...

A FANTATSIC museum is this.... must be great to visit! Thank you Elizabeth!