Pen Pals Unite

June's class has been writing letters to pen pals in another A.L.L. class all year. To finish off the project, both classes went on a fieldtrip to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. I don't often volunteer for class trips because I still have Pearl at home, but I wanted to help out, so I made special arrangements. (Really, Pearl had a great day playing with kids her age instead of being stuck at home with boring mom.)

The bus picked up our group first, since we were farther away. Gotta get a bus selfie. (Hey back there, Zuzu!)

After picking up kids and reaching the museum, we were organized into groups. We had eleven girls, since one girl had two pen pals. I won't even try to name them all, since I only remember a little over half, but we sure had a fun group.

June's pen pal was Haley. They got along right away. We told the girls that they might as well spend time with their pen pal since this was probably the only time they would have together. Our group was great at paring off and mingling with the other school. I hear the boys didn't do as well. They tended to stay with their previous friends.

We were assigned areas to go to in order. We started in Motion Matters, but quickly transitioned over to the Gardens to spend some time there. The zipline thing was back.

And the kids always seem to love the spinners. (Gag...oh to be young again.)

Next up was Water Works. I felt bad for the other school. Their teacher sent them with a worksheet. They had to fill out stuff at each location. (Lame. Just let the kids play for once. Theses advanced kids do plenty already.)

June managed to put some water pipes together and soak herself and Haley in the process. They didn't dry out until lunch time.

In Kidopolis, we spent some time in the percussion room. That one is always a favorite.

Hannah and I wrote some stuff on the Marquee, but I couldn't even find June and Haley to show them. Hence the picture for proof.

There is a little library in the middle that I had NEVER seen. Somehow I had always gone around it. It was fun to check out something new. I asked these two to make the Mark Twain face. Pretty good.

They probably had the most fun in the Rainforest, but I didn't even bother trying to keep track of them in there. Finally, our group was about wrapped up. We don't have everyone here, but they are close by.

But we aren't done yet. Holly's (from June's class) dad works nearby at Mountainland Applied Technical College. He is a chef who teaches cooking classes there. He invited our whole group for lunch. That is a lot of people to move through the kitchen.

They let us each decorate our own personal pizza. Yum.

It was very well organized. There were many tables with toppings ready and they had all the kids wash hands and wear gloves. Little chefs in the making.

There were cookies and cupcakes to decorate as well. Good job Hannah and Josie. You have natural talent.

Maybe someday you will be making cakes like these. (There were a dozen on display in the cafeteria. I took a picture of my two favorite.)

One last selfie at lunch time. I'm so glad I got to go with June on her fieldtrip.

It was fun to meet Haley, visit the museum, eat pizza, and act like a kid all day. In fact, I got mistaken for a student at one point, but I'm pretty sure that is just because I am short. What a fun day!