Recently, a good friend and I did a day trip to the Schiele Museum and Planetarium in Gastonia, NC, which is a couple hours drive from us. It was a field trip I had been looking forward to all school year. For our science work, we have been focusing on earth science, rocks + fossils, dinosaurs, and outer space. I visited this museum as a college student either for an ecology class or field natural history, and it left an impression on me! I thought it would be so neat to share this with the kids, to let them see the constellations in such a neat way in the planetarium, the life size dinosaurs, and all the other exhibits. Of course, the kids thought it was a blast to skip our regular school day and do a day trip. They absolutely loved it, especially because we shared the experience with friends we love. My only regret was that it felt pretty rushed and the kids were flying through and not taking much time to read and learn as they went, more so just taking it all in. We can always make another trip!
The outdoor exhibits weren’t open but we had fun running through the woods and exploring it all, reading the placards when we could. It would definitely be neat to go back when these outdoor exhibits are open! Wren eventually lost steam and by the time we were due for the planetarium show at 12pm, she was pretty much done. Needless to say, I stepped out with the screaming baby while the others enjoyed the show. We ate a picnic lunch that was hurried/interrupted by the rain and then we scooted off to nearby Ikea. It was a bit of a feat taking 8 children into Ikea between my friend and I, and we were hurrying because it was a Friday and we wanted to do our best to avoid weekend traffic in the rain. We ended up taking longer than expected, and the bed frame I was looking for for Philippa was out of stock 😦 but I would say it was still a success and really, really fun. We returned home tired but also energized. It was a fun way to culminate our science work for the year and a reminder of some of the best parts of homeschooling–experiential, hands-on learning together as a family + with friends.
everything He gives 