Family Fun & STEAM in Pittsburgh at MuseumLab

This post is brought to you by The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

When I was a child, my dad used to take me to The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. I LOVED visiting a museum that felt like it was built just for me! Years after I grew up, I visited my favorite museum with my first baby. I vividly remember the excitement I felt when I took him there for the first time. It was as if I was sharing a piece of my history with him. There have been four more first visits since then, but it never gets old!

My first baby is nearly 15 years old, my last baby is 6 months old, and we have a tween, an 8 year old, and a 6 year old, who has a developmental delay, in between. We have kids in every stage of development, and it's difficult to find a place to visit that they all enjoy. Thanks to a great new addition to The Children's Museum, it's now a perfect spot for my entire family!

In April of this year, The Children's Museum added MuseumLab, which is located next door. It was created to grow along with families, and is specifically geared toward kids over the age of 10 and adults, but is great for multi-age families like mine. It is a STEAM-lover's dream spot, and inspires kids to use their minds and be creative while having a LOT of fun! 

Family Fun in the City: A Night at The Children's Museum

It may seem like my family does a lot together, but the reality is it's very difficult to get our schedules to coordinate! With four kids going in four different directions and a husband who logs in more hours at the office than he does at home, planning a major outing can be a challenge. But every so often, our schedules magically align, and we are able to head into Pittsburgh for a night of family fun!

Last month, we attended Hero Night at The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. It was night for celebrating moms (the unspoken everyday heroes) and having fun together as a family, while giving back. Chick-fil-A of Pittsburgh sponsored the event, and all proceeds benefited A Glimmer of Hope Foundation.

My kids have been to The Children's Museum many times, but Grant has never been able to join us. Even though some of the exhibits were closed during the event, they were really excited about going there at night! Grant was excited, too. It was his first time going to the museum since he was a child!

When we arrived at the event, we got to walk the red carpet on our way into the museum! My kids thought that was exciting!

After burning off some energy in the giant, multi-level maze, we took a break to make superhero masks. Well, the big kids took a break to get creative. Liam ran, and Grant chased after him!

We finally managed to get all four kids in the same spot for, oh, five seconds.

Then the littlest dude ran again, and we ran after him. After going through the crooked room about 30 times (which I couldn't photograph because I was trying to keep both Liam and I from falling over), and down the slide that I barely fit in, I was exhausted. Obviously, the little mamas were, too.

They perked up so they could show their favorite exhibit to their dad!

I managed to keep Liam entertained with the falling letters on the bit screen for a while before he noticed that his sisters and dad were MIA. He promptly found them!

We finally headed into Liam's favorite room (other than the water floor which was closed)! We "test drove" the mini car, but decided that our SUV is the only comfortable way for our family to travel. We will DEFINITELY not be downsizing!

Liam burned off a ton of energy while the girls got their faces painted, and I got a much needed manicure. (No pictures, because, well, wet nails!) After that, we were more than ready to enjoy some delicious Chick-fil-A food in the cafe!

After we ate, we joined a little dance party and played some games. Lily declared that the party at The Children's Museum totally rocked!

The "party" wasn't over yet! We left some special messages on the tree, and had our family picture taken!

We decided to take a break from exploring, and head into the art studio to give back even more! Each of our kids made small donations, and in turn, they created their own screen print superhero capes, and got customized Chick-fil-A stuffed cows!

While we were in the art studio, Liam was reunited with the Chick-fil-A cows. He was hesitant at first, but warmed up quickly!

We said goodbye to the cows, and headed back into the museum for a little more fun while the capes dried!

We went through the crooked room and down the enclosed slide a few more times, while Grant took Lily to get her hair braided and dyed with chalk. She was so excited!

We ended the evening by playing a bit longer in Liam's favorite room!

The night was a huge success! Somehow, Grant and I managed to wrangle four kids in a crowd, without losing anybody or losing our minds. (Oh, wait...where did Liam go?!?)

Although we would prefer to live at the beach, we do love living so close to an awesome, family-friendly city that is full of fun places to go. We all had a fun, memorable night together at one of our favorite museums!

{Funny story...Lily handed Grant the sign and he realized what it said just as they took the picture! Priceless.}

Do you have a Children's Museum in your city?

Thank you to Chick-fil-A of Pittsburgh and The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh for hosting such a fun event!

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Explore the Water Steps in Pittsburgh

Just Lily

I love being a mom to four kids.  My life is full of love and noise and chaos, and I wouldn't change a single thing!

That being said, I do treasure those rare one-on-one moments with my kids!  I love to catch a glimpse of who my child is away from their siblings and show them just how special they are to me, and they love to get my undivided attention. Although Grant and I work hard to carve out individual time with each child, entire days with just one child don't happen often!

This morning, my mom came over to spend the day with Liam, while Lily and I headed to her preschool for her field trip. We met up with her classmates in her classroom, boarded a bus, and went into the city to visit the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh! 

I was really looking forward to spending the day with just Lily! As we drove into the city, Lily curled up in my arms. It was such a perfect and peaceful moment. For once, it was JUST the two of us. I didn't have to race after a toddler or help an older child with homework. She felt so tiny curled up against me and I just wanted to freeze time.  In the blink of an eye, the moment will come when she will barely fit in my arms anymore. I just wanted to hold onto her and hold onto that moment so tightly to keep it from slipping away!

Moving past the sentimental...

I did have a little job to do while we were there. I volunteered to be a class historian for the year, since I always have a camera in my hands. This was the last big event that needed to be photographed, so I had to take a few pictures of her classmates on the field trip. I captured some great shots that I can't share due to privacy, so like the title says, just Lily!

We love going to the Children's Museum!  It's such a fun place to visit and all the little details are incredible!



When we visit, I'm usually so busy keeping track of kids (including friends) that it can feel rushed and chaotic at times. It so it was nice to focus my attention on Lily and not have to worry about anybody else!


Our first stop was in the studio, where Lily played with clay and made a screen print to take home.
I didn't realize it at the time, but Lily chose the arrangement of the shapes she cut out, and it turned out to be a perfect paw print!

Next up, she crawled through the maze and burned off some energy. I seriously need one of those in my house for Liam and Lily. It's like a giant ant farm for kids!

After what seemed like hours of watching her climb up several stories and down again and repeat, she finally came out and moved on to the other exhibits.  Although the light-up sticks were entertaining, she especially loved the sand wheel and kept running back to it!  (Bonus points if you can name the movie the puppet below is from!)

Lily was completely unimpressed by Mr. Roger's shoes, which made my heart ache! I, however, was impressed. I take a picture of them every time we go to the museum!

We took a little break for lunch, and I was once again, wowed by Lily's independence.  She walked to the cafeteria in front of me, holding her friend's hand, and sat at a different table than me.  Although she loves to spend time with me, she's also very social and makes friends so easily!

After lunch, we headed up to the BIG exhibit: TapeScape 2.0, which is a traveling exhibit.  Imagine a large play structure built out of over 10 miles of packing tape wrapped around steel frames.  It was every bit as awesome as it sounds!

After about a half hour of play, she finally grew tired. The room was HOT so I was surprised she lasted that long! I didn't think I would ever convince her to move on, but she grabbed her friend's hand and grabbed my hand, and I ended up being pulled into the next room!

The tiny smart car and the table that blew balls up into the air were big hits in that room!

 We saved the favorite exhibit for last: Waterplay!

I did forget the swimsuit and towel this time, but I did remember a change of clothes!  I also did tell Lily to try not to get too wet.  Famous last words.

Want to know how our afternoon ended? 

WELL. Let me show you!

If that's not a sign of a fun field trip, I'm not sure what is!

After an obvious change of clothing, we headed down to the entrance and boarded the bus to go back home. Lily sat in a seat with her two friends, while us moms finally sat back and relaxed!

I had such a wonderful day with my incredibly sweet 4 year old! She really is an awesome kid and I'm so thankful I got the chance to make memories with her!

What is your favorite museum to visit?

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Exploring

Last week we headed back into Pittsburgh for one last summer outing with friends!

This time we went to the Carnegie Science Center.

Hometown pride is strong here.  In case you forget...

 

Our first stop was at the Sports Works exhibit, just outside the science center.  I have never been in there before, so it was fun to visit!  My friend's daughter, Audrey, convinced me to ride the roller coaster simulator with her, so while we waited in line, Amber watched the rest of the kids and took pictures.  That was a difficult task, considering Lily fell asleep on her shoulder!

They went rock climbing, rode through the human body, raced on a track, became a human yo-yo, played giant operation and other games...all while we waited!

 



Finally, we reached the front of the line.  They locked us in this coffin-like box (not cool!), and off we went.  Let me just say, my stomach dropped immediately.  We were often completely upside down, and Audrey kept eating my hair!  It definitely came close to riding an actual roller coaster!



After all that excitement, we moved on to the main building. 




We didn't get a chance to go on the submarine, but the kids checked it out from afar.



They also watched the incline coming down Mount Washington.  For those of you unfamiliar with Pittsburgh, the incline is a type of public transportation.  A little cable car takes people up the "mountain"...and back down...all day long.

 

Our first stop was the guitar exhibit.



Then we moved on up a level to the robot and train exhibit.  One "robot" surprised Amber and I by actually being a real person!!!


 



The kids loved checking out the view of Pittsburgh!



Lily, however, was a bit overwhelmed by all the robots and all the people!




The next level is an aquarium level.  They had fun exploring!





The top level is just for kids!  It's the most fun level for them.  There is a huge playground, ball zone, water play area, and many things to climb on, touch, build, and explore. 




Why, yes, that is a ball in Lily's mouth...





Audrey had fun rolling Lily along on the conveyor belt!




The big kids loved this floor the most!



My favorite exhibit when I was a child was the Earthquake Cafe, which is an earthquake simulator.  They still have it!




It was a great, memorable trip to the science center with our wonderful friends!  The kids had a great time. It was the perfect outing for our last week of summer vacation!