A Museum That Doesn't Act Like a Museum

In an effort to whittle down our Pacific Northwest Bucket List, on Saturday we went to the Portland Children's Museum. June was Superhero month and when we arrived we saw Batman, Robin (pictured on the left), and Iron Man. We also saw Master Chief from Halo (in the foreground of the picture) and Chewbacca from Star Wars (in the background of the picture and one of the coolest costumes I've ever seen), but I'm not sure how they count as Superheroes.

This particular museum has signs all over the place boasting that it's a museum that doesn't act like a museum. Basically, everything is hands on as opposed to your typical look-with-your-eyes-and-not-with-your-hands approach.

Here's Peter, climbing through a wall.

This museum has a pet hospital with real vet equipment and fake animals. The kids thought it was lots of fun.

They had a whole outside portion of the museum for the kids to hike through. They could build shelters, play in a small waterfall, and climb a tree. Cooper slipped going down a hill and ended up muddy for the rest of the visit.

One of the most popular parts of the museum for our family was the theatre. Bryan and Cooper played drums in the wings.

Sophie and I grinned at each other in the mirrors backstage.

Peter acted as stage manager and barked orders to all the children playing in the area. He would call for the curtains to be opened and closed and mics to be placed. I'm not sure why all the kids were following his orders, maybe because he gave them with such confidence?

He even found a director's chair to give him more authority.

And Phoebe spent most of her time on stage. She found a butterfly costume and did a dance that was a cross between modern and ballet. Then, when the mic was placed, she stood center stage and belted out "Let It Go." At one point the curtains started to close before the song was over and she yelled out, "NO, KEEP THEM OPEN! OPEN!" They were promptly opened back up. I finally had to remove her so other kids could have a chance in the spotlight.

We finished our visit with a run through the outdoor maze.

And a nap.