$10 Parking, But Entry is Free!

Each stage of baby/toddlerhood is fun, but I absolutely *love* this stage Marcus is in currently. The kid a just one little sponge, soaking up every.single.thing around him. Taking him to new places to explore and discover is just as much fun for me, watching him learn, as it is for him.

While this last weekend's focus was primarily on football we managed to sneak in a trip to the California Science Center.

The science center is located adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is a massive structure.

The Coliseum is the first stadium to have hosted the Olympic games twice - 1932 and 1984. It has also hosted the World Series and Super Bowls. Unfortunately, this is now most commonly known as the home field for USC Trojan football. Blech. 

The top right is a piece of stone from the Colosseum in Rome, while the bottom right is a piece of stone from the Atlis Olympia in Greece. 

After ogling over the Coliseum we made our way into the science center. Our first stop was to check out the space shuttle Endeavour.

Believe me when I say this picture does not do the space craft justice. The thing was *massive*.

The bottom middle pic is the underside of the space craft. Thousands of tiles, each made of 90% air, water resistant, and cost $2,000 PER TILE.

Scott could have spent hours meandering through all the space exhibits, reading all the little fact placards, and checking out all the space stuff. But, I knew Marcus wouldn't last long, and reminded Scott of that fact. We were in and out of the space exhibit in what was likely record time.

We made our way to the hands on areas for Marcus. The kid was in heaven.
First up, the play "house." Marcus discovered what a magnifying glass was, made a gourmet meal in the kitchen, and hung out in a big boy room.

The cartoonish feel of each room was so fun!

For a brief moment the room full of iPads was enamoring. And then Marcus realized he was quietly sitting still.

We then checked out an area that honed in on cognitive skills. Marcus has never been one to sit still long enough to work on puzzles, but he spent a shocking amount of time in this particular area.

When the little guy is deep in thought, or concentrating extra hard, he has a tendency to stick his tongue out.

So many puzzles!

By the end of our tour of the science center my little man was spent.

Lights out before we even exited the premises!

Entry to the science center was free (minus the $2 admission to check out the Endeavour)! BUT, in typical L.A. fashion, parking was TEN BUCKS! Who does that?! Ahh, the prices we'll pay to park our cars to let our kids learn.

Though the parking is a serious rip off, I'm already looking forward to our next trip back to the science center - there is so much more we have yet to explore!

Are there any science centers near you? If so, have you taken your littles to check them out? If not, I would highly recommend going for some hands on fun!