I luckily discovered a few days ago that the Dallas Museum of Art would be holding an event called First Tuesdays each month. The event of course would be the "first Tuesday" of every month, is geared towards kids ages 2-5, each one will have it's own theme and most important, admission for the day is free. I was excited at the prospect of finally taking the kids to the art museum on a day where children would be welcomed since in the past we have avoided places such as this for fear of our children not being able to contain themselves.
Now I'm not going to lie to you, the idea of a trip to downtown Dallas all by myself with the children is a terrifying thing for me, however, I managed to put on my big girl pants and a brave face and headed out of the door. Now I am by far no expert when it comes to the downtown Dallas area and usually avoid it at all costs. Today however, I was thouroughly surprised at how easy it was getting to the arts district and while yes I could have probably driven around and found a cheaper lot to park in I was okay with paying to park in the underground garage of the museum.
Once we got inside and met up with the other ladies and their wonderful children we headed on in to the festivities. Today's theme was supposed to be that of the Super Bowl. I do regret saying that while we were there I found that nothing we did had anything to do with sports, football or the Super Bowl, however we did have a great time.
First up on the agenda was to make sculptures using sheets of aluminum foil, scissors, paper, pipe cleaners, tape, and a few other craft items they'd set out. Alyssa of course ended up with a fairy ballerina (once we got home and fixed her properly) and Cayden made......a train! (surprise, surprise!)
Next on our to do list was the obstacle course. I have to admit again that being that this was held at the Museum of Art and it was supposed to be a Super Bowl theme my imagination had gotten the best of me and I was expecting a room with some astroturf (or something similar) on the floor, some inflatable "tackle" dummies, some "tires" (maybe hulahoops) to step through, and a football toss. Not too much right? So you can imagine my disappointment when we walked into the room and it was nothing like that. I even think my kids were imagining something a little more grand because their faces immediately dropped at the site of the obstacle course. Here they had to zig zag around a few cones; hop through some squares (like hop scotch); throw bean bags at some targets taped to a table; roll across some mats on the floor; jump next to some signs on the wall; then crawl through a pop up tunnel. At the end they received a blue ribbon with their names written on it. While slightly disappointed they still did the course and looked as if they had some fun doing it, but don't tell them I said so. LOL
After all of the kids in our group had made their way through the obstacle course we headed down to the play area that was set up. Here the kids were able to walk through some play houses and several activities were set up on the walls. There were legos, magnetic shapes, mirrors, sliding windows and all sorts of stuff to keep them entertained for a bit.
( Neither of them knew it was the other on each side of the window.
Look how elated he was to find Alyssa & Cayden staring back at him.)
(Now it's Cayden's turn to peek through the window)
After the play area the group decided that the kids were well overdue for a much needed lunch break so we headed back down to the cafe area, claimed some tables and sat for a bit. Most of the group had sack lunches they'd packed and I ended up grabbing a soda and a sandwich from the cafe. First time I'd ever had a grilled chicken blt and I have to say, it was pretty darn good.
With lunch done and the kids geared up and ready to go some more we headed back into the museum for the puppet show. At first my two really weren't interested but agreed to watch for a bit. Regretably my pictures of the puppets didn't come out very well so I don't have any to post but will share with you the look on Alyssa and Cayden's faces as they watched. For most of the children the show seemed to be great, for mine the entertainment only lasted momentarily.
With their interest lost in the puppets I decided to split away from the group and take Alyssa and Cayden over to the room where they were making rings. Here we got to sit down with some pipe cleaners, assortments of buttons and jewels, glue, foam stickies, and other craft items and make our own "Super Bowl" rings. This was such a fun and neat idea that I may have to use it for our next birthday/class party.
(Mine & Cayden's rings...Alyssa sadly lost hers in the museum)
After making our rings and with the puppet show finished the festivities for the day were at their end. The other ladies and children in our group were sadly leaving so I decided that we would take the opportunity to walk through the museum and take in some of the beautiful artwork they have on display. The kids did really well walking with me very quietly and not touching anything. Of course Cayden had to hold my hand the entire time to ensure that nothing would happen that would warrant the museum needing to detain us, call security, or set off any alarms but he did very well and we enjoyed looking at some of the many artifacts on display.
(Figure of A Woman)
(The Roman Empire)
(Madonna and Child and St. Jerome)
(Bacchic Concert)
(The Adoration of the Shepherds)
(The Abduction of Europe)
(Apotheosis of Homer Vase)
(Shiva Nataraja)
(Durga Mahishasuramardini)
(Stele of Uma-Maheshvara)
(19th Century Folding Backgammon Board)
(Coffin of Horankh)
(19th Century African Memorial Figure)
(Japanese Helmet and Masks)
(Japanese Statues)
(Emma-O-Japanese Buddhist God of Death)
(Japanese Censer and Cover)
(Japanese Statue)
