Our field trip series continued with the Gulf Coast Exploreum, a kid-focused science center in Mobile. I’m very glad we worked our way through the physics exhibit and the iMax movie about coral reefs (Ellie loves reefs) before we made it to the imaginative play room.

It was really well done – a boat with bells in a ball pit and a light house in the corner (with a working light and fog horn). There were loads of plastic fish and a pretend fish market with a cash register and bins for sorting. That’s all she wanted to do after that. She even gave up lunch at Moe’s to rescue more fish from sharks and the horrors of the Fish Market.

After everyone made it safely into the boat, we drove it to the coral reef and released them all where they would be happy.

(Sheep pattern early next week.)

In the few weeks left before school starts,* we’ve planned a bunch of field trips to places we’ve been meaning to go but just haven’t managed to visit. Today was the Dauphin Island Sea Lab!

hee

They’ve got a little octopus, fossils, a lot of delta fish, rays, coral, a bit of a salt marsh, a pretend fishing boat and plenty of information about all of it. You can also see the oil rigs out in the Gulf. There’s a little wind tunnel thing that *supposedly* blows 72mph wind (just under hurricane strength) on you.

I didn’t have a pocket anemometer to prove anything, but I don’t buy it.

Ellie had a great time – the wind machine was her favorite part. With the possible exception of the gift shop, of course. Please note the plush sea star in the wind machine with us.

*boohoohoo