Fossilized Boo-boos

The volunteer docent at the Field Museum yesterday pointed out that Sue, the museum's Tyrannosaurus Rex, had a boo-boo in her leg, which fossilized along with the rest of her. It is a fitting theme for our trip to the museum.

The Boy stayed home from school and I took him, The Girl and The Baby on a field trip to the Field Museum with our playgroup. It had been such a long time since we had done an outing and The Boy was really excited. He has been to the Field many times with his Grandma Naperville and so had an agenda for the day. His friend S. had other ideas however, so we didn't follow The Boy's usual agenda.

Instead, we focused our explorations to the new Crown Family Playlab, lunch, and a brief tour of the perimeter of the second floor. I was immediately impressed with the Playlab; our friend Cheryl was its project manager during development. Once, she asked everyone what we thought about family bathrooms. Now that I've seen how fabulous the final potty design is, I am positive that the development folks at the Field put in as much effort with every other aspect of the Playlab as they did with the bathrooms. It's a great space, and ideally suited for the 2-6-year-old set, just as its marketing materials say.

Our visit to the Playlab was marred a bit by an injury The Boy sustained to his ear cartilage after falling into the corner of a drum in the Rhythm Section. He had a bruise for over a week and wouldn't let anyone touch it for nearly that long. He was quiet and stayed close to me for about 10 minutes, refusing to play. Poor kid. He eventually rallied to dig dinosaur bones in the Dino Field Station. Everyone had a good time in the Art Studio. In fact, S.'s mom, B., joked that it was worth it just for the Art Studio -- someone else could get out the art supplies and clean up the mess! I've generally not been a huge fan of the Field, but with the Playlab opening, I want a membership!