Chihuly-Cool-y

Thanks, Smithsonian. Yesterday, we did what any good set of parents would do- took our "too young to really give a crap" kids to a variety of museums on Smithsonian's Museum Day- for free! We had to go up to Wichita to drop my mom off at the airport in the late afternoon, so we figured we'd make a day out of it.

My first choice would have been Botanica, and then maybe Cowtown (never been), but it was almost 90 degrees, and we weren't feeling the outdoor activities. So...

We hit up the Wichita Art Museum first. It was a pretty cool building and I was delighted to see some glass work by Dale Chihuly as we entered. I watched a documentary on is work in my college fine arts class (yes, I am collegiately educated in art) and I have been fascinated ever since. The museum has a pretty cool deal- as you walk in, the overhead flooring is filled with pieces of his blown glass. Then... brace yourselves... as you go up to the second level, you can take your shows off and walk over the very same area. Also, they have one of his huge glass chandeliers- 680 pieces of glass. Beyond that, it was pretty much what I expected- I mean, what does a 2-year-old do in an art museum? Go ahead, Sassy, dance among the Goya's while mommy turns her back for a minute. Yeah, probably not. They did have a family art room that had some interactive displays and a center for make & take crafts. So, not completely a bust.

We drove by Exploration Place, but it was a zoo, so we defaulted to the Indian Center. The museum was a bit of a disappointment- it took about 15 minutes to view and read info about the artifacts. We did, however, walk the trail out to "Keeper of the Plains" where the big and little Arkansas rivers converge. It was really beautiful, and they did a great job with that project.

We headed to Old Chicago for lunch, and Sassy had about had it. This is where any smart mom would have dropped Nana off at the airport and drove home. But, no. I had to have made plans for us for the evening, too. So, we went to the airport, Babies'R'Us to kill time, Olive Garden to meet Tom & Lynzee (we were there for over 3 hours with a kid who had not napped... ouch), and the icing on the cake... All-Star Sports. It was a bit of over-kill, but we had a very nice family day.