The last hurrah of summer...

Weeks ago, we started talking about how I wanted to celebrate my birthday and I immediately thought about the Phillies.  They were playing a home game on my birthday and it just seemed like such a fun way to end the summer.  I looked at their pitching rotation and kept counting by five.  Barring anything unforeseen, Cliff Lee should have been pitching and I was giddy as a school girl... at least until the Phillies' and Nationals' August 14th game was rained out, pushing everyone back a game.  Instead of Cliff Lee, it looked like we'd be seeing Roy Halladay.

Now, don't get me wrong - Halladay is a fantastic consolation prize as far as starting pitchers go and I'd have been just as happy to watch him at work even though I had seen him in Pittsburgh back in June. But when Irene started creeping her way up the coast, the Phillies made a somewhat unexpected move Thursday afternoon, pushing the Sunday game up by 24 hours for a day-night doubleheader.  Halladay would pitch the first game, putting Lee on tap for the nightcap!!!  I did a happy dance to end all happy dances... what the rain had taken away two weeks prior, it had given back. 

And then, 24 hours after that, with Irene moving in faster and stronger than anticipated, with public transportation shutting down in anticipation of the category 1 hurricane's arrival, and with the Phillies concerned about making it to Cincinnati for their Monday game, the 7:05pm Saturday game was cancelled late Friday afternoon.  With the early game still on tap (at that point) and an inside connection with the Phillies, we briefly considered swapping our tickets for the 1:05pm game before ultimately deciding that even if they played, it would be wet and miserable.  So, for now I am holding onto those tickets and looking ahead to see how the pitching is projected before deciding to pull my kids from school (and a yet to be determined educational side trip) or to simply return the tickets.

Considering how the last hurrah of summer had been going, I shouldn't have been surprised at all...

Which means we should step back and look at the start of the long (and somewhat disastrous but certainly memorable) weekend. 

Because we planned to be in Philadelphia by Saturday and because we haven't been to the Atlantic Ocean in several summers, I suggested we could turn the trip into a mini-vacation, spending some time at the beach before heading into the city for my birthday celebration.  We debated when to go, how long to stay, and where to stay before finally settling on a hotel in Atlantic City (but with plans to spend our time at the beach and boardwalk in the more family-friendly Ocean City).  One of the nice things about Atlantic City is that there's a large selection of relatively cheap hotels rooms during the week and we ended up staying at the same hotel we stayed at back in November of 1998... our last overnight trip to Atlantic City.  That's the night I skipped my 10-year high school reunion to see Simon and Garfunkel play at Boardwalk Hall... long before Facebook reconnected me with old friends from high school (many of whom I would now love to see again), it was an easy trade off; the show was fantastic and I still remember hitting the jackpot on the nickle slots (I think it amounted to $50.00, but it was still pretty cool!).

We arrived in Atlantic City on a very rainy Thursday afternoon.  With a break in the weather, we walked up to the boardwalk only to have it start raining again... we ducked into the Rainforest Cafe for dinner thinking it would be a really fun place for the kids.  It was, except they were a little spooked by the thunder and lightning storm that came on schedule, every 30 minutes.  And there was an ape above our table that spooked Cathy pretty good on our way to the table and that we needed to keep our eye on throughout dinner.

Our quick dip in the Atlantic Ocean

With a break in the storm, we strolled down to the beach after dinner, just long enough to let the kids dig in the sand and get quite messy and to dip our toes in the ocean.  But, with a really nice day in the forecast for Friday, I figured we could spend a few hours on the beach, check out of the hotel and then drive down to Ocean City and spend some time on the boardwalk.  Because the hurricane wasn't expected until Sunday, I just assumed it would be business as usual down the shore on Friday and we'd be long gone before the weather started to turn.

In our hotel room later that night, we learned that there were mandatory evacuations along the barrier island communities stretching from Cape May to up above Atlantic City.  We packed early and checked out of the hotel room, but defied the evacuation order long enough to walk the boardwalk for about two hours... it certainly wasn't deserted yet at that hour of the day, but was much less crowded than it would have been on a beautiful Friday morning. 

If nothing else, the calm before the storm was quite pretty to look at.  The waves rolling, but not yet intimidating.  The beach deserted.

Most of the businesses along the boardwalk were already closed and boarded up, the amusement piers closed.  Now that Hurricane Irene is mostly past, I hope the shore communities were spared the worst of her destruction. 

Many businesses along the boards were boarded up in preparation of Irene's arrival

Even billboards were taken down all along the boardwalk and even the route out of town

This was neither the beach vacation of my dreams nor even the beach vacation I imagined taking with the  kids, but maybe that is a good thing.  No doubt, we'll all remember how Hurricane Irene crashed the party! 

We had a relatively easy drive out of town... the only traffic jam coming as cars merged back together following the Egg Harbor tolls (which were free for the day to facilitate the evacuation).  Not knowing what else to do, we bumped up our Saturday morning plans, hitting the Garden State Discovery Museum Friday afternoon.  Admission to the museum is typically $10.95 for everyone 12 months and older, with a $1 discount for seniors.  However, it participates in the Association of Children's Museums reciprocal program and was therefore free thanks to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum membership (wow, are we ever getting our money's worth out of that purchase)!

The museum was cute and had lots of activities for the kids.  One of my favorite areas - a sports themed room that included a miniature hockey rink and some Flyers' memorabilia.  Growing up, the Flyers were one of my great loves, though I have drifted away from hockey somewhat over the years... so you can imagine my surprise and shock when I realized that my very favorite player growing up, Dave Poulin, had been inducted into the Flyer's Hall of Fame back in 2004.  I am somewhat embarrassed that I didn't know this... but so happy to see it.  I remember Poulin as a terrific defensive forward, a great team leader, and a class act both on and off the ice.

The kids were obsessed with bubble play, especially the large hula hoop and platform where they could enclose themselves in giant bubbles.  

The museum also had a section entitled "Down the Shore"... sort of ironic considered we'd just been evacuated from there.  The fishing boat was one of Cathy's favorite places to play and we must have returned to fish off the side of the boat a half-dozen times.  Maybe by the time we take our next trip down that way, the kids will be ready for a half-day excursion on a real fishing boat... perhaps we can head out in search of flounder - something I did on occasion while growing up.

As luck would have it, it was 4:30pm when we learned that Saturday's Phillies game was postponed... just 30 minutes past the time we could cancel the hotel reservations without penalty, so instead of driving home Friday, we spent the night as planned.  We had a terrific dinner at the Iron Hill Brewery, played a game of miniature golf, then called it a night.

Birthday lunch with my favorite little guy

We took a slow trip home on Saturday, stopping first at the Great American Pub in Conshohocken, then at Chocolate World in Hershey (we still simply cannot pass nearby without a stop here), and then finally at Ray Azteca back in State College for dinner.

It's funny.  Not too long ago, I reflected on my comparison between my summer with the kids and a marathon.  I suggested that if the Summer of Fun really was a marathon, we were clearly heading into the home stretch.  And if that's true, than I imagine this weekend is like passing out from heat stroke just a mile from the finish line (sorry for the reference, Rich, but thanks for being OK with my using it).  It's always tough when you have an expectation for how you are going to finish something and you instead end up far from where you thought you would be. 

So, even though the race didn't end quite the way I expected, it was one hell of a run.  I am spent, ready to slow down for a while.  The school buses start rolling on Tuesday morning; Matt will be on board for his first day as a 1st grader.  Meanwhile, the kindergarten kids head in for an hour-long orientation and officially join the full-time ranks on Wednesday.  I can hardly believe these milestones are here, that my kids are about to head off to school together... I'm sure I will say this more than once over the coming weeks, but I could not be more proud or excited for both kids, most especially for my little girl. Once upon a time, I could not imagine this day would come.  But it has.  And there's no doubt she'll make me proud!!!

A Day at the Little League World Series

For all the years that I have lived in Central PA, I've never made the 75 minute trip east for the Little League World Series.  But with the kids making it through two Phillies games and three State College Spikes games this summer, and with a 'local' team in the LLWS for the first time in 40 years, this seemed like the right time to take a trip to Williamsport.

And as an added bonus: my good friend Jen was visiting her parents in nearby Montoursville for a long weekend away from her home in California and she joined us at the Little League Complex. 

I've lived most of my adult life in a town that is highly skilled at handling large crowds for big sporting events; Penn State's Beaver Stadium holds nearly 110K people on a football Saturday, and so I often have the expectations that all towns are as well equipped as mine.  That's mostly true for Williamsport and the Little League organization... I think they did a fantastic job of moving crowds into the parking lot, of providing shuttles to take people from the lot to the gate, and getting folks through the security check points and into the stadium (we got out ahead of the crowd at the end, so I can't really comment on a mass exit).

The one thing that's lacking, and there's quite honestly not much that can be done about it, is a good set of roads pointing in several directions to move traffic in and out of the area.  The LLWS started in the late 1940s and I am sure the stadium location, roads in and out, etc. were quite adequate back then.  I'll bet they're just fine too in most years - but they're averaging well over fans 30,000 even in the early rounds this year simply because of the 11 boys from Lock Haven that are representing the Mid-Atlantic region (that's better than quite a few MLB teams are managing).

We arrived in time to catch the 4:00 game at Lamade Stadium, pitting the Great Lakes champion against the Southeast winner.  I remember Great Lakes from Keystone's opening game... a heartbreaking 1-0 loss, two kids tagged out at home plate.  I think all the kids playing in the tournament are fantastic; they handle the pressure of playing on a national stage, in front of a huge crowd, ESPN cameras everywhere, and long TV breaks between innings, incredibly well for such young kids.  I'm so glad we went and wish it were possible to head back later this week... for sure I'll plan to go again with the kids next year.

The Great Lakes vs. Southeast game had all the drama and excitement you could want from a little league game.  The kids play with their hearts on their sleeves and their excitement was so fun to watch, their heartbreak so sad.  A 2-0 lead for Great Lakes quickly turned to a 5-2 deficit just an inning later.  After a pitching change, Great Lakes battled back, tying things up in the 5th inning.  A scoreless 6th took the kids into extra innings and the game was finally decided in the 9th inning, after a passed ball allowed one Southeast kid to score during pitcher Jake Fromm's at-bat (Fromm then hit a two-run homer for added insurance) before he pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning to secure the win.  Exciting?  Absolutely! 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and strolled down to Volunteer Stadium to watch Japan and Saudi Arabia play.  We missed much of the action, first because we were late to arrive... the score was already 5-4 in favor of Japan when we sat down, and we missed Japan's eight run 6th inning because we'd already left to find seats on the hillside for the marquee event - the local boys representing the Mid-Atlantic versus the Southwest team from Louisiana.

The final game of the day was definitely worth the drive to Williamsport, though the seating arrangements left much to be desired.  It was easy to get seats in the grandstand for the first game but the lines waiting for seats for the final game of the night wrapped around the stadium by the final out of the Great Lakes vs. Southeast game; there was no way we were going to get stadium seats and quite honestly, I am not sure that I would have wanted them.  The idea of sitting among tens of thousands of Keystone supporters on the famed hills of Lamade Stadium was all part of the experience.  What I didn't realize however is that the hills that go beyond those you can see on TV are STEEP!  All day long, kids were sliding down the hills with cardboard boxes and it was fun to watch them... at least until it was time to climb the hill and find my own place to sit and watch the game.

Keystone jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the 1st inning and Jen used that as her cue to head out of the stadium knowing all too well the traffic snare that was to come (we're told that it took nearly 90 minutes to clear the parking lot after the opening game on Friday night).  At that point, we figured we'd stay until the end of the 4th inning, leaving us plenty of time to get out of the lot before the game was over.  A seven-run second inning changed that plan.  Quickly checking about the 10-run rule online, we decide to pack it in, just in case... after all, with Keystone as the home team, the game could end after the middle of the 4th inning. 

The boys held the 10-0 lead and the game was called as expected... another big win for a team that has really gotten Central PA excited about Little League baseball in a way I don't think it has been for a long time.  I wish I could have been sitting at Lamade Stadium again tonight when the boys earned their thrilling 7-5 win over Southeast in the final game of the day.  I've never been so enthusiastic to watch Little League baseball and even found myself passing over the Phillies to watch the boys from Lock Haven tonight.  No matter what happens from this point forward, those kids have captivated the region and should be nothing but proud of all that they've accomplished this year.

Thanks, Keystone, for making the Little League World Series so much fun this year!!!  See you Thursday night.

Ag Progress Days

My parents own 180 acres in Potter County... an old Amish farm that they've spent the last decade bringing back into the 21st century.  It's close now and they will likely be moving there sometime in the next few weeks, thanks in part to my stepfather's decision to (finally) retire and their willingness to outsource some of the renovation labor.

Over the years, they've talked about the possibility of raising animals, growing vegetables, etc. and while I suspect that, now in their early- to mid-70s, they won't actually do that, I am often mindful of this as I walk around Penn State's Ag Progress Days.  Sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences and held over a three-day period in mid-August, Ag Progress Days is the state's largest agricultural expo and has always been a big hit with the kids... where else can you wander aimlessly through a corn maze, climb on farm equipment, learn about the latest technology to milk a cow, and dance with a dairy princess, all in one place?

The girls in the maze

The corn maze is typically our first stop on the way into Ag Progress Days and our last stop on the way out.  Our friends Jaidon and Emily (and Jaime too) spent the day with us, and the boys went zipping into the maze before we knew what happened.  One thing that is unique to this maze versus the various corn mazes in the area around Halloween time is that this one asks a series of true-false questions about agriculture, corn farming in PA, etc. to guide you through the maze.  Wrong answers will send you down a dead-end path.  After one pass through with the girls, we let the kids loose to wander through on their own... a seemingly great idea until they emerged with an arm full of freshly picked corn. 

Next up, farm equipment.  Jaime and I were talking about how different farming is now versus a generation ago.  As the kids climbed up different tractors, manure spreaders, etc., it was interesting to realize how luxurious tractors have become: air conditioning, entertainment systems, etc. make it hard for me to envision farming as the back-breaking labor that I am sure it still is.  Of course the technology also allows for more efficient, cost-effective farming, which is the most important point. 

However, it's hard not to think about how expensive it must be to become a farmer and how this could potentially impact the profession and ultimately the nation's food supply in the years to come.  While land in rural areas is likely still cheap, at least relative to the $75K or so someone likely spends on a quarter-acre plot of land to build a house, farm equipment is expensive. I was reading something on-line tonight about proposed changes to how farm equipment depreciates (for tax purposes) and the article suggests that many pieces of equipment designed to make farming more efficient and fruitful cost upwards of $500K, and while I don't think most of the pieces we climbed on had so large a price tag, I am certain a few did and it's just staggering...

Regardless, farm equipment is fun to climb on and I certainly appreciated the patience all the sales folks had with all the kids at Ag Progress Days!

The girls look so tiny by the cab door

Jaidon and Matt

Love this one of Cathy tucked into the wheel

We stopped by an exhibit that featured a robotic milking station for a herd of dairy cows.  With the four kids riveted by the demonstration of how the robotic arm attaches the vacuum device to a cow's teats, I had no choice but to engage the nice salesman in conversation... with a quick reference to those 180 acres up north, he was pretty willing to chat.  What I learned is that the machine we were looking at was good for milking 60 cows three times a day, that barn layout was CRITICAL for successfully using this type of milking system, that the first unit purchased is pretty expensive (at roughly $225K) but because the system can share a computer and air compressor amongst multiple units, there are economies of scale.  The salesman told me that most banks prefer to see a herd size that would require a minimum of four units (and for you to be buying those four units) to engage in serious discussions for financing.


I've filed the information in the back of my brain as something to think about when my parents are gone and my brothers and my step-siblings and I all need to figure out what to do with the property.  Just in case we decide to make it a working dairy farm, but can't afford the fancy equipment that is available these days, I had the kids practice milking cows by hand.... I just hope they are old enough that I am not violating any child labor laws when I send them out to the barn before the school bus comes. 

One of my favorite stops is the kid's tent, which offers a number of educational experiences for the kids.  Among this year's highlights: the chance to watch chicks hatch from their eggs and to hold very young chicks.
 
It was fantastic to watch the chicks peck and wiggle their way out of the eggs, and to see them as they are just learning how to get their feet under them and start moving about.  It doesn't take long at all, which I guess is a good thing since I hear that chickens these days go from egg to the dinner table in about 60 days.

This area is also where we danced with the Dairy Princesses... it was great fun to watch





There was a new feature to Ag Progress Days this year, located just outside the kid's tent: racing. This area featured four-wheel tractor bikes of various sizes for a few laps around the lawn and a long line of kids waiting their turn.  The girls needed some help getting up the small hill on the track, and several of them crashed into the poles holding the police tape that helped mark the track area, but it was otherwise fun for them. 

They're off.

Jaidon is in the lead!

Here come Matt & Cathy

A super fun day with some great friends... but it makes farming seem like it would be really, really hard work.  In fact, I have no doubt it would be.  So, if Mom and Bill really do decide to raise livestock or grow something other than the hay that fills many of their acres, I'll leave it to someone else in the family to run things.

Perry the Platypus

In my first week of the Wilton cake decorating class, we learned how to make frosting, how to tort and frost a cake, about different consistencies of frosting, and we practiced making stars.  The expectation after week one is that we'd bring in cakes, cupcakes, etc., along with our own mixed frosting for subsequent weeks...

Doing my homework before week 2 of the class, I learned the importance of remembering to cream the shortening before adding dry ingredients... but rather than start over, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  What I found is that the frosting seemed a little dry in spots and so it cracked in unexpected ways as I created lines and zig-zags and every so often, a little clump of something - shortening or maybe powdered sugar - clogged my tip.  But it was mostly workable as I frosted my cake and learned how to trace a design with piping gel, transfer it to the cake, and then decorate.

If you couldn't guess from the title of today's blog entry, I chose Perry the Platypus.  When I showed the picture to the kids, Cathy's first question was "Where's Perry's hat?"  So it's important to point out that he's not Agent P, just a family pet.

But here it is... start to finish.

First step, frosting.  Best done with a large tip and #16 bag.

After the cakes were frosted, we set them aside long enough to 'crust over', or get a little hard.  Once the frosting is crusted, we were able to smooth the appearance.  

Parchment paper and a spatula smooths the finish.

I found a picture of Perry the Platypus on line for the cake... at class, we used piping gel and parchment paper to trace the design and then transfer it onto the cake.  One thing I will have to remember (even though it really didn't matter in this case) is that when the paper is facing up, the tracing will be in the opposite direction when transferred onto the cake.

Perry has eyes!  Well, the whites of eyes.

Blue frosting added

And now a tail, feet and the duck bill

The (almost) finished project!

I added a fancy dot border at the bottom of the cake.  Project officially complete!

At this point, I am pretty certain I will still spend countless hours making cakes for the kids, but I can see ways in which I can make them better, be that in actually squaring off the rounded tops of my cakes as I pull them out of the oven, in how I frost and fill, or how I decorate them.  Regardless, it was fun and the kids were so excited with the cake when I brought it home.  Cathy decided very briefly that she wanted Perry the Platypus for her birthday cake next year before electing to just have us pretend it was her birthday and sing to her now.

And then she asked for Dr. Doofenshmirtz instead.

A Trip to Pittsburgh For Preseason Football

Looking at the calendar, I realize there are just 10 days left in the Summer of Fun.  If this summer was a 'marathon', then I am clearly in the home stretch now and I am approaching it with mixed emotions.  I could talk about the down side to my summer with the kids (believe it or not, there's been a down side too), but I prefer to focus on what has been so great about it...

The slips of paper we added to the Jar of Fun at the start of summer vacation are mostly gone now and we've had some amazing adventures, starting in early June with the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh  and ending in Philadelphia next weekend on my 41st birthday  (and yes, for those who know I often like to lie about my age, I did just write that) when the Phillies play the Florida Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.  In between, I've given my kids what I hope they will always remember to be a fantastic summer of fun and travel and most importantly, time together.  This is, by far, the silver lining to losing my job last winter and I will always be grateful for the opportunity unemployment gave to me.

At the start of the summer, when we made our original list of places we'd like to visit and things we'd like to do in the summer of 2011, I included both the Eagles and Steelers training camps.  At the time it seemed optimistic at best given the player lock-out.  But, when the NFL's labor agreement ended that four-month lockout late last month, I started thinking it would be even better if we could take the kids to Heinz Field for the Steelers' first preseason game against the Eagles.  My brother-in-law is a season ticket holder, making it pretty easy to get our hands on tickets (thanks Greg), and so we took the kids to their first NFL game Thursday night!

Since the game had an 8:00 kickoff, we spent the day with college friends (the Kepes and Kelley families) before heading down to the stadium.

Our first stop for the day: the wave pool at Setters Cabin Park in Oakdale.  Setters Cabin was a terrific choice for an inexpensive afternoon with kids ranging in age from 5 up through 15.  Admission to the park was $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for kids ages 6-12, and $1.00 for kids 5 and under.  We had a such a great time at the wave pool, spending a few hours in the water, jumping into the deep end of the pool, over the waves, or just splashing and swimming around when the waves weren't rolling.

Afterwards, the Kepes family joined us at Joe's Crab Shack, someplace I'd never been but had heard good things about.  We ordered the Sunset Fired-Grilled Steampot for 2 and wow, was it good.  Crab, sausage, shrimp, corn and potatoes, all with really great seasoning.  The only thing that would have made it better is beer, but with a LONG night still ahead of us, I knew that wasn't a good choice.  We sat outside on the deck and let the kids play on the playground while we all waited for dinner.  Then we donned our bibs and enjoyed the feast.  Perfect!

With bellies full and miles of traffic awaiting us, we climbed into the car and set out for Heinz Field... someplace I hadn't been since November 2004 (the last time the Steelers hosted the Eagles).  I was nearly seven months pregnant the last time, was up and sick most the night before the game, and the Eagles were down 21-0 before the first quarter was over.  I can still remember my husband asking me on the way out of the stadium if there was anything fun about it... I told him "No".  And I meant it.  Even now, the only good thing I remember about the day was that it was very warm for mid-November and I never had to wear my jacket.

There wasn't much better about Thursday night's game except that it didn't count.  The preseason is just a way to see how your guys work together, to set your game roster, etc., though it was still disappointing to see Michael Vick have such a poor performance.  But the kids, though pretty tired from a BUSY day, had a great time.  The cheers of the crowd were a little tough for them to get used to, but they danced around and chanted "Let's Go Steelers" with the rest of the Steelers' fans. 

Rich with Big Ben and Hines Ward!

I should mention that I am not a Steelers fan, but will cheer for them on most any occasion.  The only exception is when they play my hometown team.  Matt and Cathy will also cheer for both teams on a Sunday afternoon... This was the first time they've needed to come down on one side or the other, and as you can see, the Eagles lost out, mostly because we only have Steelers clothes for the kids (they're pretty easy to find here in Central PA).  I wore my green in support of the team and found that in Pittsburgh, green was a lonely way to go.  Certainly the opposite of our trip to PNC Park earlier this summer when the Phillies fans outnumbered the Pirates fans...

These seats have me thinking about John Denver... "Almost heaven..."

Almost as soon as we sat down in our seats, Cathy said she was tired (she even took a nap on the car ride into the stadium) and she alternated between resting her head on my shoulder and watching the game.  Just when we thought we could stretch the night into the third quarter, both kids started asking if we could leave... and so the decision was made.

Halftime... the end of our night!

Being a sucker for a city skyline at night, I grabbed one last picture before heading down the ramp and off to the car.

The drive out of the city was much easier than the drive in and we pulled into the driveway a little before 1:00am...

And after a half-decent night of sleep, and a day of doing pretty much nothing, I am ready to dig in and finish the race.  Philadelphia, look out... the Cropp family is on the way!
  

Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania

With a questionable weather forecast last Wednesday afternoon, the kids and I decided to check out  Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania, the long-awaited science center targeting kids ages 2-12 right here in Central PA.

If you've learned anything about Central PA by following our Summer of Fun, its that most of the fun activities are somewhere else.  Sure, we've got two fantastic community pools and a few state parks that we can drive to in about 30 minutes or less.  But if the weather is bad and I am looking for indoor activities for the kids, the choices are very limited.  There's Fun Unleashed and Northland Bowl and that's about it for age-appropriate kids entertainment.

So, Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania is a pretty welcome addition to the area... at least in theory.  I can still remember their initial marketing literature, long before it started to become a reality.  With plans to purchase the old Verizon building downtown (which is a much bigger space than where they ended up) and an artist's rendering that showed a big dinosaur in a very big window, I had very high expectations for the place...

Unfortunately, high expectations typically lead to disappointment and that was certainly the case for me.

We initially saw the space during First Night State College.  At the time, it was hard to envision how the space would evolve - it was mostly an open floor plan with areas marked on the walls and floor indicating what you'd find in different areas.  They had a number of the 'exhibit' pieces at that point in time and I can still remember the kids playing with them. 

The official grand-opening isn't until October and until that point, admission is just $3 per person.  They're in the process of formalizing their membership with the Association of Science and Technology Centers and so, eventually, the membership we purchased in Pittsburgh back in June will get us in here.  After the official opening, admission will increase to $6 per person and I am not sure that I'd spend that much to take the kids there again... there's just not enough for them to do to drop $20.

So, just what is there?

There's a studio room that had a few "medical experiments" that the kids had no interest in.  I stayed in the room long enough to try and get my heart rate, but with results of 122 and 154, I am pretty sure the equipment is faulty.  Despite the fact that my mileage is down significantly over the last two months, my resting heart rate is typically in the high 50s or low 60s.

"Dig It"

There's a flight simulator program (a Microsoft product  like you'd have for your home PC) that crashed each time we tried to fly it... it had been installed just a few days prior and they were aware of the technical difficulties. I think the kids found EVERY item in the archeology dig table in the first 30 seconds they were there (bones, building materials, food, etc.) but they skipped over the sorting bins located behind the dig table. The beaver and dam, shadow puppets, and kiddie play areas were passed over all together, as was the 3D movie on constellations (though I watched a little and this was kind of cool).

Cathy tried to video blog the weather, and she certainly got a kick out of seeing herself on the computer screen (not realizing she was also on the TV screen on the opposite side), but this exhibit isn't really geared toward kids her age and since she refused my help, she never really figured it out.

Matt's favorite spot

The three big winners? The electronic circuits, building straws and connectors, and wood pieces that the kids could connect and race marbles down.

The circuits are neat - you can build ones that make noise, turn on a light, or launch a spinning disk into the air.   This was their favorite thing last winter too, so I was not at all surprised to see them spend so much time at this table.  Matt's now asking for his own circuit making kit for Christmas.

All told, we spent about two hours there and I was surprised it was that long.   If it weren't for those three things, we would have been out the door in half an hour.

I don't mean to be too down on the place.  I think it's a great idea and certainly something that was needed in the area.  It's just that this summer alone, I've been to the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Please Touch Museum, Franklin Institute, and Hand-on-House - all places with so many activities that we spent an entire day at each and could easily go back and do it all again.  And over time, with donations, admission fees, and membership fees coming in, I am sure that it will grow into the kind of place its founders and supporters envisioned.

At least I hope so.