On Saturday morning, we checked out the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. It should really be named the Kids Museum of Life and Science. Almost every display is geared towards children with lots of little stools for sitting and steps for peeking into tanks and displays. Every adult there was accompanied by at least one small child and usually a stroller! In addition to the indoor museum, outdoor farm animal viewing area, and bug house, there is a large outdoor loop in the woods with more animals - bears, wolves, etc. We ran out of time and didn't have a stroller with us so we'll have to see all the animals another time.

Gavin grunted his usual, oomph!, when trying to lift the heaviest rock...

More rocks under magnifying glasses...

Fluorescent rocks... Gavin was less interested in the brightly-colored rocks and thought that little black button beside the display that turned on the light was the tops.

WARNING to a certain grandmother with an intense fear of snakes! Don't look too closely at the next picture! Gavin, of course, likes snakes as long as they move. He likes pretty much anything that moves.

Turtles are certainly cuter and more interesting than snakes...

This is when Mommy started getting excited. Rocket engines, space artifacts, and memorabilia! Gavin wasn't terribly impressed (see previous comment about things that move).

The rocket above is just one of five that was part of the Saturn V rocket that launched men to the moon.

A mockup of a lunar module?! Wow! Mommy could have stayed here a long time. Gavin was more interested in crawling under the display tables.

Mommy got a major case of camera envy...

Gavin was glad to leave the boring space wing and played at the bone table...

Cow vertebrae...

Outside, Gavin explored the interior of a real train caboose...

He enjoyed watching sheep in the farm animal area...

The cow... not so much! He likes seeing cows in his books and makes his mmmm sound when we ask him what a cow says, but I don't think he realized how big cows really are and it scared him! This cow kept mooing mmmm without opening her mouth which made us realize that Gavin's vowel-less cow sound has been accurate all along!

Checking out some groovy blue and green frogs in the reptile and insect house...

There was a large butterfly conservatory. Gavin was able to touch one butterfly that was resting on a leaf and liked watching swarms of them fly overhead.

We took the opportunity for a family photo opp in the air lock as we left the butterflies. This was the end of the visit for us!