Who Said the Museum Was Boring?

Last weekend we took A. to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see the latest exhibit "Gold," which - given that I grew up in Breckenridge and my father not only taught me how to pan for gold, but actually built a working sluice in our backyard - meant that most of the information was "old hat" to me. I imagine it would have been far more interesting if I had time to read any of the informational plaques . . . but as it was, I spent most of the time chasing A. around and telling him not to touch the large shiny exhibits.

We also discovered that they dismantled the health and body exhibits and put them in "Discovery Zone," which is essentially a play room for the little ones. Great for learning - yet slightly disturbing to find the life-size plastic mold of an upper torso with removable organs laying next to the bubble blowing station (not to mention brains in a jar).

Ah well. In the name of science.

On the other hand, the Museum has an incredible array of animal exhibits. They remind me of the tiny panorama boxes we had to make as kids in elementary school - only these are a hundred times bigger and a thousand times cooler. The painter they hired to do the backgrounds caught the trick of making your eye track to the horizon. When you stand in front of any of these exhibits, you feel like you are looking off the top of a mountain. There is also one exhibit of a manatee that looks just like an underwater aquarium. It even has the shafts of sunlight coming from the top and rippling on the manatee's skin!

Needless to say - I had to take pictures.

Few people seem to know that the painter had a sense of humor, and hid gnomes in many of the paintings. We met one couple near the moose exhibit who were on a diligent gnome hunt . . . a great diversion for both adults and kids. If you ever visit - don't be shy about asking museum personnel for a list of hints!

In the meantime, check out these amazing exhibits! Yes, these are actual stuffed animals! (All donated and died of natural causes according to the Museum . . .)