Today we took the kids to the USA Science & Engineering Festival at the D.C. Convention Center, or as Harper very quickly named it, the “Science Circus.” This was our first time at the Science Circus and we were not sure what to expect. It was HUGE and we had a hard time figuring out where the little kid exhibits were, but once we found our way around, we had a fun time. We got there early, thankfully, because it very quickly became crowded. We ended up splitting up, and I took the big kids to a few things each on their own, while Daddy kept track of the Ada monster.
We learned a few things on this outing, one being that we probably don’t need to bring a stroller for Ada anymore. She flat out refused to ride in it, and sprinted her way through the day. The big kids argued over who got to ride in Ada’s stroller, so lesson learned: leave it in the van! I’ve never understood why parents need those kiddie-leashes… but now I have Ada. I’m seriously considering one! She is fearless and independent, and the only one of our hands that she will hold is Harper’s, so one of us has to either hold her (screaming) in a straight-jacket position while we walk on the sidewalk, or sprint next to her and make sure she doesn’t run into the street!
We decided to take Metro and make it a doubly-exciting day for the kids since they love to ride the train. I’m somewhat embarrassed to say… I think this was baby’s first Metro ride! I Metro’d with Harper and Roman all the time as babies, but now I hardly ever go into the city by myself with all three of them, and if I do I drive. Ada loved the ride, and of course the only photo I have is of her looking bored and tired. Most of the time she was shrieking with excitement.
Roman loved the lungs exhibit at the National Children’s Museum booth. He is obsessed with a body book that we have, and studies all of the body parts (organs and all). Roman and I stayed at the lungs for a good 10 minutes while the poor guy manning the booth pumped them for him. He kept his hands on them the whole time!
Big surprise here… Harper loved all of the “projects.” She made a “healthy eating hat” and a “friendship card” for her BFF Ava. And yes, she attended the festival wearing full-on princess attire.
The highlight for Roman was the Northrop Grumman poster that he scored on the way out. It shows every air & space project that Northrop has ever worked on – from satellites to shuttles. He spent the rest of the afternoon studying it, and it is now taped to the wall in his room. I love that he is so into “nerdy” science stuff!
We capped off the day with Chipotle in Chinatown. Chipotle is our go-to meal with the kids – it’s healthy, they always clean their plates, and we don’t have to worry about making a scene! They worked up an appetite at the Science Circus and we didn’t have a single leftover to bring home.
