The Magic House

One of the blessings of having relatives in a different part of the country is being able to experience new things that normally we wouldn't have the opportunity to do. For example, the city of St. Louis has an incredible children's museum called "The Magic House" that is one of my all time favorite attractions for kids. We visited this amazing spot when Caleb was around Reid's age and ever since then I personally have been dying to return.

Making music

The museum has so much to do that it is difficult to try everything in one day, especially when little ones get tuckered out from so much fun! Last time, there were a few exhibits we missed out on as a result and I decided that those would be our first stops this go around.

Right at the entrance are some oversized musical instruments as shown in the pic above, but not far after those is a three story beanstalk for the kids to climb with a spiral staircase wrapped around it. Caleb was too small to try out this cool fairy-tale-come-to-life jungle gym before. This time though, he was all about it!

Hadley was able to enjoy the beanstalk too even though it took her a little longer to navigate.

I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get them away from those enormous green leaves until I spotted the vacuum contraptions pictured in the photo below. Scarves and fluffy balls were available for visitors to put in the trap door and watch as they zipped through the tubing and shot out of various locations. Reid didn't get to participate in the climbing fun on the beanstalk, but all the kids loved this thing.

Again it was hard to pull them away, but with so much more to see we couldn't stop there! Right across the hall was the Star-Spangled Center where there was a room set up for each branch of our government, including a courtroom, the oval office, and a congressional meeting.

First, we laughed it up as the kids donned judges' attire and put NaNa on trial. "I didn't do it!" she pleaded. Well, then who gave Reid the cookies, NaNa?

Dave and the kids then gave a press conference at a podium in the oval office and made a few phone calls from the president's desk. Reid, who loves to pretend everything is a phone, found just the place to plop his little fanny as he set out to better our country with secretary NaNa as a spotter.

As we moved over to check out what was going on in congress, the kids put on quite a show up on the stage. They had no idea what the room represented, but sure had fun dancing and running about. Reid dances almost every time he hears music, and when some older kids started singing a few patriotic songs, that booger really got down.

Just across the way was an outdoor play area set up as a construction site. This was another spot we missed last time that I'd planned to check out. The problem was it was freezing that day! NaNa and Reid even stayed inside and played in another little room to stay warm while we explored. Truth be told,  I was kind of itching to hurry along though the kids seemed not to notice the cold. In the end, I was glad we did it despite the chilly air because it really was a really cute setup.

After looking at the attractions we hadn't seen before on the lower level, everyone went upstairs to check out the traveling exhibit. Last time we came, the Magic House had Alice in Wonderland set up, but this time they created displays from the Magic Tree House series. I learned from Dave that my neice and nephew are pretty interested in these books, but up until then I was unfamiliar with them. Here is the prologue for anyone else who hasn't heard of these interesting books that help children relive history:

Come along with us as we time travel...

Reid had been told "no no," had things taken out of his grasp, or was shifted to new locations multiple times all week as we visited his grandparents whose houses aren't exactly baby proof since they aren't used to have a baby around on a regular basis. I loved that he could touch pretty much EVERYTHING that day and had himself the time of his life. (Not that he didn't love the rest of the trip mind you. Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Swan had great things to explore and lots of loving attention for him too.)

Next we got musical...

...before watching the kids surround themselves in an enormous bubble.

Down the math hallway we went next. (Grandma McKinstry, you were definitely on my mind as we reached this part of the museum). I was meandering through hoping to get to the make believe section in the next room pretty quickly, but Caleb, being the math lover he is, took time to check it all out and we didn't rush him of course.

While Dave hung back with our eldest, the rest of us finally moved ahead though to all the creative play in the next room. We started at the indoor pond where Hadley got to catch a fish with her pole.

Then, on to the mechanic shop. Mom and I definitely had more fun with this than Reid did as we dressed him up and watched him work.

Meanwhile, there was Caleb...still in the math hallway. :)

Hadley moved on to do a bit of grocery shopping with NaNa. She loved the floral section in particular and put every single plant in her basket I think.

Afterwards, we went upstairs to the nursery where Dr. Hadley tended the babies and Nurse Reid assisted.

In the pizza parlor next door, we served up some pizza pies and even sampled a few.

Caleb got a job at an ice cream shop too.

Oh, and we can't forget his other vocation as a mechanic.

Working three jobs is tough, but someone's got to make some money to pay for all these groceries.

And, vet bills are outrageous these days! (This exhibit was new from the last time we were there. It used to be set up as house, which you can see if you look back to my 2011 post.)

Hadley has lots of career opportunities too. From working for the electrical company to being a teller at a bank, this girl has options.

There was a special play area designed for just kids Reid's age as well as a bigger one set up with all kinds of passage ways and special features for older ones.

Caleb played in the water section a little too.

Finally, we ended upstairs on the third floor with the attraction that Caleb had wanted to see the most. As advertised, we found the giant magnet that made everyone's hair stand up on end. He'd forgotten about it as he played throughout the day, but when we finally got there he was thrilled.

We were at the Magic House for about four hours I think but still had a quite a few things that we missed. If you are ever near St. Louis, I highly encourage you to check it out. God willing, I'm sure the McKinstrys will be back and that we'll all enjoy it for years to come.