Mom and I spent the day with our favorite group of children at the Oakland Museum. It had been completely redone since I was last there and I was stunned. Museums are not the old museums of my past. This one was interactive. The lowest 1st floor featured a Natural History museum of five specific areas of California. It was there where we spent most of our day. We toured each of the five areas looking at the different animals and features. Lots to touch. Lots to feel and smell. There was even an area where the kids made an animated video. At the end, there was a huge room with a movie of different sea creatures moving across two floor-to-ceiling walls. It was hard to get mom and the kids to leave!
We all went to the second floor, which featured a History Museum (we never made it to the third floor, which was the Art Museum). We wound through the very beginnings of California with the Natives to the Spaniards to the Missions to gold being discovered, all the way through to the fun 1960s and 1970s to the current immigration issues. It was really well done and again, totally accessible for children. It was very impressive.
Mom said it was the most walking she had done in a long time and even I began to search out a bench or two towards the end. I must mention once again, that the children were fabulous. Most had been there with Barbara so they had their favorite areas. What made my mom's heart sing was when the youngest child grabbed her hand and said, "You have to come see this!" It was hard to say goodbye to two of the children who are leaving Barbara's daycare. We had known them for three years!
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