Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Squire's Castle
Today we went to Squire's Castle, which is located in the North Chagrin Metroparks. It is actually the Gate Keeper's house that remains, but the kids had fun running around inside of it. It was about an hour to drive out there, so we paired it with some other things...like Preston's Hope, the inclusive playground in Beachwood, which is about 20 minutes from Squires Castle. Information on Preston's Hope is on one of the previous blogs from last summer.
The kids loved it. It is free and there are a lot of spaces to have a picnic. Will definately go back again!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Canton Area Activities
Today we did a playdate with friends at the McKinley Museum. For us, it is an hour drive. It is located in a park setting. There is a monument with a ton of stairs that the kids can climb. They loved it! Right next to that is the museum part. For $52, you can get a year's membership that will also allow you to get into other museums for free. If you don't get the membership, then kids under 3 are free, kids over 3 are $6 and adults are $8. The price isn't too bad. Included with your admission is the planetarium.
So, my kids had fun for two reasons: first, they were with a group of friends, and second, they have never been there before. Like any museum where we have gone more than once, I don't really see them having a blast there again. This exact same thing happened with the Great Lakes Science Center. Anyways, the employees are rather unfriendly. On our way in, one of the kids tripped and skinned her knee. When we walked in and paid, we asked for a bandage and were given one. This part of the story will come into play a little later...
I have seen advertisements and endorsements for this place, touting it is a great activity for kids. In my opinion, kid-friendly places have to in fact be "friendly to kids." I would be lying if I said I could feel the love. There is a whole set of rules that you must abide by and there are employees scattered around the place waiting for your kid to screw up (or you, but preferably your child). There is NO flash photography anywhere in the entire museum. The sign by the admissions desk states that there is no flash photography, but lists specific places, rather than saying the whole museum. We were there for less than 2 hours and were scolded 4 times...
Scolding number 1: my friend took a picture of her son with the dinosaur. A big no-no. Got told that there is no flash photography.
Scolding 2: the kids were checking out the ecosystem area. There is a level above this area with all the science stuff. There is a curtain there. A woman kept poking her head out from the curtain watching the kids. I started to feel paranoid and considered deep breathing exercises but decided against it. There is an area with fish. There is a sign that said not to touch the water. I told all of the kids that were near me not to touch the water. Once child stuck her forefinger in the water and....scolding #2. The woman who was making me paranoid yelled down to her that she needed to keep her hands out...
Scolding 3: There was a planetarium show. It started at 1:00. They announced it. Just so that you could deal with the miserable old hag at admissions, you need to get tickets, even though you don't have to pay for tickets. So, we follow the rules and go over to get tickets. Two adults...5 kids, while two kids and one adult stayed in the dinosaur area and tried not to touch anything. Well, Ms. Pleasant then states that "not all of these children look like they are 5. They HAVE to be 5 to get in." Lindsey is tall, as tall as Kaylee, so I knew she was fine. Ava is turning 5 in 2 weeks. And yes, one child looks smaller than 5, but is 4 1/2 and going in with her mother. So when her mother said she is almost 5, the woman asked "how close?" She told her they cant go in if they are under 5 because it is dark and they get scared. This ranting lasted awhile and she made it quite clear that she did not want us in the stupid planetarium. So, reluctantly, she gives us the tickets, with another lecture on how she isn't supposed to, oh, and by the way "the show starts at 1:00 and they will not open the doors once they are closed for you." After all the ranting, we manage to get to the planetarium, are about 10 feet away and the man looks right at us and closes the door, practically in our faces. Ugg...could these people be any meaner?
Scolding 4: This is the best scolding. Think back to the beginning when I talked about the scraped knee on the little girl. So, the knee starts to bleed and her mother decides to get a bandage from the gift shop when she visits. She asks the woman for one, and is told "I do have one...But, I can't give it to you. You will have to go back to the admissions window and get one there so that you can explain why you need it." Seriously??? WTH....
So, feel free to make your own judgements about the place. It is not set up as an adult place, but their employees certainly do not make children feel welcome. We went and tried something new. Been there, done that. Will not be back...
So, my kids had fun for two reasons: first, they were with a group of friends, and second, they have never been there before. Like any museum where we have gone more than once, I don't really see them having a blast there again. This exact same thing happened with the Great Lakes Science Center. Anyways, the employees are rather unfriendly. On our way in, one of the kids tripped and skinned her knee. When we walked in and paid, we asked for a bandage and were given one. This part of the story will come into play a little later...
I have seen advertisements and endorsements for this place, touting it is a great activity for kids. In my opinion, kid-friendly places have to in fact be "friendly to kids." I would be lying if I said I could feel the love. There is a whole set of rules that you must abide by and there are employees scattered around the place waiting for your kid to screw up (or you, but preferably your child). There is NO flash photography anywhere in the entire museum. The sign by the admissions desk states that there is no flash photography, but lists specific places, rather than saying the whole museum. We were there for less than 2 hours and were scolded 4 times...
Scolding number 1: my friend took a picture of her son with the dinosaur. A big no-no. Got told that there is no flash photography.
Scolding 2: the kids were checking out the ecosystem area. There is a level above this area with all the science stuff. There is a curtain there. A woman kept poking her head out from the curtain watching the kids. I started to feel paranoid and considered deep breathing exercises but decided against it. There is an area with fish. There is a sign that said not to touch the water. I told all of the kids that were near me not to touch the water. Once child stuck her forefinger in the water and....scolding #2. The woman who was making me paranoid yelled down to her that she needed to keep her hands out...
Scolding 3: There was a planetarium show. It started at 1:00. They announced it. Just so that you could deal with the miserable old hag at admissions, you need to get tickets, even though you don't have to pay for tickets. So, we follow the rules and go over to get tickets. Two adults...5 kids, while two kids and one adult stayed in the dinosaur area and tried not to touch anything. Well, Ms. Pleasant then states that "not all of these children look like they are 5. They HAVE to be 5 to get in." Lindsey is tall, as tall as Kaylee, so I knew she was fine. Ava is turning 5 in 2 weeks. And yes, one child looks smaller than 5, but is 4 1/2 and going in with her mother. So when her mother said she is almost 5, the woman asked "how close?" She told her they cant go in if they are under 5 because it is dark and they get scared. This ranting lasted awhile and she made it quite clear that she did not want us in the stupid planetarium. So, reluctantly, she gives us the tickets, with another lecture on how she isn't supposed to, oh, and by the way "the show starts at 1:00 and they will not open the doors once they are closed for you." After all the ranting, we manage to get to the planetarium, are about 10 feet away and the man looks right at us and closes the door, practically in our faces. Ugg...could these people be any meaner?
Scolding 4: This is the best scolding. Think back to the beginning when I talked about the scraped knee on the little girl. So, the knee starts to bleed and her mother decides to get a bandage from the gift shop when she visits. She asks the woman for one, and is told "I do have one...But, I can't give it to you. You will have to go back to the admissions window and get one there so that you can explain why you need it." Seriously??? WTH....
So, feel free to make your own judgements about the place. It is not set up as an adult place, but their employees certainly do not make children feel welcome. We went and tried something new. Been there, done that. Will not be back...
Back to the Summer Activity Schedule
We thought we would try some new things this summer, since we tend to have a short list of things that we do every year. On Mother's Day, we went to Stan Hywet Hall. My mom went too. Since we were both mothers, we got in free. Lindsey was also free due to her age (either under 5 or under 6, but not sure). We got to go for the grand total of $6. We went and visited the Seiberling house first, which is actually really worth seeing, especially when you get to see the pool, which was also my kids favorite part. Photography in the house is prohibited. You can also walk the grounds, which we did, and it is very pretty and there are a lot of photo opportunities.
Stan Hywet Hall is located at 714 North Portage Path in Akron, Ohio. They are open between April 2 and December 30 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The are not open on Mondays. Check out their website for prices at www.stanhywet.org.
Kaylee and Lindsey rating: 4/5--the girls loved running around, but there are obviously not any things that they can climb on and they got a little restless during the home tour.
Kaylee and Lindsey rating: 4/5--the girls loved running around, but there are obviously not any things that they can climb on and they got a little restless during the home tour.
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