Weekly Summer Adventure #1

Here's the first of a series we are calling 'Spears Family Weekly Summer Adventures'. I know, I know - it's long and too descriptive, but I'm not creative or witty enough to come up with some cute acronym or fun name. We have planned a series of weekly summer adventures that are free or almost free for the remaining 10 or so weeks we have left in New Orleans. Today's adventure was the . . . INSECTARIUM (please don't call it the bug museum, because certain boys will correct you, even though it is rude to correct adults). REALLY fun little outing, especially for little boys and/or nature people. Also normally a pretty expensive outing, but since we are members of the Zoo and Aquarium, we got in for $5/person.

Really giant cockroaches. I assume this is JT's impression of them.

Petting the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Surprisingly Charlie participated in the petting, but I missed it on camera. Poor second born kid.

The totally awesome 'bug cave' with the large tarantula that sort of jumps out at you in a completely nonscary, cartoonish sort of way that still made my husband jump around in fear because he HATES spiders. It was HILARIOUS! Jonathan is forever trying to scare all of us, and to have him scared like that totally made my entire day! Again, I'm not really sure about the JT expression.

Pirogi.

A suit of bug armor. The exhibits were really well done and highlighted some of my favorite things about insects - the adaptations that help them to survive in their environments. They had some FABULOUS camoflage insects and mimicry stuff that the biology teacher in me LOVED!

Just wondering why my children can pose so beautifully in photos with their father (with the exception of the bad hand placement above) BUT when they get with me in a picture, we end up with this . . . .

The butterfly room was really fun! The botanical gardens in Huntsville sports the largest open air butterfly house in the country, so I did NOT expect to be impressed with the butterfly exhibit. I was really wrong. They had a beautiful collection of both butterflies and moths (Kathleen, you would have died at the moth that was the size of a small bird) both living and preserved.

Overall, I would give the outing an A. The interactive theatre was really unexpected and the 'chocolate chirp' cookies complete with crickets baked inside rocked. Talk about a full sensory experience.