Marine Museum Visit

We had a very nice field trip to the Calvert Marine Museum this morning. First we visited the paleontology section and got to touch lots of sediment and fossils close up. The children weren't at all afraid of the giant Carcharodon Megalodon skeleton. Here's a photo with the lead paleontologist standing in front of it:


Oddly enough, this photo (which is of the exhibit we went to) is one of the top three links that came up when I searched for the correct spelling of the scientific name for the extinct Great White Shark (much bigger than his modern-time cousin). I guess this museum is pretty well known. It's hard when a museum is right in your backyard (and you've worked at it, your mom has worked at it, and your brother has worked at it) to realize that it could be famous.

After paleo we went through the series of estuary aquarium tanks, starting from most salty (the Ches. Bay) and progressing to least salty (freshwater marsh). The children liked the blue crabs, hermit crabs, jellyfish, and seahorses the best.

Next the outdoor exhibits. We saw the river otters and then did the marsh walk. It was a really really high tide so we didn't see much -- just the periwinkle snails and a red-winged blackbird. At the gift shop I sprung for two more Folkmanis puppets (our collection now numbers six): the crab and the octopus.

When Natalie wakes up from her nap we'll do the Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium piece. I went out to the car to preview it. I really love the piano "waves" and the glockenspiel "sunlight" shining on the water. So cool. I don't know much about music but I try to expose my kids to a bunch of stuff. Maybe someday they'll have a real music teacher.

Today I've been on a bit of an organizing streak. I typed up a list of all the foods in my fridge, freezer, and pantry, grouped by theme (such as "Dried Fruit and Nuts"). Then when the kids went down for their naps, I started searching through boxes labeled RNM SORT hunting for my passport, which I think is about to expire. I found plenty of stuff but not that. My college acceptance letters and SAT scores, as well as commencement programs, Leah's sonogram pictures, a photo of my belly when I was pregnant with Natalie, lots of old photos, letters (including all of the monthly letters my mom sent me when I was in college), my box of screwdrivers (?), my plane tickets to different places I've traveled to out of the country, and so on. Lots of stuff from when I was a kid, like little sketches I made that came out really well so I saved them, favorite quotes, letters that I wrote from summer camp but never mailed because I thought they were dorky... Plus my wedding photos! Haven't seen those in a while. I was really worried about losing the children's sonogram pictures so I'm glad those turned up. Wish I could find my passport though. Gotta have it, you know. Maybe someday someone will surprise me and take me to the South of France. :-)