The Kluczinske Family’s Blog

For Valentine’s this year we planned on having a picnic and going to the observatory. Well we wanted to do something special for Vivian so today, the 13th, we went to the Children’s Hall. It was too much fun. It was way bigger than any children’s museum I’ve been too. It was 4 stories tall, had little exhibits outside too, and we can’t wait to go back.

The stairs are so cute. Yeah, all the big places here are uphill – the parks, arboretum, the Children’s Hall, and the observatory will probably be uphill too. Its nice because those places really get pulled out of the busyness of the city.

When we first went in, there was a little play are that we looked around in. There was a wooden playground, slides, a ball pit, and a big wooden train.

Vivian loved looking at these fish tanks. They one behind us had turtles. Curtiss and I felt bad for that big fish that’s stuck in that small space though. We felt even more bad for the alligator that had nearly the same sized tank. Oh, and there was that taxidermy exhibit on the fourth floor that depressed us too. Poor little seal twisted in a weird way in order to fit in that tiny jar. . . Well, those were the only bad parts out of dozens exhibits.

There were all these cool tunnels on the first floor that you walked through and they were full of motion sensors so they lit up as you walked through them. It was sort of scary because I didn’t know what to expect, but they turned out to be really cool. I forgot what this tunnel was about. There was an ultraviolet tunnel as well as the neon tunnel.

Here’s the neon room. Each color of the rainbow lit up as you walked by. The floor also had a pressure sensor so each color had its own note when you walked by it. This picture was blurry because Curtiss was hoping around trying to play the piano, haha.

They had these sensory exhibits on the walls. On the right there were little holes that you stuck your hand into to feel objects. Then you push this little button next to it and it shows you what was inside. The other wall it was the same concept except with smells. You twisted a knob and there were about 8 smells you could guess.

The space exhibit ended the first floor.
Of course, Vivian wanted a picture like Daddy too. Haha, she’s such a good sport.

The second floor’s theme was music and was full of different sensors. This one played music and projected flowers when you moved. There was another exhibit that lit up if you clapped loudly enough.

I found myself telling Curtiss, “I want one of these in our houses!” a lot during our visit.

This was one of our favorite parts. You would dance in front of a white screen and the screen in front of you lit up with your silhouette while music played.

What children’s museum is complete without one of these little stick board thingies?! Curtiss’, mine, and Vivian’s handprints.

The third floor was about energy – solar energy, exerting energy, and apparently tornadoes. There was this cool section on the walls that had weights and you had to push down a lever. It showed how the different positions of fulcrum points affected how much energy you had to exert. They also showed it with a pulley system.

The fourth floor had taxidermy so I didn’t want to take pictures of that. The fifth floor had a tiny observatory but it was closed when we went.

Outside we found a playground, a reunification park (that shows support of the reunifcation of North and South Korea), and “Daegu’s Children’s Traffic Training Land.” Hm, I wish the people here would visit this more often. Not just the children either. Curtiss says they need a better course because this one failed too many people.

Then we went home and gave Vivian her Valentine’s presents. This is the first present I made for her. Its a little needlefelted breastfeeding doll that is used as decoration in her room until she’s old enough to use it in gentle play. Store bought dolls these days depict many messages – nearly all of which I don’t think are appropriate or valuable.

I also made her these Waldorf inspired dolls this week. The one in the back is from a button jointed doll kit from Dancing Rain Dolls. She has positionable limbs, and she’s super cute. So far I’ve only made her a cloth diaper, but her wardrobe will start building soon. People charge more than $100 for those kinds of dolls, and the kit cost about $30. Then there’s also the added value of it being handmade by your own mommy so I’m really happy that I got to make it for her. Then there’s the yellow bunting doll, purple star shaped doll, and the little burgundy heart shaped doll. The yellow one was made from one of my old tank tops, which I think is pretty cool. =P

Curtiss also made her a sweet Valentine’s Day card that’s going in her baby book. I forgot to take a picture though! Boo. Well, that sums up Vivian’s special Valentine’s Day. I have more things I want to discuss, but this is pretty long so I’m off to start a new post.

We love you,
Michelle, Curtiss, and Vivian