Unique museums - Part II - Cite de l'espace, Toulouse

Another gem, this one. A bit far from the main city of Toulouse but worth visiting, especially for a day out with kids.

This museum features exhibits from space technology. Easy to recognize from the Ariane rocket that can be seen from  far away. Complete with a MIR space station, the inside of a Columbus space shuttle, space suits, planetariam shows, space capsules, it can keep kids of all ages entertained for hours. Our two-and-a-half year old seemed fascinated by most displays although explaining even the concept of "earth" was a bit difficult (she can now tell you that we live on the earth by the way!).

What she really enjoyed was the simulated moon walk. When we stood in the queue along with a lot of elder kids, I quietly sneaked up to the man in-charge to ask if our kiddo would be allowed. He looked at her, asked how much she weighed. His face revealed nothing when I said "12 kgs", but I heard the man behind me remark "Ah, Petite". He came back a while later after consulting with his colleague and I thought it was all over for the kiddo who was already so excited that she was jumping up higher than she would on the moon.
However, he explained that there was no risk so if she wanted to, she could! Kiddo then proceeded to complete the entire round with a 50-strong crowd looking on and cheering.

I think if there was a Guinness record for the youngest simulated moon walker, the munchkin would be a real competitor!

Here's the earlier post: http://allesgutoder.blogspot.de/2013/07/unique-museums-part-one-deutsches.html

Unique Museums - Part One - Deutsches Museum in Munich

There is at least one and mostly innumerable museums in every city in Germany. There is bound to be a natural history museum, a toy museum, a museum in the local castle. We are restricted by our toddler's minuscule attention span, and almost afraid of visiting museums, but we look up at least one place in every city we visit - one place that we think would be different. We base this decision on reviews, personal preferences (we are both not the art-friendly people, for one) and mostly time and place constraints. Most times, our decisions are well-rewarded.

In this series of posts, I have decided to review unique museums - albeit as I visit more of Germany and other parts of Europe, my opinion might get reinforced or I may be forced to change it. Let's see how it goes!

1) Deutsches Museum in Munich:
We see the history of man and animals and evolution carefully documented everywhere, but getting to see early machines and latest technology under one roof is remarkable! Especially if you are inclined towards engineering or pure sciences, you will really dig this museum. Everything from large and awkward early contraptions to the sophisticated nano technology equipment is displayed in the most unique fashion. There are even helicopters and planes on display. Our toddler too was unexpectedly fascinated and we could spend good amount of time looking around. She was particularly enthralled by a large 18th century water wheel and huge ships. As if that was not enough, the museum features a children's area with large lego blocks, life size musical instruments, and scientific games full of fun and learning.

Now that's what I call a museum!

Raising a kid - never you mind!

The term "kid-friendly" has got a whole new meaning in my dictionary since I arrived in Germany. Before this I thought of kid friendly as a place accessible with a stroller, having clean toilets and perhaps even a mother-care room, at best a high-chair in a restaurant. I think I would have been happy with these had I not come to Germany.

Not anymore. In the first month, we consciously avoided public places. We struck off museums from our  must-see list since were totally unsure how the kiddo would react in a place like that. Entry tickets are not exactly cheap, which means walking away in case of a meltdown would pinch hard. Slowly we started to realize that people with families, even infants were omnipresent. As we explored the town further, we saw parks, demarcated play areas and child-friendly facilities just about everywhere we went. The central shopping street has a ride or two each block. Book shops have a kids-area to allow you to browse in peace, eateries have a kids-area, trains have areas marked out for strollers. I'm sure there is lots that I haven't even discovered yet.

Subsequently we have became more relaxed about taking our kid out - whether it is eating out, shopping, site-seeing or plain travelling, you can be sure that there will be something or the other to engage your child.

We decided to risk it at the Natural History Museum after reading reviews that indicated that our kiddo could enjoy it too. She totally digged it. The exhibits (not the history) was life-like, colorful, caught her fancy in the strangest ways. We naturally had a great time together. Kid-friendly in a never-before way!

Ludwigsburg was particularly marvelous. The Marchengartens is a incredible children's park with all sorts of rides, dramatized fairy tales, even a water-play area. I would not in my wildest dreams have imagined a castle concealing a children's play area that size.

May be there are still places where I can't expect to visit with my kid - like the theater or a serious museum of art. But on the whole, I am unlikely to miss out on most aspects of life just because I have a kid in tow.

Why should having a baby put you in the back-seat in life? This society has acknowledged and internalized the challenge that is part of raising a child in such a beautiful manner. I'm really surprised that economics should come in the way of enjoying parenthood with so much to enjoy about it around!