Friday, October 15, 2010

Field Trips

We've been trying to take some field trips this fall, now that Sunshine is in PS kindergarten and things at home are, um... easier!  (he is doing WONDERFULLY, btw).

At first we were going to visit the "Milwaukee Museum" as my kids call it.  We buy a membership each year because it's a good deal for us.  Not only is it paid for by two visits of our (large) family, you get discounts or free admission on other museums as well.  We haven't used any of these yet, but we plan to.

After some discussion of desired field trips, however, we determined that we'd rather go to the Milwaukee Zoo instead while the weather was nice.  I checked into memberships online (because after checking into admission fees and parking, it was going to set us back $55 for ONE VISIT!).  So I bought a membership for $65.  We went to the zoo (saving $44) and were able to park for free on the street (if you get there early enough--saving $10 or $11) and we had a great time.  Because of the membership, we knew we could go again anytime within the next year, so we were able to see the zoo at a leisurely pace and even quit when we got tired, even though we hadn't seen everything!
 Hyena laughs are contagious!

 Daisy, I don't think that it's wise to take that from him!


 Pepper kisses the lioness

Look!  Cave drawings just like we made!

A couple of weeks later, on another beautiful Fall day, we visited the International Crane Foundation.  I've always wanted to go there, the kids were game AND admission was free with our Milwaukee Zoo membership pass!  FREE!  This is the only place in the world which houses all 15 species of cranes.  Their breeding program targets the very endangered whooping crane, with great success.  We read about the history of their breeding program, meet the 15 species of cranes, and enjoyed a walk through the tallgrass prairie.
 Check out our wingspans!


Grey Crowned Crane of Africa 
(makes me think of the Crowned Crane, Savannah, from WeeBee Tunes!)

Future trips on our list include the Missisippi River Museum, and the NEW Zoo, both free or discounted with our Zoo pass, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the state capitol in Madison, and selected museums in Chicago (a larger undertaking--who likes to drive in Chicago?? :P )  We also plan to visit some art museums and see some shows at the Overture Center in Madison.

Happy field tripping to us!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Nothing like the zoo! Love 'em!

thecurryseven said...

The Crane Foundation sounds like a lot of fun... I had no idea it was around Baraboo. We'll have to go next time we're up there.

Let us know when you make your big trek to Chicago... it would be fun to meet up. (And no one likes driving in Chicago, not even those of us who live here!)

e