After a yummy spaghetti dinner on Monday night and a decent night of sleep (we had to put garbage bags over the skylights in the kids room in order to accomplish this...why we didn't do it for the adults escapes me!) Tim was off to work and the kids and I were scheduled to go see MAGNA, a Science adventure center. Everyone we talked to said this would be a fun activity for the kids, not to mention it focused on how steel was made, so Tim encouraged us to go hoping our kids would be intrigued by what they learned about Daddy's industry. With such rave reviews, I was excited to take the kids for the day. Little did we know what awaited us once we got inside. We didn't get off to a strong start because our driver (remember Andy from the last post?) grossly underestimated how long it would take us to arrive at MAGNA. I had prepared the kids for about 30 minutes in the car...it was double that easily so everyone was a little sour by the time we arrived. Not to be deterred, I tried to rally the troops. This was a bit tricky because we realized there were three or four coach buses parked directly outside which could only mean one thing...a school field trip! Not knowing how big this place was, I encouraged the kids to be positive. We bought our tickets and headed up the stairs. We opened the doors to this incredibly dark and very loud warehouse. Signs were definitely pointing us to walk directly into the darkness, but each of my kids were not moving that direction willingly. It is hard to describe this place accurately; imagine a large abandoned warehouse that has lighting along the walkway but is illuminated only by dark red lights along the walls. The walkway is wide with sides that are open for you to peer over and look down (the main floor is a story above the ground) at the machinery displayed below. Best way I can try to give you an idea is imagine what it would be like walking into the Death Star in Star Wars...dark, ominous, and downright creepy. With no volunteers to offer assurance or direction, even I felt I had somehow ended up in the wrong place. I managed to coax the kids down the walkway towards the first exhibit, but in order to get there we had to pass through a certain room. We opened the doors (this place was dark as well) and took a couple of steps inside. Almost instantly the entire room starts to crackle and pop with electrical currents being displayed openly all across the walls. I believe the girls went first and as soon as the sounds went off, the girls screamed and ran out of the room terrified (I was a bit frightened myself). It took me a good 5 minutes just to convince them to go back in so that we could go see the first exhibit. Once we actually got to the Fire Pavillion, we saw a really cool fire tornado but not much else. At this point, it is necessary for me to tell you about who was joining us in MAGNA that day; an entire school of kids that looked to range from around 5-8th grade were making their way through and at each pavillion we were greeted by at least 20-30 screaming kids acting a bit crazy, fiddling with the exhibits and making it almost impossible to participate in the activities available. So, at each stop (and the lunch room, too) we were accompanied by quite a crew; I think my kids, especially Caleb, felt a bit intimidated but we pressed on regardless. After a quick lunch, we made our way to the Air Pavillion and the Water Pavillion - some neat stuff but nothing I can recall 3 days later. Finally, we went to the Earth Pavillion and it was there the kids truly started to enjoy the exhibit. There was a rock quarry where you could collect rocks in a wheelbarrow, deliver them, watch them roll across a conveyor belt and then have the rocks fall down a shaft where you went through the entire process again. By this time, the school field trip had packed up and left so Caleb, Emily, and Maddie had the whole place to themselves. I couldn't get them to leave! They were loving it and I was so glad to have had at least one really positive experience at this place. The icing on the cake was a giant playground located right across the street from MAGNA and that's where we finished our afternoon. A rough start, and I just kept telling myself, "Of all that we have done on our trip so far, this is the first thing that hasn't been all that great. We've been so lucky!" Thankfully it ended well but I would say if you are ever in Rotherham, England with young kids, you can skip MAGNA altogether. You're better off just hitting the playground across the street!
Now, for the rest of our day. I'll keep it short but was so blessed by the Childs family; John, Julie, Alicia, and Alex because they agreed to take our children and have them sleep at their home for the night while Tim and I went and enjoyed an adult evening out together. The kids absolutely loved it; Caleb played soccer with Alex and the girls helped Alicia make "buns". I truly believe it was the highlight of their time in Sheffield and allowed us a night to ourselves. We got to go to a fabulous restaurant called Gusto. Oh so good! Just to enjoy a meal without rush or complaint was a joy and I am so grateful to this family for their kindness and hospitality. It may have started off shaky but a wonderful end to another day in our adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment