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Harry Potter, Picasso & Purses: Fall Museum Round-Up
Wow, cool exhibits are in Cascadia! From Vancouver, BC to Portland, Oregon, here are my picks for the very best fall exhibits in science, art, history and children’s museums. Most end in January or February, so visit before the exhibits pack up and roll down the highway to the next town. — Harry Potter: The Exhibition Pacific Science Center, Seattle; October 23, 2010 – January 30, 2011. This hands-on exhibit is a dream come true for Harry fans: A walk through Harry’s world. View the movie’s costumes and props, try pulling a mandrake from a pot, sit in Hagrid’s leather chair and toss a Quaffle. Online ticket purchase options include daytime…
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35 Free and Cheap Things to Do With Kids in Seattle
Visiting Seattle on a budget? No problem. Check out these 35 free and cheap family-friendly activities in Seattle: 1. Ride a bike on the Burke-Gilman Trail. 2. Run through the 9,000-gallon International Fountain. 3. Watch fish and boats navigate through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. 4. Cower under giant traffic cones and play hide-and-seek among the art at the Olympic Sculpture Park. 5. Ride the West Seattle Water Taxi to West Seattle. 6. Sample fruit and meet the Doughnut Robot at the Pike Place Market. 7. Pick the Fremont Troll’s nose and take a picture with Lenin in the Fremont neighborhood. 8. Check out the cheese-making process at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese.…
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Mindport Art in Bellingham with Kids
Art galleries don’t usually welcome children with open arms. Or ask you to touch the art. But Mindport, in Bellingham, Wash., is a different sort of gallery. The wooden works inside are meant to be used by hands big and small. It’s an artistic explosion of science, music and movement. Rube Goldberg would love this gallery-museum-playspace. The light-filled entry gallery offers multiple workstations with awesomely odd contraptions, including a pneumatic ping-pong device that spins balls using forced air; a pun-riddled miniature train route; and a case with a hundred compasses — all controlled by the magnet in your child’s hand. The second gallery has subdued lighting and natural items to…
