Fly Away Home @ GoMA

We've posted before about trips to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) - they always have at least one kid specific exhibit but Geekling is getting old enough that he is interested in other exhibits too, especially as many are interactive or involve lights, sounds etc.

 This amazing cubby-like tree piece is made from a lot of yarn with all kinds of treasures included.

 Geekling and his dad making their bird.  Geekling insisted on giving it the same name as him, and apparently it lives underground and eats chippies.

 The Fly Away Home room with birds in the trees in the center of the tables and in the nest box like alcoves in the hallway out (far left).

There was another exhibit that had old school bench chairs, and invited folks to make a paper rubbing on them as each chair had a different Thai carving in the flip table top.

Geekling had to visit that first piece again before we left!

Previous GoMA posts:
Obliteration Room & We Miss You Magic Land
Surrealism for Kids
21st Century Kids

Bug catching

As a child I delighted in catching bugs and observing them for a time before releasing them.  I had one of the those cheap plastic bug houses that was standard issue in the 80s.  I'd always planned to get one for Geekling so when I saw this gorgeous wood and mesh one, I had to get it.

Image: http://www.uniquekids.com.au which stocks this catcher.  I got the same one from Bright Bugs

We have had a couple of occupants so far - a lady beetle we housed in there for a day before releasing...

and a very funky caterpillar.  It was green and black striped, fuzzy and had a red head and black feelers.  The red head reminded me of Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar which is Geekling's favourite book.

 He loved watching his "pet pillar".  When we went to release the silly thing it clung to the mesh and it took 3 days to find its way out.  Or maybe it was enjoying the food too much.

Flowers in the bath

Geekling has only recently begun accepting baths again after about 8 months of being completely petrified of them (all the while loving his swimming lessons).  It's been a full turn around - today he asked for a bath in the afternoon just for fun.

To make it a bit more interesting, I grabbed some leaves and flowers from our herb and vegie patch to add to the bathwater - marigolds, tarragon flowers, carrot leaves and nasturtium leaves.  Geekling is well past the  stage of sticking everything in his mouth, but all of these are edible if he had chose to try them.

He had great fun counting them, naming colours, sticking the flowers in between his toes and then we discovered the nasturtium leaves stuck really well to wet skin...