Kids are the center of their own world, so what could be more engaging than an exhibit all about them, courtesy of their most beloved characters on Sesame Street? “The Body,” on display through Jan. 31 at The Children's Museum, Seattle, delivers big fun while teaching kids all about how their bodies work – inside and out.
My two-year-old Lucy raced into the room the moment she spied Elmo. She was thrilled to spend time in Elmo's World, which looks just like the crayon-colored one on TV, complete with Dorothy the Goldfish. Everywhere she turned there were buttons to punch, mats to jump on, balls to kick or games to play. She had fun dressing Elmo in the right magnetic clothes for different types of weather.
She and her friend Tate, 20 months, expended energy on Super Grover's Obstacle Course, where they were encouraged to crawl, jump, and race around cones. The museum had a staff member supervising the course to keep it from becoming too crowded or unsafe.
In these germ-phobic times, it was comforting to see the Sesame Street gang reinforcing messages about staying healthy, like reminding children to sneeze into their sleeves instead of their hands. Kids can even make a giant nose “sneeze” on them. (Watch out! It actually mists you, so stand back.) Lucy liked Ernie's Rub-a-Dub Tub game that teaches children how to stay clean, although she was a bit confused by the pretend sinks. She kept trying to get water to come out of them.
Oscar the Grouch teaches all about digestion with buttons and levers that help kids simulate the digestive experience from chewing to – yes – the other end, complete with sound effects. Lucy thought that was terribly funny. We are in the middle of learning to use the potty, so of course she was most interested in that “end” of things.
Some parts of the exhibit, like the quiz shows, went over her head and made me wish I'd brought my 6-year-old along. Still, my younger daughter loved pushing the buttons and seeing her favorite characters on television.
Other parts of the exhibit spill out into the rest of the museum. Lucy enjoyed pounding on the keys of The Count's Organ, which teaches about – what else? Organs. The count also invites children to count the bones in their body.
Lucy declared “I fun” on the car ride home. Then she fell asleep for a nice long nap – thank you Children's Museum. We're planning to return to the museum before the exhibit closes at the end of January with Lucy's big sister.
IF YOU GO
Where: The Children's Museum, Seattle, 305 W. Harrison. When: Through January 31. Museum hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: Adults and children, $7.50; grandparents, $6.50. Children under age one, free. Contact: 206-441-1768; www.thechildrensmuseum.org.
Laura Spruce Wight is a Seattle-area freelance writer and mother of two.
