Monday, July 07, 2008

Bugs bugs bugs

I am constantly in search of activities in our area. JoeyAndyDad and I have decided we could make a mint with about twenty acres anywhere in a 10 mile radius of Fredericksburg, because there is actually little within that striking distance. There is no petting zoo, no DinosaurLand-esque parks, no child-friendly museums. I put in some fiberglass models, a few goats with a feeding machine, a small child-friendly museum, charge two bucks, and call it income.

So I was delighted to find The Bug Box. This is a small insect museum/nature center right at Four Mile Fork, which means within our beaten path. We haven't been before because it is only open on weekdays, and up to now, weekdays have been very, very full. It costs $2 per person, and inside is a nice, small collection of interesting live insects, turtles, lizards, frogs, and even a snake. Additionally, the walls are covered in beautiful collections of insects and butterflies mounted for display. In the back is a small discovery room, which though doesn't offer that much in materials, does offer a place for everybody to sit and some bug-related things to look at. There's even a small restroom. Perfecto.

The boys loved it. There were two red-eared turtles they could have watched all afternoon. They both raced around with magnifying glasses, looking at the bugs and lizards and laughing and pointing (well, Andy did the pointing- Joey still doesn't do the joint attention thing that well) and generally enjoying themselves.

Stimey: I recommend the next time you want ants, just get a small fish tank for them. It seemed to be working beautifully for the Bug Box.

So we now have a new rainy-day haven, right here in town, for long afternoons. Now I just need somewhere to go on weekends...


As an aside, this is my Five Hundredth Post. Happy BlogDay to Life With Joey! Oh, and there's new pics of the garden.

2 comments:

Stimey said...

Sounds fun! And I can't guarantee that there will be a next time. But I really don't learn, so there probably will be. :)

Marla said...

That sounds great. My daughter would totally love that!