and no children were lost (for very long)

all kids in the (tiniest ever) ball pit!

Last week our playgroup friends ventured into Jersey to visit the Garden State Discovery Museum. Every time we go, Kevin asks why. I can't explain it, but the kids seem to like this smaller, older, slightly more run-down museum more than the Please Touch Museum, even controlling for the novelty of an infrequently visited museum.*

just the right size

When Kevin asked, again, why we'd pass up an opportunity to visit Lucy's Favorite Place Ever in exchange for a New Jersey visit, I tried to explain. It has good sight lines? It's smaller and you can watch two children in two exhibits at once? It's only one floor? The bathroom is close, almost everywhere you are?

room for everyone to play

Also, and perhaps most importantly, the kids seem to like it more, perhaps because there's something about the layout and the exhibits and their slightly more relaxed mothers which makes it more fun for exploring with your 10 closest friends.

Perhaps because it is so small, we never expect to lose a kid. Except we did. Twice. Luckily, the lost children - one of whom was Lucy - never knew they were lost, and all heart attacks were borne by mothers alone. Ah, such is the joy of parenting.

*Yes. As if I can control for this. I am the human regression machine!