Max vs. Nature

There seems to be so much going on these crazy holidays days but I want to make sure that I write a quick post about two recent encounters that Max had with nature.

The first was in late November when our daycare provider had the day off. Auntie Laramie and I decided to take Max to the Museum of Nature for the afternoon. I hadn’t been the Museum in at least 15 years. We grew up in Centretown, where the Museum of Nature is located, so we visited this museum a lot as kids. I have fond memories of the mammal exhibits and the giant dinosaurs. Unfortunately, a large part of the Museum is not currently open because they are doing a major renovation (it is a stone building and it was actually sinking into the ground) so we didn’t visit the giant dinosaurs but there was plenty to see and do for the afternoon. I look forward to going back when the whole museum is open.

Max enjoyed running around the nearly empty museum and touching lots of stuff. We visited the bird and mammal sections. Max had fun playing in the kid-sized wild bird hospital and also in the mammal area with lots of places to hide and costumes to try on. Actually, he didn’t really like the costumes but we couldn’t resist.

As you can see from the photos, I think the big kids had just as much fun as Max.


Oh, giant polar bear. I too am scared of the effects of climate change on the polar ice cap.


Max really loved this duck.


Max enjoyed doing some dishes at the wild bird rehabilitation hospital.


Auntie, I have no idea what this educational game is for, but I love how things spin around!


No caption can improve upon this picture.


Look at this list of things I can eat in the forest! Yum!

Max’s second encounter was of the reptilian variety. One of the activities this month at our weekly Saturday playgroup was a visit from Ray’s Reptiles, a local reptile zoo that also does birthday parties and other events - http://www.raysreptiles.com. Max got up close and personal with a chameleon, a tarantula and a snake. The kids were totally amazing and not scared at all. Max definitely did not like the feeling of the snake – he reached out and touched it but did a pretty fast recoil when he felt the texture. I had the same reaction when I touched the snake. There were other animals too but Max’s attention span was not enough to last for the whole presentation. I was really impressed with the whole experience. The “Reptile Ranger” was great with the kids and it was really informative. If they are still operating a few years down the road, I would definitely consider them for a cool birthday party idea if Max is into reptiles.


I suppose there will be a time when Max will no longer fully trust us. Until then, let's make him touch snakes.


Ooh! Look! A chameleon!