whenever possible, ella and i go with rudi when he has business out of town. one of our favorite trips is when he goes to cookeville, TN, which is only about 90 minutes from nashville, and where we recently discovered the marvelous cookeville children's museum. on first seeing the website i was a little dubious, but i was completely won over on our visit.
the permanent section of the museum is an area devoted to imaginative play in various occupations, such as farming, veterinary care, homemaking, even the circus! everything is so well thought out--for example, there is an apple tree where a child can really "pick" apples, and a garden where the child can harvest carrots, corn, etc. there is a farm with chickens on nests that have eggs the children can collect, and there is a check out stand for the farmer's market.
on the day we were there, the revolving section of the museum had all sorts of activities relating to the theme of "communication". there was a typewriter the kids could really type on--a typesetting area where they could set up a page to print--a morse code table where two people could sit across from each other and send messages with real telegraph equipment--a mail sorting station where kids could learn how to properly address an envelope--even a video station where kids could learn american sign language.
every surface of this small but delightful place is appealing to the senses and invites touching and playing and experimenting. even the walls were interesting, with mounted tic-tac-toe boards and magnetic marble runs and images of ART. and there are plenty of materials scattered everywhere that the children are free to use as they wish.
the only part we didn't get to experience was the outdoor center--there was snow on the ground!--but we expect to visit this little place many times in the future, and i even dream that one day something similar could be available in nashville. it was far more interesting and engaging that the usual indoor activites we have here (if i never see another jump/bounce gym, i will be eternally thankful).



