We visited more than the church history sites. Pictures and notes...
THE TITANIC AT UNION STATION
Notes on the Titanic exhibit at Union Station:
David's first grade class is obsessed with the Titanic. It all started with a book his teacher happens to have in the classroom library about it. David's best friend became fascinated with the ocean liner and its demise. The fascination was contagious, spreading among the six-year-olds faster than a rotovirus. The kids expanded their search for Titanic books to other libraries, and they silently swap those books during reading time. Or they not-so-silently huddle together on the beanbags pouring over the books' diagrams and photographs, with someone reading the captions aloud for the benefit of all. One kid (David's best friend) did his science fair project on how and why the Titanic sunk. Another boy started a Titanic club. These kids are pretty obsessed. (It all started with a forgotten, overlooked book on the shelf. The power of a book!)
So when I saw there was an exhibition on the Titanic in town, the Nice Mom part of me nagged relentlessly,"You have to take him! You have to take him!" Nice Mom finally won out over I Don't Want to Be Bothered Mom. That's when David and I headed downtown to Union Station, leaving Daddy and Mary behind to swim at the hotel.
The best way to describe the exhibit is "overpriced." Way overpriced. ($19.12--aren't they clever.) I know that it's amazing that someone can go down to the Titanic wreckage at the bottom of the ocean at 6,000 psi and recover a boot that's been there for a hundred years. But it's still just a boot under some glass at a museum. It's hard for a six-year-old (or 34 a-year-old) to get really excited about it. Also, I expected more diagrams and displays on the mechanics of the sinking--and I think David did too. BUT there was a marvelous scale model of the Titanic (that impressed upon me how big this thing was), and there over sized stunning illuminated photographs, and we enjoyed the information about the different classes. (It cost over $100,000 in today's money to travel first class on the Titanic; second class was so nice that those passengers thought they had mistakenly been given first class accommodations; David would have chosen third class because they got bunk beds.) Also, we got "boarding passes" of specific individuals that make for a nice souvenirs that can be passed around the beanbags in David's classroom.
Best of all, I got to spend the evening out on the town with my little sweetheart. He enjoyed doing something special--without his adoring/annoying little sister. And I enjoyed the one-on-one time. My heart went pitter-patter when we rode the Union Station escalators holding hands and when we discussed lifeboat designs over pizza and spaghetti.
NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM
Notes on the World War I Museum:
In case you're wondering why the NATIONAL World War I Museum is in Kansas City: Right after the war, the citizens of Kansas City set about building a memorial. So it was a Kansas City thing. Decades later, a museum was built underneath the memorial, and Congress passed legislation making it the National World War I Museum. It does indeed seem like it should be in Washington D.C. But it's nice that it's not.
I loved this museum! It is well-designed. Informative and accurate and engaging. Not too big, and not too small. It's an adult museum, but it's interesting for kids--without being gimicky. There are a few life-size replicas of the trenches. (What misery.) The two short films are well-done. The displays are easy to follow. And there is a big interactive computer screened table top with activities and information that the kids loved. Also, the volunteers were friendly, helpful, and plentiful.
I know I may be a little biased because of this strange fascination I have with World War I. (What a strange time of transition--the tanks had wooden wheels for heaven's sake. How was it not the end of the world? The whole world completely turned upside-down and fell apart and then everyone died of the flu. And yet it was really just the beginning.) But I definitely recommend this museum. So, you Mormons on your pilgrimages to Independence and Liberty, take a morning to drive downtown and visit this place.
BASS PRO SHOP OUTDOOR WORLD
Notes on Outdoor World:
Early on David found a brochure in the hotel lobby for Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World. He became obsessed, pouring over the brochure at every spare moment. Since it was on our way home from the World War I Museum, we stopped there after lunch, thereby making David's dreams come true.
The dads took the kids inside to shoot guns, admire large fish, and climb in boats. (Us moms went to Hobby Lobby to look at material.) I'm not sure how anyone else felt, but David thought it was the best experience of his life. He told me, "I love that place. It was a dream come true."
I don't even know what to say.
As Uncle B pointed out to Greg, "I think you may have a gun enthusiast on your hands."
I don't even know what to say.
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Then it was an afternoon of swimming, breakfast for dinner, and finally off to the temple.
