Treman Park and Museum of the Earth

Dave can't pass up a chance to visit Ithaca, and the ScienceCenter sent Benjamin a card saying that he can pick up a birthday present there on his next visit. Dave has been looking forward to taking the kids to his favorite Ithaca hangouts, so we started off at Robert H. Treman Park with the waterfalls (as opposed to the Treman Marine Park). Before we had kids, we hiked from the parking lot at one end to the upper falls and back. It was an awesome hike, but 4 miles round trip is a bit much for the kids, so we walked to the lower falls, crossed the bridge by the falls, walked through the cabin area and then made our way back to the parking lot. On our way in to the park, we passed a large playground which was way more interesting to the kids than waterfalls and hikes. Before stopping at the playground we drove on the road that went through the river because Benjamin was excited to see if the car could drive through water.

After the playground, we headed over to the Museum of the Earth on 96 just outside of Ithaca. The museum had an area for each significant period in the history of life on earth. It had tons of fossils and information about all sorts of prehistoric creatures. I would have liked to stay longer, but it wasn't hands-on enough for Laura so we finally left to go to the Sciencenter.

At the Sciencenter, the kids love the outdoor play area. It has instruments, a bubble area, sand area, climbing structure and water area. Sending the ducks down the waterfall is a hit, but kids are also fascinated by the huge lever, demonstrating that a lever can be used to lift a huge weight with little effort. They were disappointed that the Garden of Gizmos was gone, but we were able to make buzzing contraptions. We will have to return soon to see the new exhibit that was about to go up.