Boston, day 4

Bright and early on day 4, Elizabeth, Finn and I hit the Museum of Science for a morning of science-y fun. We arrived a few minutes before the museum opened and were treated with a rock garden just outside the Museum entrance.

This piece of granite came from Denali National Park, where we will be visiting in a few short weeks.

Elizabeth was suitably impressed with a large chunk of petrified wood.

Finn thought the Columnal Basalt was made just for his climbing pleasure.

And this piece of the Rock of Gibraltar just amazed us to behold.

So many more incredible rocks, including Egyptian granite, massive rose quartz and lava from Death Valley, were in this garden. I think Elizabeth could come visit every day.

Once we were inside the museum, we were amazed with the scope and thoroughness of the museum's topics. We first examined a map of the greater Boston area which would light a red LED bulb as you pressed a button beside a notable location. The kids had fun seeing where we'd been and how much of Boston we covered in the previous days.

Leonardo's Water Pump:

Periodic Table with common everyday items (like toothpaste) that when pressed lit up the element of the periodic table to which the item belonged

colorful shadows

learning about different gears

a long narrow amethyst geode

In the afternoon, we finally made our way past Boston Common to the Granary Burial Ground. I've wanted to visit all week, but my family tends to protest graveyard visits. I finally convinced them to let me have a quick walk through this afternoon.

There isn't much to say about the burial ground except that I'm struck, as I always am when I visit old burial grounds at how many children lost their lives so early in the 1700s-1800s. I'm thankful that my children are here with me and that I can bring them to places like Boston to visit a piece of our nation's history.