On the Brooklyn Children's Museum....
Sep. 1st, 2005 05:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
1. Wake up! Fortunately, I heard Ana downstairs before I trekked all the way out to Jenn's. I also had twelve hours of sleep going for me, so I was in peak child-watching condition.
2. Watch Ana Not Eat Breakfast. Oh dear.
3. Realize my lack of metrocard, call both Jenn and my mom to complain about their lack of giving me a metrocard.
4. Brush Ana's hair, ignore ringing phone because, really, if I stop in the middle of brushing her hair, I have to start all over.
5. Call both Jenn and Mommy to apologise for ignoring them, get told that if I "make it to the bus stop in four minutes", I can get a metrocard.
6. Grab child, diapers (oh no, out of diapers!), shoes, and run!
7. Stand around at the bus stop thinking I have the wrong bus.
8. Get on bus, pant, gasp, get metrocard, put on Ana's shoes.
9. Surprise Mommy.
10. Get into Manhattan, buy diapers and fruit as I forgot lunch. This completely wipes out next week's budget, but I have enough for tomorrow.
11. Go to Brooklyn, ask for help finding museum, play in playground until the museum opens. Ana gets gum on her hands, ew, wipe it off and go wash up.
12. Go to museum.
This is the annoying part. I stood there and proudly announced "I have a membership card with the ACM sticker on it!" only to be told "First Thursday is free!"
Here's the discontinuity between the actual continuance of the conversation and what was going on in my mind:
Actual conversation:
Me: It is? Oh. Um. Okay. Ana, let's go into the toddler area for a little while and listen to stories and play in the water area.
My mind:
Me: It is? But, um, I have a card with a sticker on it.
Them: Yes, but it's free.
Me: I know, but can you look at my card with a sticker on it?
Them: It's free anyway.
Me: Um. Card. STICKER!
Them: FREE.
Me: Damn.
I know I didn't lose anything, but this is exactly one day after I run around frantically trying to get that damn sticker. I was disappointed.
13. Leave toddler area, wander downstairs, check out the exhibit on accessability. Now, they're closing this exhibit up soon, so it's not in prime condition (for example, the wheelchair by the ramp is missing), but I thought I could check out the exhibit and thus have more to my journal than just ANAPOSTS because they've been dominating lately.
This exhibit had various bits on different disabilities, such as deafness, blindness, being in a wheelchair, etc. I didn't get to see all of it because Ana got bored and hungry and started to whine and wander off. Also, as I said, they're taking it down soon, so some of the stuff was missing.
The good: The emphasis on the exhibits seemed to be "this is how you adapt to this or that problem", with a chance for the kids to try it out themselves, and additionally blurbs from people who are living normal lives with one disability or another.
The eh: I think this might be a traveling exhibit. Even if it's not, some notes of how accessibility works in ways everyone uses might have been useful. For example, the area that's supposed to have a wheelchair so you can move a bit, up a short ramp, and then open a door with a not-quite-perfect handle could've had a mention of how curb cuts are in the streets to help people in wheelchairs - and how they also help us when pushing strollers and so on. The part on travelling with a blind-cane could've had a note about how there are bumps in the subway so that blind people don't walk randomly onto the track. The part on braille could've had a note that Metrocards are designed so that we all can tell which way is up. That sort of thing.
The not good, and some questioning thoughts: Ironically, that would have to be accessability. Despite an area on braille, not one thing there used braille (except some of the books - more on this later).
In the area that showed different doorknobs with notes about which were easiest for the most people to use, and why, half the knobs were far too high for an Ana-sized child to use, though turning the knobs is something toddlers enjoy doing. Indeed, they were high enough that I suspect not only were they too high for most young children to use, but that they are also likely hard for people in wheelchairs to use - though it is likely they already have experience using those doorknobs?
Right after I noted that, Ana wandered to the books. These fell into three categories: One book that didn't belong there, books with Braille (not books in Braille, normal books with plastic sheets with the Braille for those books inbetween the pages - pretty cool), and books on disability for children.
Of the third category, a disproportionate amount of them seemed to be on being the sibling of somebody with Down Syndrome or autism or something like that. Then there were a set with titles that focused on being special. I'm not sure what I think about that.
And then there were some things that were a bit off. For example, the section on ASL used the term "American Sign Language" exactly once, when explaining that ASL is a language like English, French, Japanese, whatever. Other than that, every reference was to "Sign Language", as in "Learning Sign Language can be fun". Except that there is no language called "Sign Language". I don't expect a diatribe on how every sign language is different, or even an explanation that not all deaf people sign, but use of the correct term would've been simple.
Or they had a section involving picture boards - whatever those things are where you have pre-programmed phrases and you push a button to have it said - and they didn't explain why you might use such a thing.
Of course, I didn't see the whole exhibit. I might've missed a lot.
I think I'll go again this weekend - I'm planning to anyway, for the Blooming Babies event - and check the entire exhibit out, if it's still up. Should be. Then I can write a comment for the museum. Even if it's leaving that museum, it might be useful for the future.
13. Go upstairs, stopping at various exhibits, and finally eat lunch.
14. Change diaper, head home, listen to Ana go "NO NAP!" while thinking that she'll fall asleep once she hits the train.
15. Realize while crossing the street that Ana's head is tilted sideways - she's literally fallen asleep on her feet, and has quite possibly been sleepwalking the past few minutes.
All in all, a good day.
2. Watch Ana Not Eat Breakfast. Oh dear.
3. Realize my lack of metrocard, call both Jenn and my mom to complain about their lack of giving me a metrocard.
4. Brush Ana's hair, ignore ringing phone because, really, if I stop in the middle of brushing her hair, I have to start all over.
5. Call both Jenn and Mommy to apologise for ignoring them, get told that if I "make it to the bus stop in four minutes", I can get a metrocard.
6. Grab child, diapers (oh no, out of diapers!), shoes, and run!
7. Stand around at the bus stop thinking I have the wrong bus.
8. Get on bus, pant, gasp, get metrocard, put on Ana's shoes.
9. Surprise Mommy.
10. Get into Manhattan, buy diapers and fruit as I forgot lunch. This completely wipes out next week's budget, but I have enough for tomorrow.
11. Go to Brooklyn, ask for help finding museum, play in playground until the museum opens. Ana gets gum on her hands, ew, wipe it off and go wash up.
12. Go to museum.
This is the annoying part. I stood there and proudly announced "I have a membership card with the ACM sticker on it!" only to be told "First Thursday is free!"
Here's the discontinuity between the actual continuance of the conversation and what was going on in my mind:
Actual conversation:
Me: It is? Oh. Um. Okay. Ana, let's go into the toddler area for a little while and listen to stories and play in the water area.
My mind:
Me: It is? But, um, I have a card with a sticker on it.
Them: Yes, but it's free.
Me: I know, but can you look at my card with a sticker on it?
Them: It's free anyway.
Me: Um. Card. STICKER!
Them: FREE.
Me: Damn.
I know I didn't lose anything, but this is exactly one day after I run around frantically trying to get that damn sticker. I was disappointed.
13. Leave toddler area, wander downstairs, check out the exhibit on accessability. Now, they're closing this exhibit up soon, so it's not in prime condition (for example, the wheelchair by the ramp is missing), but I thought I could check out the exhibit and thus have more to my journal than just ANAPOSTS because they've been dominating lately.
This exhibit had various bits on different disabilities, such as deafness, blindness, being in a wheelchair, etc. I didn't get to see all of it because Ana got bored and hungry and started to whine and wander off. Also, as I said, they're taking it down soon, so some of the stuff was missing.
The good: The emphasis on the exhibits seemed to be "this is how you adapt to this or that problem", with a chance for the kids to try it out themselves, and additionally blurbs from people who are living normal lives with one disability or another.
The eh: I think this might be a traveling exhibit. Even if it's not, some notes of how accessibility works in ways everyone uses might have been useful. For example, the area that's supposed to have a wheelchair so you can move a bit, up a short ramp, and then open a door with a not-quite-perfect handle could've had a mention of how curb cuts are in the streets to help people in wheelchairs - and how they also help us when pushing strollers and so on. The part on travelling with a blind-cane could've had a note about how there are bumps in the subway so that blind people don't walk randomly onto the track. The part on braille could've had a note that Metrocards are designed so that we all can tell which way is up. That sort of thing.
The not good, and some questioning thoughts: Ironically, that would have to be accessability. Despite an area on braille, not one thing there used braille (except some of the books - more on this later).
In the area that showed different doorknobs with notes about which were easiest for the most people to use, and why, half the knobs were far too high for an Ana-sized child to use, though turning the knobs is something toddlers enjoy doing. Indeed, they were high enough that I suspect not only were they too high for most young children to use, but that they are also likely hard for people in wheelchairs to use - though it is likely they already have experience using those doorknobs?
Right after I noted that, Ana wandered to the books. These fell into three categories: One book that didn't belong there, books with Braille (not books in Braille, normal books with plastic sheets with the Braille for those books inbetween the pages - pretty cool), and books on disability for children.
Of the third category, a disproportionate amount of them seemed to be on being the sibling of somebody with Down Syndrome or autism or something like that. Then there were a set with titles that focused on being special. I'm not sure what I think about that.
And then there were some things that were a bit off. For example, the section on ASL used the term "American Sign Language" exactly once, when explaining that ASL is a language like English, French, Japanese, whatever. Other than that, every reference was to "Sign Language", as in "Learning Sign Language can be fun". Except that there is no language called "Sign Language". I don't expect a diatribe on how every sign language is different, or even an explanation that not all deaf people sign, but use of the correct term would've been simple.
Or they had a section involving picture boards - whatever those things are where you have pre-programmed phrases and you push a button to have it said - and they didn't explain why you might use such a thing.
Of course, I didn't see the whole exhibit. I might've missed a lot.
I think I'll go again this weekend - I'm planning to anyway, for the Blooming Babies event - and check the entire exhibit out, if it's still up. Should be. Then I can write a comment for the museum. Even if it's leaving that museum, it might be useful for the future.
13. Go upstairs, stopping at various exhibits, and finally eat lunch.
14. Change diaper, head home, listen to Ana go "NO NAP!" while thinking that she'll fall asleep once she hits the train.
15. Realize while crossing the street that Ana's head is tilted sideways - she's literally fallen asleep on her feet, and has quite possibly been sleepwalking the past few minutes.
All in all, a good day.
