Day 9 - The Final Day

We have reached our final full day in the lower 48.

After our crazy day, the day before, waking up early did not go over well with our students.  We had to get them up around 6 to be ready to go around 7:30,to get to the Como Planetarium at 8.  We did not have a group of happy campers.  ALL of us were dragging just a little bit.

I have to admit that I had no idea there was a planetarium in Minneapolis.  I knew there was one in Duluth, with the college, but the Como Planetarium in Minneapolis is actually attached to an elementary school.  That's pretty sweet if you ask me.  I had no idea it was attached to a school, so we wandered around for a bit before we realized that the planetarium was inside a school.  We looked a little weird, wandering around, but whatever.

Some constellations

The man who ran the "lesson" was a tad late so we waited in the school lobby for a bit.  Overall it was a pretty cool presentation.  The students learned about the universe and the other universes.  They got to see what the stars look like over Minneapolis, then what they look like over Kongiganak.  They really enjoyed watching the starts show up on the wall.  They also learned about a couple of constellations.  There was some sleeping involved but overall it was interesting.

After the planetarium we had a bit of time to kill before lunch and then the afternoon activities.  We ended up just going back to the hotel and taking naps for a bit, or just relaxing.  It was more of a nap time for the chaperons and the students watched TV or wrote in their journals.

Next we decided to head to downtown Minneapolis and find the Bead Monkey first, and then find a place to eat lunch.  We ended up at a Dairy Queen and sadly most of our students had NEVER eaten at a DQ, this had to be rectified and was :D  They enjoyed their ice cream and a relaxing lunch. 

Dairy Queen!!

The girls had the afternoon at a store called the Bead Monkey and the boys were supposed to go bowling.  The Bead Monkey I thought was perfect for our girls because a lot of them like to bead and the type of beading at the store focuses more on metal than string, so I thought it would be a new medium to try.  Well, there were wires crossed at some point because I thought we were going to be in a class but I guess the idea was we were only going to shop.  I called Corey at Adventure Student Travels and in the end it was worked out.  The ladies at the Bead Monkey were super nice about everything and we ended up sitting in the corner with the girls and they worked on their jewelry kits that we bought for them.  The girls quickly discovered that this type of beading was nothing like they were used to.  There were a lot of frustrated faces. 

Checking out the selection

Working in the corner

Figuring it out

To top it all off, the bowling alley we had made arrangements with was closed.  So the boys went on a little road trip for nothing.  It truly felt like nothing was going right.  I was close to pulling all my hair out but in the end it all worked out.  We were at the Bead Monkey for a good three hours, the girls still trying to figure out their kits.  The boys hung around and walked around the neighborhood a bit and then came inside the store and wrote in their journals.  By the end of our "stay" the people at the store let us sit in a back room so the girls could work and the boys could write.  Overall I have to say that the people of the Bead Monkey were so patient with us and I really appreciate all they did for us.  The girls really enjoyed the jewelry they made and the boys had an afternoon of relaxation...perfect.

The group all together

Next we headed further downtown to find the Spaghetti Factory.  I wanted to find the restaurant and park before we tried to do anything else.  Parking downtown is a tad tricky for me.  We eventually found a place to park, close to the restaurant.  We had about a half hour before our reservations so we wandered downtown a bit.  They got to see the outside of the Vikings Stadium and they all thought that was pretty cool.  They also got to see the tram and what it looked like.  Mostly we just wandered around and looked at the big buildings and took it all in.  Dinner was absolutely amazing.  The food was great and different from what the students had been eating, it was all Italian.  The students were great sports and they all tried something new :D  Some got their first Italian sodas and they got to keep their glasses...pretty neat.  Dessert was a favorite, lots of chocolate.  They also got to play game in the little arcade in the restaurant, that made them VERY happy. 

Vikings!

OOOHHHH Football....

Old Spaghetti Factory!

1st Italian Sodas!

Yum

YUM

YUM!!

After dinner we had one more "1st" to do....a car wash!  The students have never been through a car wash and that was easy to fix.  We went to the nearest gas station, gassed up the vans since we were taking them back tomorrow, and we went through the car wash, all three vans.  The students were SO excited and scared!  The girls in my vans squeezed and yelled but they survived their first car wash.  The other vans made it safely through and a life dream had been accomplished.

1st Car Wash....scary

We survived!

What's happening...

The other vans lived to tell the tale

We headed back to the hotel and the students got to swim for the last time.  The pool was small but they didn't care, they just wanted to swim.  My mom was there too, she would be bringing me home the next day.  She hung out with the girls and helped us all pack.  It took a lot of talking and force to get the students out of the pool but eventually we got everyone in their rooms and started packing. 

 

We had to get up at around 4 to be on the road at 5 am.  At 2 am I still had girls up and wandering around.  I was getting sick at this point of the trip and I needed that two hours of sleep.  SO, to help calm the girls down I started to read to them.  15 minutes and they were all out...YES!  I found out the next morning that Sheila did the same thing with her group. 

Day 8 - Lions, Tigers, and Mummies...Oh My!

Day 8 of our trip was a crazy one.  Our agenda was the Science Museum, the Como Zoo, swimming at my aunt's house, and then rounding out the day with a movie at the Riverview Theater.

The students were pretty tired from our crazy day at the Mall of America the day before so needless to say, waking them up was NOT easy.  We stayed at the Cambria Suites and it was SO nice!  The best part about the hotel was the long, narrow pillows that they put on the beds.  They were great weapons in waking the students up :D 

Found Kong!

After breakfast at the hotel we braved downtown Minneapolis traffic to get to the Science Museum of Minnesota.  I love this place.  If you have never been...you should.  Let me add, three vans trying to stay together in downtown traffic....NOT easy.  We made it and we were early (shocking I know) so we hung out in the lobby for about 15 minutes.  In the lobby they have this giant world map and our students searched out Kong.  They literally sat on Alaska for a bit, waiting for our tour.  There were also dinosaur bones in the lobby and the students thought this was SO cool.  We had to read a book for our reading class final that dealt with scientists finding dinosaur bones.  The fact that they could actually SEE dinosaur bones was so neat to them.   

Dinosaur!

 

Oooohhh.....Ahhhhh

Pull!

When the education staff checked us in they let us look through an exhibit while we waited to go into the Omnitheater.  The students got to explore a little and learn a few things about the wildlife in Minnesota.  They had exhibits on zebra mussels, and the students got to "lift" fish to see how they weighed; obviously a lot more exhibits to view while we waited. 

Zebra Mussels

This is what a baby sees

Next it was time for the Omnitheater movie.  The students LOVED the screen and how it makes the movie look more 3D.  The theater was packed with student groups so it was a lot of fun watching our students soak everything in.  The movie was based on how they found King Tut's tomb and was pretty decent.  For the most part the students enjoyed it. 

Taking their blood pressure

Checking out the exhibits

After the movie we had about an hour, hour and a half to look around before we went into the King Tut exhibit.  The students got to explore the science/human body floor of the museum and they had a blast!  They got to wear goggles that showed them what 1 month old babies see.  The main part of the exhibit was the human body so there was a lot to see.  They had a blood stream throughout the exhibit that the students kept looking at.  They learned about blood, the heart, they saw an actual human heart, brain, spine, etc.  They got to use a microscope to look at their skin.  There was another tool that let them look at people pupils.  I was a favorite at this exhibit because they all have brown eyes and I have blue...I was the weird one.  Some students took their blood pressure (really cool ;) ) 

Learning about the human heart

Checking out each other's pupils

Group Shot!

Mummy!

All too soon it was time to go to the King Tut exhibit.  The staff were SO wonderful at the museum!  They took a group shot of us in front of the sign (no cameras in the exhibit) and they gave all of us these awesome King Tut hats.  The cutest things I've ever seen!  The kids LOVED them!  Obviously later we took a group shot with them on :D   The exhibit was incredible, a tad overwhelming for the students, but very interesting.  Sheila and I split up the group and helped them understand what they were looking at, that helped a lot!  The students were tickled by seeing mummies and how they were made.  They couldn't believe that all the artifacts that we were looking at were in his tomb.  Even his cat, that was a major giggle point. At the end of the exhibit they had a machine that would put your name in hierglyphics so we got one for each student as a suvonier.  By this time all the students were a tad overwhelmed and hungry, so we went to the Cafe in the museum and enjoyed a nice lunch. 

Monkey Sighting!

Comparing their hands to a Gorilla's

After lunch and thanking the amazing education staff of the museum (Charlotte had to give them hugs!) we braved the streets of Minneapolis to find the Como Zoo.  None of our students have ever been to a zoo so this was a major treat.  It was a hot day so we didn't dilly dally around the zoo but saw the animals that they wanted to see and then headed out.  We took a lot of time to see the monkeys.  The monkeys were VERY popular.  We also looked at the polar bears, all the really BIG cats, the buffalo, and then the African based animals, like the zebras, giraffes, and ostriches.  The students were so thrilled because they had actually seen lions and tigers and bears, and they saw the entire cast from Madagascar!  Our day was complete!!

Polar Bear!

Michaela's head inside a Polar Bear mouth

Comparing hand size to a polar bear

Tiger!

Swimming at Colleens

Next was the trip to my Aunt's house.  My aunt Colleen, and her family, invited us to her house for dinner and to swim in her pool.  The students were SO excited to swim in her pool and to meet more of my family.  Apparently me having a family is quite hilarious.  Well we hit major traffic and the three vans got split up.  Talk about a nightmare!  I got the students in my van to my Aunts house and then after 15 minutes of frustration and trying to figure out where everyone was, we coordinated the other vans so that I could meet them and take them to my Aunts.  My Aunt thought that this was pretty entertaining but she went outside and hung out with the girls I brought while I met up with the other two vans.  Sheila's van full of girls were a tad shaken up but the boy's van with Oscar Jr. were totally fine!  I showed up and they all had bags full of junk to eat in the van later....typical boys.  With only about a 45 min. delay we got all the students to my aunt's house and the chaos ensued.  My aunt has a slide with her pool and a volleyball net, so needless to say the students did not leave the pool.  Dinner was delicious and my Aunt totally rocks for inviting us.  Sheila took a little of a nap and Oscar tried to figure out a little puzzle my aunt gave him; I just sat and watched the students and chatted with my aunt and cousin.  We ended the evening with root beer floats; again another first for our students.  They LOVED them!

Oscar playing with his puzzle

Sheila about to take a nap

Root Beer Floats!

Getting all the students out of the pool, dry, dressed and ready to go was NOT easy but we managed it.  We thanked my Aunt and headed out to go to the movie theater.  The Riverview Theater is an older theater in downtown Minneapolis, kinda around the campus, and it's old school and so so fabulous!  The students thought it was the coolest thing.  We went to "HANNAH" and I must say, greatest choice ever!  Some of the students, and Oscar, were exhausted and fell asleep but the majority couldn't take their eyes off of the screen.  It was a huge success and a great way to end the day.

Overall it was a VERY hectic and busy day.  The students saw and did a lot and they had a lot of firsts.  Exhausted doesn't even come close to describe how they felt by the end of the day but it was a great day.