LEGOS at the Building Museum

there is a Lego Exhibit at The National Building Museum....

The National Building Museum

my boys love legos
I had heard that there was a LEGO exhibit at The National Building Museum
there had been no details... but having the basic notion of what The National Building Museum is all about I figured it would be small
something that we could breeze through in a fraction of an afternoon

so... when grabbing the boys from camp I told them the plan

the plan was met with some objection
younger brother Grant was not on board
well... the plan was not a proposition
the plan was the plan

we would bypass the old summer standby of swimming at the pool for something a little different
we would head down to The National Building Museum to catch a glimpse of the LEGO Exhibit

I had looked at the National Building Museum website to see the closing time
without trying to get into a panic I tried to factor our approach

there was the 3:30 pick up time
the short drive across town
the short bike ride to the metro
the metro from Columbia Heights to Chinatown
then the march from the metro to the building museum itself

it seemed like we would arrive at roughly 4:30 for a quick breeze through the exhibit

a few things that I did not factor into the plan
the boys would need to have a snack
the boys would need to go to the bathroom
the boys would not respond to my orders with a snap of the finger

out the gate a few minutes behind schedule
yet... we still arrived pretty much as planned

at the museum there were a few more things that were unexpected
there was a five dollar charge for the exhibit
then... at 4:30 they stopped selling tickets
OH MAN!
this was our objective and we were getting shut down

I voiced my frustration and my complaints
I had not known about the refusal to sell tickets this late in the day... heck... I did not know that we would need a ticket
I petition the museum employee... no luck
I went over his head
we were granted permission to go to the exhibit... without having to pay

BONUS! SCORE!
I do love the hook up

as expected the exhibit was small... SUPER COOL... but small
maybe six or 8 tables
each with a different scale model of a famous structure in the states...
one of the twin towers... the sears tower... the john hancock building.... falling water.... to name a few

nine year old Dean was more interested in the buildings than six year old Grant
Grant wanted to move to the next room that was filled with LEGOS for playing
which was fine...
Dean and I continued to check out the models while Grant went to the LEGO play area

at closing time I ushered the boys through the last stage of the exhibit
THE LEGO STORE
ah... it is always tough to get Grant through the museum store
the guilt he gives me for not buying him anything
right after I talked to these guys for never building their Prince of Persia LEGO set

after the LEGO exhibit we moved through Chinatown
we had Chinese food two days prior so I opted for other options
again... my plan was met with objection
we milled about through the rush hour sidewalk traffic stalling at Chinatown Express to watch the man make dumplings and lo mein noodles through the window
then moved on

after a breeze through Urban Outfitters we crossed the street to California Tortilla
the presence of the kid's menu lured me into a personal favorite
gotta love the kid's menu
always love to save a buck

after dinner we were back on the metro
then back on the bikes

mission accomplished