Meeting Stan
Lyn decided to not attend day hab or spend much time with her respite provider while we where there last week. It was important to her that she spend time with us and join us in the various activities. That was just fine with us because we were there to visit her and Mom.
On Wednesday, knowing that we were expecting company in the afternoon again, Mom decided she needed to stay home while we went out. I had seen that the New Mexico Museum of Natural History was hosting an exhibit to highlight the 100 years of dinosaur discovery in the state and wanted to visit the museum. It had been several years since the last time we were there. Lyn was happy to join us, leaving Mom to a quiet morning with the house to herself.
We arrived at the museum and Lyn wanted to pay for her own ticket. I let her know that it would cost her $7. She counted out $5 and started to put away the rest of her cash. The cashier looked confused and I reminded Lyn that she needed $2 more to get in. Lyn was a little confused but pulled her money back out and started pulling out $1 bills until I told her to stop. She stepped off to the side to wait for us to pay our admissions fees. Moments later, we stepped into the atrium and met Stan.
Stan is a Tyrannosaur Rex skeleton from the Black Hills of South Dakota. He is the largest and most complete male T Rex found so far. While he was not found in New Mexico, he is representative of the T Rex fragments and incomplete skeletons which have been found there. Lyn was unimpressed. She stood by and patiently waited for us to stop staring in wonder at Stan. She wanted to move.
The museum wasn't too busy that day and we had plenty of room to move around and enjoy the exhibits without tripping over other visitors. We went into the Naturalist Center and were disappointed to learn the docent there at the time was uncomfortable handling the snakes. From there, we went through the anniversary display and stopped to watch an employee in the FossilWorks area, a bone prep lab. The lady stopped her work and brought out the specimen to show us. It was the lower left mandible of a Motoposaur and it was nearly 3 feet long. A Motoposaur was an amphibian similar to a giant salamander. Lyn wasn't too impressed with this either. The rest of us were delighted!
We continued our tour of the museum. When we arrived on the second floor, we were looking at a replica of the Mars Rover when another employee invited all the museum visitors in that area to head out to the observatory where a telescope was set up for solar viewing. Lyn was interested and we went into the observatory. There were a couple of families ahead of us, including one with another intellectually disabled family member. We all filed into the observatory and inched our way up the stairs to the telescope's platform. Lyn found the stairs difficult to manage but the double rails and my hands behind her kept her stable. Three community science outreach members were present, talking to everyone about the Sun and its relationship to the Earth. Even our smallest member was addressed and given an opportunity to see the Sun and its spots.
Once down, we started wending our way out through the last few exhibits, saving the volcano for last. Lyn didn't want to go in the volcano. So, she and I found a bench to wait for the rest of the family. Lyn knew we were going to meet Mom for lunch in Old Town and was ready to go. I'm not sure she was comfortable with the lighting and noise of the volcano exhibit either. That was fine. I've been through the volcano more times than I can count.
We had a great morning at the museum. Lyn was pretty patient with us as we examined the various exhibits and sometimes provided her own commentary. Sometimes, it is hard to impress Lyn. This is too bad because some things are worth being impressed over.
On Wednesday, knowing that we were expecting company in the afternoon again, Mom decided she needed to stay home while we went out. I had seen that the New Mexico Museum of Natural History was hosting an exhibit to highlight the 100 years of dinosaur discovery in the state and wanted to visit the museum. It had been several years since the last time we were there. Lyn was happy to join us, leaving Mom to a quiet morning with the house to herself.
We arrived at the museum and Lyn wanted to pay for her own ticket. I let her know that it would cost her $7. She counted out $5 and started to put away the rest of her cash. The cashier looked confused and I reminded Lyn that she needed $2 more to get in. Lyn was a little confused but pulled her money back out and started pulling out $1 bills until I told her to stop. She stepped off to the side to wait for us to pay our admissions fees. Moments later, we stepped into the atrium and met Stan.
Stan is a Tyrannosaur Rex skeleton from the Black Hills of South Dakota. He is the largest and most complete male T Rex found so far. While he was not found in New Mexico, he is representative of the T Rex fragments and incomplete skeletons which have been found there. Lyn was unimpressed. She stood by and patiently waited for us to stop staring in wonder at Stan. She wanted to move.
The museum wasn't too busy that day and we had plenty of room to move around and enjoy the exhibits without tripping over other visitors. We went into the Naturalist Center and were disappointed to learn the docent there at the time was uncomfortable handling the snakes. From there, we went through the anniversary display and stopped to watch an employee in the FossilWorks area, a bone prep lab. The lady stopped her work and brought out the specimen to show us. It was the lower left mandible of a Motoposaur and it was nearly 3 feet long. A Motoposaur was an amphibian similar to a giant salamander. Lyn wasn't too impressed with this either. The rest of us were delighted!
We continued our tour of the museum. When we arrived on the second floor, we were looking at a replica of the Mars Rover when another employee invited all the museum visitors in that area to head out to the observatory where a telescope was set up for solar viewing. Lyn was interested and we went into the observatory. There were a couple of families ahead of us, including one with another intellectually disabled family member. We all filed into the observatory and inched our way up the stairs to the telescope's platform. Lyn found the stairs difficult to manage but the double rails and my hands behind her kept her stable. Three community science outreach members were present, talking to everyone about the Sun and its relationship to the Earth. Even our smallest member was addressed and given an opportunity to see the Sun and its spots.
Once down, we started wending our way out through the last few exhibits, saving the volcano for last. Lyn didn't want to go in the volcano. So, she and I found a bench to wait for the rest of the family. Lyn knew we were going to meet Mom for lunch in Old Town and was ready to go. I'm not sure she was comfortable with the lighting and noise of the volcano exhibit either. That was fine. I've been through the volcano more times than I can count.
We had a great morning at the museum. Lyn was pretty patient with us as we examined the various exhibits and sometimes provided her own commentary. Sometimes, it is hard to impress Lyn. This is too bad because some things are worth being impressed over.
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