Wednesday Review: Antique Automobile Club of America Museum

First let me say that if you are still with me after such a riveting title of a blog post, congratulations. You are just as nerdy as we are. Embrace your nerdiness. It will serve you well in life.

The Antique Automobile Club of America Museum (AACA) has been on our (read: specifically my) Pennsylvania bucket list since we moved here (although it's possible that I spent some time thinking it detailed the membership and activities of the AAA). It's in Hershey and although we have enjoyed the many sweet offerings of Hershey, including...

riding the roller coasters at Hersheypark

taking the free Chocolate Factory "tour" (complete with a complimentary piece of chocolate at the end...free + free = sugar rush)

 

creating custom chocolate bars in the Chocolate Lab

 participating in a chocolate tasting where we try to identify different "notes" in the chocolate. As it turns out, I do not have a very discerning palate. 

exploring the children's garden, the butterfly garden, the rose gardens and the Pumpkin Glow at Hershey's Gardens

attending the Hershey Halloween Parade (at which point I had to explain to Blue why the kid leading the marching band was wearing a polka-dotted dress. #parentingfail)

and just, in general, stalking the KissMobile and taking selfies with it whenever possible.

BUT, we had not yet made it to the AACA Museum. We were waiting for a day when Blue was in school but Neal was off work because nothing says relaxing tour of an antique automobile museum like saying "Don't touch that" for 2 solid hours. Also, our time here is dwindling.

Such an opportunity presented itself on a chilly Friday earlier this month. The school bus pulled away and we hopped on 322, headed for Hershey.

Did I mention it was also raining? Anyway, this is the entrance to the museum, which is kind of like a mansion on a hill. When Neal saw this car from the parking lot, he said, "Oh wow. They even have one for the kids to play in." When we peered through the busted glass of the windshield, we saw rusted pipes, torn interior and an overall feeling that we were being watched by something hiding under the seat. So no,  I can't recommend you let your kids play in here. But bonus points for the unexpected sighting of the KissMobile!

Let me just say that the staff is very friendly, even by southern standards (which is sometimes hard to come by north of the Mason Dixon line). Although it was a slow day and they seemed glad to see pretty much anyone, I think they still would have been just as helpful during the height of tourist season. Most of the cars are housed chronologically so, oldest to "newest" (which is still, obviously, old to me).

Mama Virgo saw this picture and immediately launched into stories of her youth and her neighbor who owned an Edsel but never drove it. Something about it being notoriously unreliable.

This milk truck was missing a seat. I don't know if it was removed or milk men in those days drove standing up. Standing while driving seems just as dangerous as driving while texting.

At this point, although we still had half of the first floor left to explore, we took the steps downstairs to see the lower level because they happened to be where we were standing. I'm not sure if this was an intentional design decision, but it worked out for us. The lower level of this museum is probably the most charming. Rows upon rows of buses, including the one from (or maybe identical to, it was hard to determine) Speed. (Fun fact, When Speed came out in 1994, I was a junior in high school. I wanted to be Annie. Not Sandra Bullock. Annie.)

I'm gonna speed it up. #foreverKeanu

Also, the bus from Forest Gump. At this point, I feel like our lives have sort of come full circle. Our first duty station was in Macon, Georgia and our first stop was a walking tour of Savannah with a cameo by a Forest Gump impersonator.

AND right beside the Forest Gump bus is Whitney Houston's limousine, complete with TV/VCR combo, crystal decanter and armrest phone.

This corner of the museum made the price of admission worth every penny (I mean, for me, anyway. If you need to stop and Spotify some I'm Every Woman or perhaps I Wanna Dance With Somebody right now, I completely understand.)

In the other corner of the museum is a delightful diner that, I assume, was the prototype for today's food truck. It could be completely folded up and carted to the next destination. Then it unfolded to a mini-restaurant with a full kitchen and a juke box at each seat.

This is a 40-second video that I took after Neal discovered that the 10-cent juke boxes actually work. Pick your song, drop your dime in the slot and dance the afternoon away in an antique automobile museum. It ends with Neal dashing to the door of the diner to tell the only other visitor at the museum that he "had to see this!"

I took this picture not because it's the banana truck (although honestly, Chiquita, I would eat more of your bananas if they came in a truck like this), but because look at the phone number. As a child of the 80's, I am not familiar with a time when calling someone required less than 7 numbers. How do I teach my child when I still have so much to learn?

I will leave you with this one because A) I still have a magazine deadline to meet and B) I want you all to flood the AACA this summer and discover the beauty of this museum on your own. Again, I have never known a time when Trailways existed or when Greyhound was anything other than the cheapest (and possibly slowest, stinkiest) way to travel. The idea of crossing a red carpet to board a bus and giving attendants my drink order feels like pure fiction. And it makes me a little sad that I wasn't born 40 years earlier, even with the Cold War drills and lead paint.

Active duty are free to enter this museum and although it sticks a little in my craw that dependents must pay, it's still worth it. (I believe they participate in the Blue Star Moms Museums every summer so that's another option for military families to visit for free.) And it is more kid-friendly than we expected. Although there are rules about touching, the museum has an entire children's area where kids are encouraged to touch. There's a miniature town with a train and about 10 buttons to push, which do things like raise the bridge, open the firehouse doors and turn on the lights in a house. And within the current Tucker exhibit, there are areas for kids to explore, as well. We have every intention of bringing Blue before we move.

There is quite a bit of joy to be found within these 4 walls and I hope that this helps to show people that just because "antique" is in the name, it doesn't mean it's devoid of new finds.

This is Us(borne): Shopping for a Cause on February 1

I hail from a family of avid readers. Just last month Mama Virgo passed on a book she finished at my house so that I could enjoy it next (It's Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and if you aren't laughing by page 3, there's a chance your soul has frozen over.). So, it should be no surprise that when I was planning my baby shower (Type A, party of 1), I asked each guest to bring their favorite children's book in lieu of a greeting card. By the time Blue was yanked out into the bright lights of this big world, he was well-stocked with The Story of Ferdinand, The Poky Little Puppy, several Llama Llama books, On the Night You Were Born, and about 15 other classics. We began reading them all immediately. So, why it has taken us over 5 years to jump on the Usborne bandwagon is kind of beyond me.

I remember sitting at a friend's house in Alexandria when Blue was about 2 and her kids were 3 and 1. She pulled out this Usborne book called The Big Book of Trucks and passed it across the table to me. This is an amazing book, she said. And it did, indeed, look amazing. But Blue was still ripping pages, sometimes by accident and sometimes out of straight defiance so I thought let's wait on that. And then I didn't see another Usborne book until last fall when I picked up Ancient World at a consignment sale. I maintain a shelf of "possible homeschooling books" in my closet so it got tossed to the top of that pile. And then a friend of mine had an Usborne party in October and I picked up My Very First Space Book and Raccoon on the Moon, which was Blue's first Usborne paperback (my little boy is growing up...no more ripping pages!). The space book got flipped through a few times and then set to the side until Blue asked Santa for a telescope this Christmas. When the telescope arrived, we already owned the perfect accompanying book for all of his questions regarding stars and planets. My friend, Monica, (who helped me assemble and hold the Facebook auction to benefit Houston families in December) hosted a party right before Christmas as another fundraiser for Houston families. And upon her recommendation, I ordered Nibbles The Book Monster and Outdoor Book: Inspiring Ideas for Discovery and Exploring Outdoors. And that's where our Usborne collection stands today.

However, in preparation to write this post, I asked FacebookLand about what books they would recommend. And I think I missed an opportunity with Blue. I believe I fell into a black hole of Scholastic paperbacks and Dr. Seuss and didn't look up in time to see that other brands are offering high quality books to kids of all ages, which is unfortunate because I spent many miserable minutes trudging through One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Also, there was a time during Blue's infant years when I had memorized and could recite on demand Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. As more friends commented with books they had been reading with their kids from toddler age through the elementary years, I realized that there were so many books Blue would have enjoyed, but I'm just now learning about them. This is probably where you fix it with the second kid, but I guess the cat will have to reap the benefits instead.

When Monica hosted her party in December, she asked if I would host one in 2018, which would further benefit Houston families. So, here we are...Party Week. If we were having this at my house, you know I would welcome you with a glass of perfectly chilled Cupcake pinot or maybe some Nissley's Spicy Red (PA makes great wine for being a state founded on religious tolerance) and a little Amish bread and butter (and possibly some bourbon balls). Then I would shamelessly refill your glass until you wanted all the books and then I would remind you that it's all for a good cause. But it's on Facebook. So, this Thursday night (February 1st), grab your beverage of choice and don't place your order until the bottle is at least half empty. And if you have questions, my party co-host, who I am now referring to as DJ Deanna because if this was at my house she would be spinning the grooviest jams, will be on hand to answer them. I will also be around but we are off to see Punxsutawney Phil predict the weather that night so my presence may be interrupted by periods of driving or eating Spicy Chicken sandwiches from Wendy's.

If you are new to Usborne or, like me, haven't taken a ton of time to look around on the website, let me steer you toward some crowd favorites. There was an overwhelming consensus on several of these books so know that even though you can't lounge on the chaise (read: stained nursery glider) at my house and flip through them in person, you will not be disappointed by what you've purchased. Here are some of the favorites from friends and DJ Deanna:

Baby and Toddler
DJ Deanna says, "These are great for hands-on learning with the flaps and textures. They are bright in color and contrast and simple in design, but encourage imagination and speech." 
1. Slide and See Farm

via Usborne

And here's a handy 56-second YouTube video of a woman flipping through the book, for the visual learners in the room.

2.  That's Not My book series

via Usborne

I arbitrarily chose That's Not My Dragon but there are MANY more to choose from...That's not my badger, dolly, unicorn, dinosaur, bunny, meerkat...you get the idea.

3. All Better

via Usborne

This book comes with 5 "band-aid" stickers that can be re-positioned, which is important when your book friends are forever getting injured. Blue would have loved this when he was a little younger!

4. I'm a Dirty Dinosaur

via Usborne

There's a lot of rhyming and mud in this book, which again, would have been endlessly more entertaining to Blue than the 48226718273rd reading of Little Blue Truck. Actually, we may not have missed the boat on this one, especially because there's also an I'm a Hungry Dinosaur.

5. Who's Ready to Play? And Lots of Other Questions

via Usborne

This is a search-and-find-the-differences book, which is great for toddlers and preschoolers. "Who's ready to play" is just 1 of the 15 questions in this book where kids have to spot what's different on each page. 

Elementary Age Children

DJ Deanna says, "These are great to help emerging readers build confidence in reading and writing and to teach life lessons like accepting people for who they are." 

1. Hey Jack or Billie B. Brown

via Usborne

OK, I lied. We have another Usborne book that I picked up somewhere and I had no idea until right this second that it's from Usborne. We have Hey Jack! The Toy Store and we actually read it just last night. It's about Jack wanting some money for a new baseball cards trading folder so he sells some of the toys he doesn't want anymore. Unfortunately, he accidentally sells a toy that he thought was broken - as it turns out the batteries were just in the wrong way. That's kind of a metaphor for my life...half the time the batteries are in the wrong way. Anyway, he has made a mistake and he has to find a way to come to terms with his mistake. We will definitely be picking up a couple more of these on Thursday. 

via Usborne

Billie, I believe, is Jack's neighbor as she also makes a cameo in Hey Jack! The Toy Store. I haven't read any of these, but if they are written in the same style, they are definitely ideal for emerging readers. 

2. Phonics Readers Series

via Usborne

Huh, that's funny...we also have this one. Apparently, our books are a little more dispersed through the house than I realized. It wasn't in his bookshelf an hour ago, but that doesn't mean anything. It goes with us in the car a lot, as well. If you simply can't bring yourself to ask Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? one more time, this is where to go next.

3. Peek Inside and Lift the Flap Series

via Usborne

These books are full of nooks and crannies, flaps to lift and holes to explore. Facts about the theme are sprinkled throughout. There are a ton of themes in this series so if your curtain climber isn't into jungles, there are a bajillion more to choose from. I'm going to see if DJ Deanna can show the inside of one of these on Thursday. There are other YouTube videos with various Usborne reps, but honestly, ain't no party like a DJ Deanna party so we'll just wait for her. (Side note: this is one of the books that received praise from several of the moms I asked.)

4. Can I Join Your Club? 

via Usborne

So this one is fitting for raising a child in 2018. As Duck finds out, there are people who don't want you simply because you're you. So Duck starts his own club, where everyone is welcome. Isn't that a simple truth that we want to pass down to our children? Diversity, inclusion, tolerance...the ducks are going to make this world a better place.

5. Wipe Clean Series

via Usborne

So, shocker...we have this one, too. Although we lost the pen in about 10 seconds, a standard dry erase marker works just as well. And if plain ole water won't erase the pen, vinegar does the trick, too. Blue has a love/hate relationship with letters. He loves the upper case ones and hates the lower case ones. Apparently, they are harder. But these books have helped him develop the confidence to stop spelling cAt.

6. Sticker and Activity Book Series

via Usborne

As we wait for the bus every morning, Blue loves to play I Spy. Although now that he's been in school for 5 months, it's getting a little monotonous. "I spy with my little eye something green." "The street sign." "Yes." This book has 1001 things to spot and 250 stickers. Sold! I'll take 2!  And there's like 1001 to choose from! (Apparently, this is a go-to for a couple of my mom friends when they are out to dinner or on road trips.)

Family Books

DJ Deanna says, "These are all fun to read with kids and the Illustrated Bible Stories book is a beautiful keepsake, great for family devotions." 

1. Nibbles

via Usborne

There are 2 of these, Nibbles The Dinosaur Guide being the other one. When Monica explained that Nibbles gnaws his way through a series of fairy tales so you are reading pieces of the fairy tales, in addition to the story of Nibbles, I was sold.  And it's just as fun as she described! Who doesn't love an adorable monster showing up in Goldilocks and the Three Bears? 

2. Shine a Light Series

via Usborne

I had never heard of this series until this week. Overwhelmingly, this set of books seems to be a favorite among my Facebook friends. Children shine a flashlight as they search for a shy crab hiding under a rock or a parrot playing peek-a-book in the rain forest canopy. There are several in the series and I think I discovered it just in time for Blue to enjoy them for a year or 2 before passing them down. 

3. Illustrated Bible Stories 

via Usborne

This recommendation by DJ Deanna was echoed by several other moms who have enjoyed sharing the stories of Jonah and the Whale, Noah's Ark, Joseph and the Dreams and the birth of Jesus with their kids. But fear not my atheist friends. We welcome everyone (see above mention of Can I Join Your Club?). There is also Illustrated Grimm's Fairy Tales, Illustrated Stories from the Greek Myths, Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare, Illustrated Norse Myths, plus like 3 more. Personally, I will be picking up Illustrated Classics Huckleberry Finn. 

4. Gobble Gobble Mooooo Tractor 

 via Usborne

This is one of those that I think we missed the boat on but Blue would have loved a couple of years ago. There was an animal sounds phase that was amusing at first but ultimately resulted in a series of dreams where I was Farmer MacDonald and Blue was the Lead Cow in a barnyard full of animals, all voiced by Blue. The moral of the story: you can run but you can't hide from the animal sounds phase. May as well embrace it. 

5. Puzzle Picture Books

via Usborne

This is just 1 of 8 in the series. The pages are crammed full of pictures, inviting kids to find the similarities, the differences and all the details in between. I've been told these books encourage kids to strengthen their observation skills and I imagine it's like when I walk into a flea or antique market. If I had grown on up on these books, I would probably be able to quickly home in on the 11th century rice bowl instead of mistaking it for a vase.

Well, if you're still with me, CONGRATULATIONS. If it took you as long to read all that as it took me to write it, we've both had dinner, a glass of wine and a piece of Dutch apple pie. The party takes place here (click on this hyperlink to take you to the Facebook party) on Thursday, 1 February at 8:30 PM CST. So use these next couple of days to peruse the website, ask questions, poll your friends and neighbors and compile a list. On Thursday night, DJ Deanna will entertain and amaze us and we'll rake in lots of orders - all to benefit a Houston family with 3 kids, all avid readers, who lost their books to Hurricane Harvey! The more we order, the more books they receive, just in time to get back into their home! 

Party on, Wayne. 

Party on, Garth.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Review: The National Civil War Museum

Last week, Blue was in school for a total of 6 hours. The entire week was thrown into chaos by the MLK holiday (which, for the record, I'm totally fine with), a snow day (it would have been at least 3 snow days in Kentucky) and something Pennsylvanians refer to as an "Act 80 day" (which is essentially a catch-all phrase for any reason they are scheduled to be out of school, i.e. parent/teacher conferences, teacher in-service days, strategic planning, etc. It would be super helpful if Act 80 days were all lumped together and held around the same time as everyone else's spring break or if they at least coincided with the Pennsylvania Farm Show. But alas...).

On Monday, since it was MLK Jr. Day and we were 4 hours round-trip from any museum dedicated solely to African American history, we decided to check out the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg. Having been to the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, our expectations were high. Perhaps a little too high. Let's revisit the WWI Museum for a second...
Well...crap. Apparently I visited that museum three times and this is all I have to show for it. 

I can't even explain how this happened. I have roughly 237 photos of food on Dropbox. At least 125 photos of Blue swinging on playground equipment in various cities. And another 214 of road signs. How do I not have a single photo from inside this museum? I even have a photo of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, which was taken on the sly because that's totally prohibited (but if it makes the Pope happy, it's blurry). And yet, not a single photo of the awesome that is the National WWI Museum in Kansas City. I think I will blame the then-3 year old who wanted to touch everything. After all, that's how toddlers fall into gorilla cages, right? 

Anyway...because it is called the National Civil War Museum, I think we expected a larger collection of artifacts and more ways to engage with the information they were presenting. But they did have a lot of guns. Rifles, pistols, ones with swords on the end. So, there's that. And there was this disturbing scene...

While a little overwhelming for a 5-year old, it did bring up some questions for which I had no easy answers. Although we have Henry's Freedom Box and have read it many times, as well as a couple of children's books about Abraham Lincoln and his role in ending slavery, the wax figures were pretty realistic. And I hadn't yet seen the need to explain how children were often sold off from their parents. I mean, we're getting there, but he still can't manage to get his shoes on the right feet consistently. I feel like there's a natural order to things. I was also not quite prepared to explain torture or the devices used...

So, we moved on. Although not before I snapped this picture, which I'm sure was purposely juxtaposed for the more intellectual crowd...at least the ones who understand irony.

Speaking of Henry's Freedom Box, perhaps my favorite part of the entire museum was the reconstructed wooden crate, built to represent the box Henry Brown used to escape slavery after his wife and children were all sold into separate families. We've been reading this book for about a year and being able to squeeze Neal into this interactive exhibit helped Blue visualize how desperate Mr. Brown must have been to mail himself to Philadelphia (which Blue knows as the city with the broken bell and the meerkat maze...imagine what it would be like if we hadn't lived here for 2 years).

After Neal climbed out, a mother and her 3 children came over to look at the box (presumably led by the two boys who found something they could actually touch in a museum). One kid climbed in and decided it wasn't so bad. She asked all 3 kids to crowd in together. Suddenly, Mr. Brown's experience became quite real for them, too.

But that was the extent of the exhibits regarding slavery. Maybe a few paragraphs here and there about what it was like for African Americans to serve in the war and a little bit about freed slaves fleeing to the north after the war, but not enough to impress Blue. I assume that's a different museum for a different day.

There was also a conspicuous lack of information about women or children who were left to tend the homes during the Civil War. A campfire scene depicted soldiers singing around the campfire and buying liquor out of the back of a wagon, but nothing about what the families were forced to endure. How do you talk about the Civil War without discussing what it was like for the wives and mothers on southern plantations or the families who were ripped apart by their beliefs regarding slavery?

Maybe that's also a different museum for a different day.

Actually, all of the students in Blue's school are reading Because of Winn Dixie and when we got to the part this morning about "the Yankees burned down his house during the Civil War", Blue had 2 questions: 1. Who are the Yankees? 2. Are they the bad guys? (After all, why would the good guys burn down a perfectly good house just to be mean? Which, you have to admit, is a fair question.) So, it could be argued that Blue is learning more about the Civil War from a YA book about a mutt named after a now-defunct grocery store than this museum, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. Fortunately, his admission was free.

Blue did love the dioramas and set to work re-creating them as soon as we got home.

Blue is lacking actual Civil War soldiers, but he made do with the classic green and tan men and a few "Red Coats" thrown in for good measure.

We also enjoyed listening to the music of the era through hand-held devices that look like a phone (although that reference is utterly lost on our child). Also, if you are squeamish about ear germs maybe skip this part. We were 3 of approximately 10 people in the museum that afternoon so it was fine. Although only 3 of the receivers were working, which seems to be the universal sign of any museum that is struggling financially.

Blue immediately recognized Swing Low, Sweet Chariot so I took a moment to pat myself on my Southern Baptist back.

Most of this museum is focused on the actual battles that comprised the Civil War...the soldiers, the strategy, the outcome. We've been to Gettysburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, Chancellorsville and Appomattox Courthouse. We are pretty familiar with strategy and outcome. And, personally, I couldn't care less about which general used which route to circumvent a river or an enemy camp. That doesn't make the Civil War more relatable. It makes people skim storyboards and rush out to find something more interesting to do, like the Turkey Hill Ice Cream Factory. If we, as average folks who are exceptionally attracted to history, are bored, what about Americans who are exceptionally bored by history? If we don't find a way to bring history to life beyond wax figures and artifacts, most people will never take the time to see it. And you know what they say about not knowing your history...

Photo Credit: US News & World Report

I would argue they are missing one, but maybe in time he will get added. 

Oh also, there's this...which we sort of hurried on by because there's no reason Neal and I should be awakened at 2 AM by the terror-stricken screams of a 5 year old who is dreaming his leg is being cut off. No reason whatsoever.

Would I recommend this Civil War museum over others? Probably not. Neal and I agreed that the best Civil War museum we've visited so far is The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and the adjacent Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, VA. Even their website is a little peek back in time. The museum and surrounding park is their attempt at inviting people to step out of their comfort zone and into the 1860's. The museum features 7 galleries (25,000 square feet) of interactive computers, life-size dioramas, over a thousand artifacts and a "multi-sensory battlefield simulation". Pamplin Park is filled with costumed interpreters tending the gardens and the livestock and Confederate soldiers offering instruction in soldier life skills, period clothing and how to fire a weapon. That is how you bring history to life, my friends. 

Maybe I'm being a bit hard on the National Civil War Museum. It's difficult to read signage with a non-reader in tow. And maybe Blue was free because he isn't their target audience. But the truth is, even I was a bit bored. But you can't win 'em all. Just ask General Lee.