Sound Bites & Snap Shots

As a family we have been to the City Museum several times.  It is not your average museum but rather, it has been called industrial playground.  The galleries are comprised of recycled and repurposed items found around the city.  It’s quite difficult to encapsulate what one would find there but suffice it to say, if you are ever in St. Louis and have a few hours, you should go.  It’s the kind of place where kids of all ages can find entertainment. 

Bill learned that The City Museum hosts a slumber party just for scouts.  He proposed the adventure to the pack and twenty scouts and chaperones made the field trip.  We arrived at 6 PM on Sunday night and set up camp in one of the galleries.  The staff encouraged us to bring whatever we might need to make sleeping on a concrete floor acceptable and any provisions to tide over the scouts between the dinner and breakfast hours.    The boys and I roughed it on the floor with just sleeping bags. I might have been more worried if I expected to actually sleep on the overnight. 

Mason and Zane bounced between sleeping bags at times during the lights on time.

When they were not catching their breath, they were busy sliding, climbing and playing in the skateless skate park.

Walker ventured off with some of the older scouts.  I hardly saw him.  I did catch him at one point outside in the enclosed ball pit.  I could barely stand being out there because it was so cold, but the low temps did not bother him (or the others) one bit.

Action shots are not the iPhone’s forte but when it’s all ya got, it’s just fine. 

Some highlights of the experience:

412 scouts were on site for the event.  The doors were locked the entire time and it felt more than safe to have my kids running around even when I did not know exactly where they are.  If you have ever been to the City Museum, you know that it is not uncommon to temporarily lose physical contact with your children.

The food was tasty and plentiful. 

We got to watch a circus performance.

They projected the Muppet Movie on the giant whale on the first floor at 10 PM and they served popcorn.  The second movie started just after midnight but I gathered my kids for bed.

It was truly wonderful to see so many dads and sons (and in my case, mom and sons) enjoy the museum together.  Several had never been before and several others were just so happy to be there without the crowds.

There was a curfew in the sleeping gallery so we did get some rest.  The floor was not as comfortable as my bed but it turns out, when tired enough, sleep is possible anywhere.

When it was time to pack up and go, we discovered that the fastest way from where we slept to the exit was an enclosed slide.  Even one of our 6 feet tall leaders took that route.

From the many comments that I received from leaders and scouts, I know this was an experience they will remember for a long time to come.  I’m so thankful that Bill was able to organize it for us all and hope he can join us for the next slumber city event.