Untitled

Much like the pieces of art I make, this post is untitled because it is too difficult to keep thinking of different titles for my blogs. The ones I already have are not even that good.

Anyway, this week was the first week of the "Sommerferien Programm" at the museum and it was really successful! A lot of kids showed up and seemed to enjoy all the various activities, both in the "Wassergarten" as well as the "Werkstatt," which is a glorified arts and crafts table.

The "Wassergarten," or "Water garden" features the following"

A "Spritz Galerie," where kids stand on these green circle pads and shoot water through holes in boards that I painted (and still need to take pictures of so I can have them for my own records as well as post them on my blog!) to try and knock down these lego tile things. I'm sure a picture could better explain this than my description...sorry.

An experimentation station, where kids can experiment (shock!) with different properties of water. At one station, kids put a tissue in a cup and dunk it under water and are able to observe how the tissue stays dry. At another station, kids can experiment with what materials/objects will float in water and what will not. Another station allows kids observe the sort of skin that forms on top of water in a cup as more and more water is added. Skin might not be the correct word in English--in fact, a woman at the museum was asking me how I would translate and I wasn't quite sure!

Then, there is another sort of shooting gallery, but here there are two separate boards with, again, holes cut out of them. In these holes, however, there are funnels, which connect to hoses that lead into a little pail with a ship inside. As kids shoot water into the holes, the water then goes into the funnel, down the hose and into the pail and eventually the ship floats!

Lastly--and I will sort of clump this together, since it's probably getting boring--there is a little clam shell pool with toys in it for kids 3-6 years of age, there is a water memory game, an installation of balls and bells for kids to shoot water at and make music, two information tables, where kids can learn various facts about water, and a bucket with plastic fish in it for kids to put there hand in and count the fish that stick.

Phew! That was a lot. Oh! And lastly, the "Werkstatt." Every two weeks the project theme changes. This past week kids made "Anderssehdoskope." Using toilet and paper towel rolls, kids decorate and attach a colorful film to either end of the roll to see the world--through glasses or a kaleidoscope--differently. The "Anderssehdoskope" have been really popular with the kids and next week, too, they will be making them.

Shifting gears here, my friend Gracie arrived Tuesday! As a result, I was given today and Monday off of work so I can show her around Berlin and do some sightseeing with her. To make up for the time lost at the museum, though, I will be working a double shift next Sunday.

Anyway, yesterday we went to the DDR Museum and to the Alte Nationalegalerie. Before going to either, though, we stopped off at the Radisson Blu Hotel to see their impressive aquarium. It was something else!

The DDR Museum was closing in ten minutes from the time we entered and because the woman at the register spoke SO fast, I did not comprehend this, and as a result did not get to see much of the museum. I will have to go back.

The Alte Nationalegalerie was just okay. The collection was not that impressive but it was free so it's one more museum I can now say I've been to.

Today we are going to the Türkischer Markt, which is supposed to be really great, and

the Jüdisches Museum, which is also supposed to be phenomenal. Then, I am making the

increasingly frequent Spargel und Kartoffeln mit Hollandaisesoße dish for dinner.

Afterwards we are going to Rosa Luxemburg Platz to watch Metropolis, which is going to be screened for free outside with live accompanying music. This is part of the one week "Stummfilm Fest" (silent movie festival) that is currently going on in Berlin.

On Sunday they are showing "Das Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmeds" and I REALLY want to see that. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25SP4ftxklg