The weather started out cloudy on Sunday morning, so I decided to take Curious G to The National Museum of Mathematics a.k.a. MoMath (one of the few museums we have not explored in NYC). I planned to take her to the Madison Square Park Playground, which is right across the street, after our museum visit. As we approached Madison Square Park, the tell tale smell of smoked meats and sound of a live band reminded me; it was the day of the annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party. Alas, we would have to go skip the playground and go straight to lunch after the museum. We are big BBQ lovers, but the block party takes over the whole park and I just wasn't in the mood to be enveloped in the smell of BBQ.
The museum does a great job with providing very fun and captivating exhibits that immerse kids into an environment that illustrates the role of math in the patterns and structures of the world we live in. During her visit, Curious G was exposed to pattern creation and continuity, puzzles, geometric formulas, position/velocity/acceleration, fractals, origami making, and so much more (I couldn’t read the exhibit blurbs fast enough to keep up with her). When later asked about her visit she exclaimed, “They had rides!”. So while she wasn’t solving quadratic equations after she left, she did engage in the exhibits and ask exploratory questions while we were there. I will definitely take her back in a year, or whenever a patient 9 year-old might want to tag along so that someone can explain everything to Curious G in terms she will understand. The admission was $18 for me and $12 for Curious G, so it was definitely worth the trip. A map of the museum's exhibitions can be found here.
We avoided the crowd at the BBQ festival and walked a block to Maman Nomad. Curious G and I have gotten their pastries to go before, and wanted to try their brunch menu. We were seated immediately, and our order was taken and put in right away. We started with the pastry assortment, which allowed us to select three varieties. We ordered the white chocolate espresso dipped croissant, pistachio loaf cake, and a plain croissant. We then shared the waffle iron has browns topped with smoked salmon, soft boiled egg, mixed greens and cucumber. The seating is cozy; albeit a bit too close for comfort. Curious G was practically on top of the two ladies sitting on either side of her. By the end of the meal, she knew their names and addresses.
We avoided the crowd at the BBQ festival and walked a block to Maman Nomad. Curious G and I had gotten their pastries to go before, and wanted to try their brunch menu. We were seated immediately, and our order was taken and put in right away. We started with the pastry assortment, which allowed us to select three varieties. We ordered the white chocolate espresso dipped croissant, pistachio loaf cake, and a plain croissant. We then shared the waffle iron hash browns topped with smoked salmon, soft boiled egg, mixed greens, and cucumber. The seating there is cozy; albeit a bit too close for comfort. Curious G was practically on top of the two ladies sitting on either side of her. By the end of the meal, she knew their names and addresses.
