This week, we received a slightly delayed copy of the last members' magazine. There was a story on how the ROM got its hands on a fossil of the oldest bat (52 million years...), identified it and named it. I thought Sebastian would be interested and so read it to him with minimal paraphrasing. Sure enough, he requested to see the fossil ASAP and so we went today after-school.
The ROM isn't far. But my cheerfulness wanes when contemplating the transfer from subway to museum - 2 escalators and 3 flights of stairs, plus equivalent of 2 blocks outside that one must walk with a stroller and well-equipped backpack. My delight at the outing would not fade one iota but for the fact that the subway station and museum have both had multi-million dollar facelifts/improvements in the past 2 years. Surely, someone could have connected them on the flat and underground (it is Canada, folks).
Anyway, we searched for the bat (no volunteer had ever heard of it) and were delighted to see its cast and another similar fossil, plus we played as always in the Discovery area. This visit however the children agreed to tag along to a temporary exhibit on the Tryplian civilisation of ancient Ukraine. Fascinating for all ages, especially when considered that these huge settlements (up to 2400 buildings!) of 2 story homes predate the more famous Stonehenge or ancient Egyptians. The fact that the homes seem to be all of the same size and hold almost idenitical items point to an extremely egalitarian society. They also burnt down each settlement every few decades and started from scratch. We could probably learn a thing or two about acquiring stuff.
And to make an outing even better, there was a warm meal and a happy Dad waiting for us at home. After dinner, we role-played "free snacks on the TTC subway" - way better than a free bullet in the abdomen which seems to be about all that's on offer these days on the TTC.
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