I am always amazed at what captivates a child’s mind and attention.  I took my six-year old niece to the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham yesterday, and although I had been there many times before, I had never really experienced it through the eyes of a child her age.  She was mesmerized by all of the activities and opportunities for experiencing the center not even knowing it was really science she was experiencing.  Even though I had to explain to her what some of the things were, she still got into the activities.  We played tug of war, we road a bicycle to produce electricity, she pretended like she was looking for fossils  in an archaeological dig site and she played in an “itty bitty city” complete with a farm and a cow that she could milk.  She was so fascinated by the pretend grocery store and diner where she took my order for a sandwich and pizza.  Of course the role she loved best was the check out clerk who rang up groceries on a cash register.  She also liked the mirrors that distorted her face and body when she looked in them.  She challenged me also to hit a target with a tennis ball by pulling a rope tied to a weighted ball.

It was also fun seeing her interact with other children who she didn’t know.  She and a little girl decided to build a castle and play ground out of the building blocks provided in one area.  Soon two little girls working together became three.

She barely ate lunch because she was having so much fun and I had fun watching her have fun.  I am thrilled she had a chance to learn something and she didn’t even know it.

After playing for three hours, we ventured across the street to the new Pizitz Food Hall.  I am still in awe of the transformation Birmingham is going through.   Walking into the Food Hall and smelling aromas of the food and seeing how it is laid out really and truly made me feel like I was not in Birmingham, but then and stopped to catch myself and said “yes this is really in Birmingham. ” It’s a gorgeously renovated building.  I was most excited to see Warby Parker, an eye glass store with a sustainable mission, as one of the retailers of the building.  I purposefully took my Warby Parker glasses with me to have them adjusted, corny I know (they really did need adjusted), but it was my excuse to go in to meet the people and to see the store.   Afterwards as promised, my niece and I got ice cream from Lichita’s a Food Hall tenant whose “paletas are reminiscent of southern Mexico and are created using fresh fruit and quality ingredients from farmers markets and local sources.” (From the Pizitz Food Hall website).

It was such a fun day with the best six-year old I know.