NEMO Science Museum

     The grandkids, their mom and I spent three wonderful hours here at the NEMO Science Museum. It is all hands-on.  There are exhibits and activities for all aspects of science.  The offerings appeal to children of all ages from the youngest to us oldsters who are just as fascinated by science and the youngsters.  K spent time in the chemistry lab deciding which powder matched the sample.  She had to dress the part and follow a strict protocol to make her discovery.

K and her Mom working in the Chemistry Lab.

The most fascinating part of the museum, the part the kids came back to, was the water feature.  The kids could build dikes from blocks of special rubber and see how well their techniques worked at controlling the water levels in the system.  They spent a lot of time here, building and rebuilding their dikes.

Mom, S, and K building their dike

Luckily for us, the exhibits were in Dutch and English.  So we had no trouble understanding any of the activities.

K and her Mom building their dike.

Poozenboot

We are in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  My granddaughter is quite taken with cats and researched some cat places to visit.  One was the Poozenboot, a houseboat, moored on the Singel Canal (# 38 Singel, if you should ever visit), which is now a charitable foundation cat sanctuary.  It has room for 55 cats available for adoption as well several  felines that are permanent residents.  The resident cats wander freely throughout the houseboat.  Visitors are encouraged to visit the cats on certain days at specific times to socialize with the 'residents'.  Many soak up the attention while some shun affection from too enthusiastic a visitor.  While we were there my grandchildren got out toys from the toys box and played with the cats.  Some were high up over their cages and could survey the world from their lofty perch.  Some wandered the outside walkway, set up with fencing, to protect the cats and keeping them from falling into the canal.    The charity volunteers told us the passing swans often hiss at the cats as they swim by and  the cats hiss back.  This is a great free family activity for an Amsterdam visit.  Even the adults had a good time.

S loving two of the Poozenboot residents.