Easter Break

Today was a home day--there was lots of reading and a little video games for the kids. Q is reading an actual book--rather than the one series of 70 (not kidding) graphic novels that he has spent the last six months reading and rereading--to our great delight. We picked up a jenga game from the side of the road and Blaze has spent lots of time building different kinds of towers and pyramids with the blocks. 

After tacos, Francisco went to see a play (A Long Day's Journey into Night), and I took the kids to a little exhibit about the brain. 

Blaze's attention faded after about 10 minutes, so he went to the play area and commandeered the magnetiles--and, embarrassingly made a mom of a random two-year-old play Snakes and Ladders with him. Q complained, but hung in there after I bought them some hot chocolate (Protip: I always ask them to make it cool for the kids and to split it in two cups for the kids. No one has turned me down yet.)

Someone knitted these cool examples of different neurons. I didn't even know that there are different kinds of neurons. 

A super cool hand-drawn neuron from the mid-1800s.

3D printed version (I think) of the same neuron. 

There were cool visuals and fascinating descriptions of the work on the brain that the researchers are doing upstairs in the same building. 

Above: New ways to take pictures of neurons pioneered by the researchers upstairs. 

Below: Green stem cell neurons. 

The exhibit touched on brain changes due to motherhood (relatable, to use my least-favorite word ever) and due to the season of the year in moles and songbirds. It touched on the relationship of the brain to smell (didn't quite follow that part) and vision--so interesting. And they recreated with a 3D skull a famous traumatic brain injury from the 1850s in which a guy survived a spike going through his brain. 

Lots of 3D printed brains next to the animal that has it. 

One of our favorite buildings; blingy car out front.