Trip to the State Natural History Museum

We took the kids to the State Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe on Sunday afternoon. On our way there, Alan discovered his new dream car. It is a sporty version of the Smart Car.

Unfortunately, it is a limited edition model and has already been discontinued. Poor Alan!

Anyhoo, back to the museum. The museum is housed in a renovated historic building so the exterior was restored to its original splendor. Alan, in typical Alan fashion, noticed the sign outside of the museum which announced that admission was free that day. Others must have noticed that sign too, since the museum was packed with people.

Jocelyn liked looking at the fish and she squealed in delight whenever she saw a weird looking one swim by. This one happened to pose for a photo. Don't ask me what type of fish it is - all the descriptions were written in German.

Gabriel prefered the mineral exhibits, where he was able to touch the rocks and conduct mini-experiments to discern whether they were magnetic. Jocelyn also enjoyed playing with the interactive exhibits.

There were a lot of exhibits to peruse through, with rooms that house dinosaurian, insect and animal exhibits. After spending several hours there, we headed over to the nearest eis cafe for a break before returning home.

I also finished work on the Koolhaas Hat for Alan. This was knit using Jared Flood's pattern, which was originally published in Interweave Knits Gifts, Winter 2007. I decided to make this hat for Alan while I was packing for Germany. He didn't seem to have many hats to keep his head warm during the winter. (and of course he wouldn't need a hat during the moderate Bay Area winters). And since I had a skein of Rowan Pure Wool Aran in a dark, brooding color, why not? Gabriel is modeling the hat in the photos below, since Alan refused to pose. He did take the photos, however.