drechsel family field trip! #pbskidsaddsup

Last weekend we were invited to visit the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, courtesy of PBS Kids (of which we are huge fans, Hello?, GEORGE!) to demo some of their new apps and online games in the PBS Kids Lab. They are definitely making learning fun for kids! We already had the (free) PBS kids app on our iphones, and it's been a favorite for playing games, and watching episodes of our favorite PBS Kids shows as well. But the event introduced us to some new ones as well, like a (free) PBS Parents Play & Learn app which also has great games for kids. There's also a Dinosaur Train Camera Catch app where children use the camera to "catch" flying dinosaurs and learn about patterns along the way, and a Martha Speaks Story Maker app where children get to choose the characters, settings and actions to create a pop up fairy tale. Charlie always chooses the spooky sleepover. Which I think is funny. Since he's "afraid of the dark".

The people at PBS Kids also told us about their website called pbskidslab.org. Once there, click on "All Games" to navigate by skill area, child's age, the type of technology you have, or by PBS Kids series! There are a bunch of different games kids can "play" and they might even not notice that they are learning something in the process! PBS Kids believes (and I agree) that any time can be learning time, and all the little things we do with our kids every day add up in a BIG way.

If you check out any of these apps, or the online games, let me know what your favorites are!

Drechsel family field trip!! Woot!

We were kind of hoping for Curious George, but Cat In the Hat was in da houzz.

Charlie was showing Chris how to play the game.

Because, you know, he's THREE.

It cracks me up that all these kids have no problem navigating through the games or using the technology. Remember back in the day when all we had was a Nintendo 64 and a Brother word processor?

Grace and Chris were very interested in the display. Obviously.

We ran into some blogger friends too! This is Rowan and Ellie.

After the PBS Kids demo we got to visit the rest of the exhibits at the science center. Charlie had a love/hate relationship with this praying mantis.

And then he got to help remove the DNA from a strawberry. WHAT?!!

This is a true story. These people ALL fell asleep on the way home.

Except me. I stayed awake driving the entire way.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. My family received an invitation and admission to the event, but no other compensation was received. I'm sharing with you because I LOVE PBS Kids. And these really are great apps.