Balloon Museum

As you may know, Albuquerque is famous for a world-class Balloon Festival held every October. In conjunction, the city opened a museum about ballooning a few years back, and since the kids had school off on Tuesday, we decided to go there after I was done teaching.

The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum features exhibits o the history, science, and culture of ballooning, including this mock-up great for cute pictures of the kids:
There are also temporary exhibits and hands-on activities for the kids. the boys and I tried the large-screen flight simulator, and here Isaac tries an exhibit that lets you heat and release a model hot air balloon:

A current temporary exhibit explores the role of Native Americans in Albuquerque's ballooning history. Part of the exhibit is a large (4' diameter) pot done in a Southwestern Native American style (or combination of style) with balloon motifs and images. the pot is on the floor behind some velvet ropes that apparently are supposed to be sufficient to keep kids at bay. Evan, who loves anything ball-shaped, and who was ga-ga over the whole museum, was bitterly disappointed every time I grabbed him away from drooling on the art.