Do You Have Your Permission Slip?

Not too long ago, my four year old nephew, Garrett, invited me to come along on his preschool field trip. He’s completely adorable and since I’m officially the best aunt in the whole wide world, I was quick to accept the invitation! We've been looking forward to this for weeks!

We started our day by riding, with 15 other crumb crushers and curtain climbers (and their parents), on a chartered bus to Imagination Station, an interactive learning center in Wilson.

When we got to Imagination Station, we met Miss Laura who taught us about some of the animals that live there. She showed us a salamander and a tortoise and let some of us touch a chinchilla, a blue-tongued skink, and an albino corn snake. Garrett, being 100% boy, was completely mesmerized by the salamander, skink, and snake; you can’t even begin to imagine how grateful I am that I’m not the one who cleans out that boy's pockets after he’s played outside. There’s no telling what kind of creepy, crawly thing he might decide should live in his room.

In addition to the smaller animals, Imagination Station is also home to this guy…  a 90 pound, 15 foot Anaconda. They claim he's happy in his glass habitat under those heat lamps but I didn't think he looked too thrilled; I thought he'd look a whole lot happier on my feet as a cute pair of heels!

In addition to the lizards, turtles, and snakes that live on the second floor, Imagination Station's first floor houses a huge science section that has interactive exhibits that explain science concepts like leverage, energy, and reflections; biology concepts like how the heart works to pump blood through the body and how organs are connected; and for some reason, a giant set of teeth.

From Imagination Station, we went to the Amtrac Train Station to have lunch and to wait for the train that would take us back to Rocky Mount. The train ride was short, only 15 minutes or so, but it was the highlight of the day for Garrett who adores all things truck, tractor, or train.

The day was full of learning cleverly disquised as fun; there were plenty of smiles and squeals of delight to go around! I had an absolutely fantastic time today with my little buddy and I’m already ready for our next field trip together!