It's not an inexpensive venture. The cost for two adults and two children is about $50. But it's worth it.

There is a new parking garage, a nice addition although it was so crowded we had to park on the very top floor. Matt thought that was kind of cool and Riley likes riding the elevator so that was not such a bad thing.

The museum has a couple of great new exhibits. The Castle filled with legos, a Comics exhibit and a new Dinorama were big hits with us. The Star Wars exhibit had some of the original costumes, weapons and a ship on display but there wasn't anything really interactive. The movie was for eight year-olds and up so we couldn't see it.

The carousel, trains, water clock, Indy racecar and science exhibit are all still there. We got to see the water clock turn over. It does it only once a day so apparently it is a big deal. Not so much for three-year olds.

Riley had a little melt down when she had to share the racecar with the other 20 kids in line to sit in it. I had to pull her out of the car kicking. Her mommy and I did notice that Aunt Tee Tee disappeared during this fit. The crowds and constant motion may be a little overwhelming for some kids (and childless aunts).

The Comics exhibit was pretty cool. Matt and Aunt Keely (better known as Aunt Tee Tee--a carry over from when Uncle Bo was little) discovered how the bat mobile was made. We had trouble getting him and his aunt out of that room.

The Castle had lego's in all sizes and shapes for kids to play with as well as all kinds of castles made out of legos. There was a stage where the big bad wolf got everyone to huff and puff and plenty of areas to crawl around in just like in a real castle.

There are plenty of benches for grandparents to sit with strollers. Emma and I took advantage of two or three of those.

Riley loved the carousal, as did her mother when she was little. The trains were running and the train whistle and train car were like riding on a real one. At least that's what Matt says and he would know as he lives in northern Indiana and gets to ride the El into Chicago.

The Science exhibit was enjoyable although we liked some of the old things like the tin can telephone better than some of the newer items that have replaced it. There is a water project that encouraged the bigger kids to splash water at the little ones. We weren't too crazy about it. But, it was still a lot of fun.

We really liked the gift shop, as it was a good bribe to get the kids to agree to leave. There was so much to choose from Matt had trouble deciding. Riley, of course, found a mechanical hand that she clutched onto and a flashlight that projects characters on the ceiling. Oh yeah, and a purse with a puppy inside.

Matt finally settled on a sword and shield after long debate. We may have spent more time in the gift shop than we did in any of the exhibits but in the end it was worth it.

Aunt Tee Tee couldn't believe four hours had passed by so quickly. On the other hand, I was ready for a nap. If I hadn't been driving I think I would have passed out like all three kids on the way home.

I did sleep like a log last night with dreams filled with castles and dinosaurs.