Dallas Children's Museum vs Fort Worth Children's Museum

Several weeks ago, the BFF and I took Baby to the Dallas Children's Museum.  It was a spur of the moment trip-it was too hot to swim (when I was younger I never understood that but I definitely do now) and I can only go to the mall so many times.

The first part of the Dallas location is interesting, Boyfriend and I had been semi recently and really enjoyed it.  It was pretty boring for baby but the BFF and I did learn that you swallow a litre of mucous every day.  Tasty.

We finally made it down to the children's part though and Baby loved it.  The first section we went to was the soft play area for children two and under.  She loved crawling around and climbing the toys.  This is also where her series of what we call cheesin face started.  When you ask her to smile, if she obliges, it is with a face similar to this:

All I know is that that is a Daddy trait, not from me.  For reference, here is a picture of her father and I at a wedding recently:

Anyway, after we let her play there we went and explored the rest of the Children's Museum. It really was a blast, she pretended to drive a fire truck, rode a John Deere tricycle, got herself soaked at the water table (and even managed to get a few drinks in, gross!), even the BFF got involved and played dress up.

We had so much fun and Baby promptly crashed as soon as we got home and took an epic nap.  It was a great day. 

Since we had so much fun, the next weekend Boyfriend had a very rare Sunday off.  We decided to take advantage and go try out the Fort Worth Children's Museum.  According to reviews it was better than the Dallas one so I was very excited to go since we enjoyed the Dallas one so much.

Before the museum, we went to Brownstone and for those who are Top Chef obsessed like we are, Casey Thompson is the Executive Chef there.  We have heard very good things about the restaurant and were very excited to try it out.  It did not let us down one bit! 

Boyfriend and I started out with the chicken pot pies (good to know-if you check in with the Yelp app, you get 50% off an appetizer) and even though I do not like pot pie, these little hand pies were delicious.  I am going to try and recreate them but if they are anything like any other cooking I attempt they will be better used for Boyfriend to practice his softball swings. 

He had the fried chicken and grits and I had the banana bread french toast, everything was so good.  Baby really enjoyed it all too.  As we were leaving, our waiter told us that Baby was the absolute best baby they had ever had dining with them.  I don't know if he tells all his guests that but it made me feel proud!

When we first arrived at the museum it was just opening and the line was already really long so I was afraid it was going to be really crowded but luckily it wasn't at all.  The first section of this museum was awesome and all three of us enjoyed it a lot.  There were all sorts of interactive features and I could see spending hours there when Baby gets a bit older.  For the most part it was more interesting to me and Boyfriend.  Baby did however love the wind machines:

Then we saw a short 3D movie about natural gas in our area and how our area used to be under the ocean.  It was really interesting and Baby actually enjoyed it.  I was a bit nervous going in since it was one of those movies where the seats move and since it is 3D I was worried she might be scared but she laughed when the seats would move and vibrate and kept her glasses on the whole time.  She actually asked for more when it was over and tried to touch the items coming off the screen.

By this point we were getting excited because we hadn't even gotten to the children's part and figured since we were so impressed with the rest it would be awesome.  We finally arrived at the children's portion and a collective "whomp whomp" came from Boyfriend and I.  It was so small and while it was fun, it just wasn't half as good as the Dallas one.  Of course Baby had fun, but they had maybe half the space and it just felt really crammed.  She did get to drive an ambulance this time, after fighting for the seat with a little boy.

There was also a water table, but it was outside and we really couldn't enjoy it because it was so hot.  Also, this table was a bit higher so Baby couldn't play with the toys in it like she could at the other museum. 

All in all, we had a blast but more in the rest of the museum vs just the children's museum.  If she were older I would say hands down the Fort Worth one is better, but for the next year or two I think we will continue to patronize the Dallas one.  I also read that the Dallas location will actually be opening a newer one soon so I imagine it will be even better!

As much as I miss Baby being an infant and lament about how fast the time went, this part of being a mother is really fun.  I love experiencing these new things with her and watching her brain grow and flourish.  I think Boyfriend and I are going to purchase memberships to the Dallas Children's Museum, not only is it fun but a great way to spend the day when it is too hot (or rainy).