St Louis City Museum

My older brother and his family invited us to the City Museum as our Christmas present. We had never been there before, and it was quite an experience.

The boys would use words like: fun, exciting, super, great, and "we didn't stay long enough!" to describe it. 

Frédéric and I would use words more like: strange, scary, dangerous, risky, frightening, wobbly, and downright nerve-wracking. Things like slides that end up two or three (or ten) stories lower than where you started, tunnels that are partially hidden behind other structures and are seemingly endless, and rooftop adventures, all combined with a busy 4 1/2 and almost 7-year-old... yes, nerve-wracking was indeed our word of the day.

I mean, what kind of nutcase would go up in a 1940s Ferris wheel, installed on the roof of a 10-story building?!?!

Oh. Apparently nutcases like us. And them.

This was quite possibly Noah's favorite part of the whole museum. We could have left him here all day long. Tractors? What more could he ask for?!

Benjamin liked climbing. Climbing in wire cages. Climbing in wire cages somehow welded to things on the roof of a 10-store building. I mean, who wouldn't like that? (Well, besides me.)

Climbing up ropes to get to the top of a concrete slide, which is awesome for your pants when you slide down. Doesn't wear them out at all. (Consider that your fair warning, other moms planning to take your kids to the City Museum.) The roof concrete slide is not the only one, there's also an indoor "skateless skate park."

The creator of the City Museum was an artist, and there is amazing artwork all over the place. The whole place is more of a modern art museum-slash-playground than anything else.

Witness this rooster on the roof.

Or this iguana on a pillar in one of the restaurants.

Or this puking pig.

Nerve-wrackedness aside, we survived it, and here is our end-of-the-day photo as proof.