A MAX-imum Day of Fun; Watching an I-Max Movie

I had to wake the boys up early to make sure we were all up and raring to go early this morning.

We signed up to see a double 3-d showing at a local I-MAX theatre with a local homeschool group.  I had read that there were going to be over 100 other people there and since we were meeting friends we wanted to get there early and sit together.






  
 We watched Deep Sea and Space Station for only $10 each for both films!  I thought that was a super good deal.

We can barely watch one regular movie that price!  Since we had just eaten breakfast and were heading out to lunch afterwards we bypassed snacks for the movie and settled into our seats.   Our friends arrived and they sat with us (in seats the boys had saved so they could all sit together).  They were nice enough to share snacks with my kids and we had a ball.

The IMAX movies are in true 3-d and even Alec, who hates 3-d movies, wore his glasses more often than not.  It was great to see all the kids in the theater trying to reach out and touch or catch some of the objects on the screen.  The sounds and effects were so lifelike I felt like I was actually on the shuttle as it was taking off (seriously!  Even my sit was vibrating!).



We learned so much about the space station and about new and exciting animals in the sea.  We had never heard of the feather starfish, sunfish, tube anemones, and the basket star.  I must admit I jumped several times when larger fish came out of nowhere and gobbled up smaller fish on the screen.  The movie was all about ecosystems and life in a coral reef.

It was just amazing to learn that all coral spawn at the same time each year in a mass spawning.  We got to see each type of coral spawn and watch the vapors, seeds and tiny little floating debris.

I had no idea just how large the space station actually was and until they mentioned that it was a miracle all these parts, assembled by scientists all over the world in different countries using different tools and materials fit together so well, I honestly had never thought about just what a marvel it really is.

We got to see them shave, clean up, eat, and sleep in space.  We watched them suit up, take off, and even exercise in space.

The boys agreed that the movies were a great replacement for school today and definitely worth getting up for. 

I couldn't help but think that these movies would not have been quite so awe-inspiring if I had just rented the DVDs from our library and we watched them at home one day.  The IMAX theater really made it engaging and feeling like we were part of the movie really made it engaging. 
 
We hung around and visited with our friends for a bit and then we parted ways.  The boys and I headed to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory as an added bonus treat today.   We had a great meal and great conversations.  These moments spent with my boys on days like this really make me sit back and realize how fortunate I am.
 
Once home the boys all changed and wanted to head outside.  It was such a beautiful day and they have been working hard together on building a zoo out of sand in our backyard.  They showed me all the habitats for the different animals, the animal hospital and the dam.   The boys started putting toes into the water and wanted to fill up the otter exhibit and the elephant pond with real water.  I reminded the boys about their rain boots so they put them on and headed into the water.  It wasn't long before they were stopping to drain them out since they often wandered to deep and the water fan over the rims.  They were having so much fun though and didn't seem to care that their toes were cold. 
The whole entire zoo-- each castle represents an animal home

digging a door for the Binterong habitat

a beautiful, sunny day on the lake

testing the water

Dumping out the water from his boots

adding water to the otter exhibit

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