“Crimey, we've been jimmy-jacked!” — Amelia Earhart, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
So I mentioned that these three weeks between terms would be the time to restore some semblance of balance with work and my family. That's one of the toughest things about being a student as a working adult, that many times in the last half a year my kids have had to wait as I finish an assignment or read some article before I can give them the attention that they deserve. I've spoken with them, and they tell me they understand why things are the way they are, and I try to remember that by taking school seriously I'm setting an example for them, but it's still tough sometimes.
But as I mentioned, right now I'm between terms. That means it's time to come up with fun things to do, and this past weekend I took them all to see the new Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian movie actually at the Smithsonian itself!
How did we do that? Well, many people in the Washington, D.C. area know that the Smithsonian has a set of gigantic IMAX movie theaters. One is in the National Museum of Natural History, one is in the National Air and Space Museum, and the newest one is about twenty miles out of town in the Air and Space facility out next to Dulles airport. During the day those theaters play special movies that are custom filmed for the museums, like about dinosaurs and tectonic plates and things like that. But what most people don't know is that in the evenings those theaters show first-run movies. And since their theaters have truly enormous screens and cliff-like stadium seating, they're the best places in the area to see a movie.
So when I heard that the sequel would be set at the Smithsonian, I knew that going there to see it would be a great family activity. I was right — everyone from my four year old son to my seventy-four year old Mom loved it. And it was really cool that we were in the very building where much of the movie was set.
And I'm glad they had so much fun, because in a few weeks classes will start again and once again my family life will get jimmy-jacked!
Next up, I look into the history of A.T. Still University and its founder.