WOW! Children’s Museum is dedicated to engaging children and families in creative learning experiences. This bright, colorful interactive museum is in Lafayette, Colorado, near Denver .
“We specialize in highly interactive programs for small groups that give each child an opportunity to explore art, science, and culture.”
I’ve shared some heavy topics here recently, so this post is lighter, something fun. I recently visited my toddler grandson and his parents in Colorado and we had fun exploring a children’s museum.
If you live near or visit the area, I recommend it for young kids- and their parents and grandparents, too.
The fun starts even before you go inside; look what greeted us on the outside wall- a carrot garden with a bunny, robin, and mice.
“We specialize in highly interactive programs for small groups that give each child an opportunity to explore art, science, and culture. “
Of course, my favorite part was the Kids Clinic, sponsored by the Children’s Hospital of Colorado . Signs describing the various rooms and activites are written in English and Spanish.
“How tall are you?”
Exhibits to show kids the bones and other parts of the body.
WOW! Children’s Museum is dedicated to engaging children and families in creative learning experiences. This bright, colorful, interactive museum is in Lafayette, Colorado, near Denver.
My grandson and I exploring movement.
WOW! plays a critical role in our community by providing informal play experiences in a safe and educational environment.
We offer a variety of program formats to meet the diverse needs of our community – from drop-in programs for children as young as 2 years old to outreach programs at local schools.
Within our Museum walls, children explore exhibits about a variety of subjects, including STREAM, art, music, dance, theater and practical life.
We connect children to caregivers, families to families, and people to the place we live. By working with local musicians, artists, educators, and storytellers, we’re connecting children with the rich resources available in our community, and helping teach them about their world.
WOW!’s mission is to serve the entire community by providing a quality Museum experience for children and families of all backgrounds and abilities.
“What will you build? at this workbench, complete with tools.
Our Sensory Friendly Playtime is designed especially for children with autism or sensory processing disorders and their families. The Museum turns down sounds and lights on exhibits, provides special adaptive equipment like weighted vests and headphones, and has an occupational therapist at the event as a resource for families.”
Mom, Dad, and their son creating a design with colored cylinder pegs.
exploring the HEART of health and fun at WOW! Children’s Museum
I’ve enjoyed sharing some of the fun I had with my youngest grandchild and his parents on a much anticipated visit. We had planned a trip several months ago but it was cancelled on account of COVID. Thank God they all recovered; parents were vaccinated but he of course was not. We are thankful that the vaccine is now approved for kids his age.
Dr Aletha
Use these links to share the heart of health wherever you connect.
Starting from the pandemic’s quiet beginning late in 2019 through the vaccine distribution in early 2021, the author unfolds how the pandemic impacted their lives, their families, and communities. Despite being front line workers, they suffered the same things others did-isolation, loss of jobs and income, demanding work schedules under pressure; and for some, infection, hospitalization, intubation, and death. From their stories, we watch their lives intertwine with each other and the virus that stalked their daily lives.
The test of a whole person is whether you can keep showing up when you’ve lost faith entirely.
I thought The Helpers would be a feel-good story about the heroes of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It is a story about the heroes of the pandemic, but it didn’t make me feel good. And, as I learned in the book, they don’t like to be called heroes.
(Note: I chose the photos in this post to illustrate the book’s message, they do not appear in the book, and are not affiliated with the author. There are affiliate links in this post, used to generate funds to pay expenses. )
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientist was preparing patients’ samples for SARS-CoV-2antibody testing. Serological testing is used to detect antibodies, which indicate past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, and is important to the understanding of disease prevalence within a population. credit James Gathanay, public domain
I should have known that. As a primary care physician, I didn’t know I was an “essential worker” until the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the so-called lockdown, I still went to my clinic every day, although we cared for some patients virtually. I didn’t feel like a hero, I was just doing my job. And so were they.
Published March 1, 2022, The Helpers tells the story of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic through the eyes and hands of eight people who truly lived it on the front line, those whose “stubborn spirits” drove them to help others-
a son in a Vietnamese immigrant family, caregiver to two parents and brother to a physician who is trying to keep herself and her family well
a semi-retired divorced paramedic from Colorado who is devoted to his work, so much so that he and a co-worker drive across the country in an ambulance to volunteer to help with the pandemic in New York City
a Latina ICU nurse who lives with her extended family in a small apartment and fears she will bring the virus home to them; besides fighting the virus, she crusades for more of everything that she and the other nurses need-tests, ventilators, and especially PPE, which they now have to reuse
the CEO of a small ventilator manufacturing company in Seattle, whose company tries to increase production from hundreds a year to tens of thousands, by partnering with an unlikely source
a scientist who has been researching mRNA vaccines at Moderna for 10 years, developing a “vaccine in search of a virus” and thinks she has found it in SARS-CoV2
a biracial chef in Louisville Kentucky who finds herself jobless, so channels her knowledge into creating a neighborhood meal service for others who need help feeding their families
a young critical care physician, who wonders if, when, and how she will ration ventilators if necessary
and a funeral director, whose facility soon has more bodies than spaces to put them, and for the first time in his career must turn families away.
photo by Daniel Sun, from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate
Starting from the pandemic’s quiet beginning late in 2019 through the vaccine distribution in early 2021, the author unfolds how the pandemic impacted their lives, their families, and communities. Despite being front line workers, they suffered the same things others did-isolation, loss of jobs and income, demanding work schedules under pressure; and for some, infection, hospitalization, intubation, and death. From their stories, we watch their lives intertwine with each other and the virus that stalked their daily lives.
Parallel with their stories, Ms. Gilsinan looks at the government response to the pandemic, a picture that is not flattering. She starkly points out the delays, misplaced priorities, and partisanship that made the response less successful than it could have been, and cost needless lives.
“even when their elected leadership and public institutions fail them; they chase down the resources to save lives while politicians bicker and buck-pass and evade responsibility.”
These patients’ samples were to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) serologic test. CDC/ James Gathany, PUBLIC DOMAIN
I said this book didn’t make me feel good, but it did make me proud- proud of the people this book introduced me too, and to all of us who faced this virus together. As Ms. Gilsinan wrote
“The Helpers isn’t a partisan morality tale. The virus further polarized a deeply politically divided country, but it didn’t care which side its victims fell on…and no one is worried about anyone’s party affiliation in the ICU or the food pantry. Even at our most divided, our country is so much bigger and better than our politics.”
The author of The Helpers
Kathy Gilsinan is a contributing writer at the Atlantic, where she has reported on national security and contributed to its extensive and acclaimed coronavirus coverage. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Bookshop.org is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. They believe bookstores are essential to a healthy culture and they are dedicated to the common good. Bookshop.org donates a portion of every sale to independent bookstores.
exploring the HEART of health in a pandemic
As a NetGalley reviewer, I received a complimentary digital copy of this book and agreed to write a review.
I have been fully vaccinated for COVID based on my age and medical status, and I hope you are too, unless medically unwise.
Three days after my first vaccination the soreness in my arm was almost gone, and I had no redness or swelling. After the second shot, minimal soreness. No other side effects to report. I feel fortunate.
On a recent trip I happened upon a local art exhibit and found this interesting piece.
Dr. Aletha
Use these links to share the heart of health wherever you connect.
watercress words by Dr Aletha 
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