Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt at the Alaska Museum of Natural History

Easter is an annual event that is both a joyous and infuriating one for me.  Joyous, because as a Catholic, I believe it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Church service is always a happy occasion on Easter, especially when my youngest is in front of the congregation singing with the preschool choir (separate post). But what flips me over to the opposite end of the emotional spectrum is the egg hunts! You know, alongside the true reason for the holiday, others have sidled giant furry bunnies and dyed eggs as part of the celebration.

Really, though, how many of you parents are sick and tired of uber aggressive parents mowing other little ones over in the hopes of filling their own spoiled munchkins' baskets first? I, for one, am done with that. I often found myself filled with humility and hope, fresh out of Easter mass, suddenly balling up my fists ready to go postal on this dumb chick who shoved my baby over because they HAD to get the golden egg. 

This year, we took the mellow option of a scavenger hunt at the Alaska Museum of Natural History.  Total win-win.  The kids are nuts about dinosaurs and animals. They were able to go on a hunting adventure without the gaggle of other brats running around. And Momma Bear didn't feel the urge to punch someone in the mouth. Yay!

Kids admission was free.  Military discount available for adults.

Each child is handed a dry-erase marker and a clipboard with a laminated grid of 24 numbered blocks, with the instructions to find all 24 eggs, leave them be, and simply cross off the numbers they have found.

The Mister and I were merely chaperones as the girls' keen senses were far sharper than ours.

Sophie convinced Dylan to go with her as she was eager to get her list done before her little sister.

All in all, the search took about thirty minutes.  The placement of the eggs encouraged the kids to stay the surrounding exhibits. There were plenty of instances in which the girls got distracted from the lure of the egg hunt because of some cool dinosaur bone or stuffed mountain lion.

Now this place isn't of the Smithsonian level. Let's just get that out there.  It's fairly small. But admission is only several bucks. To the rear of the building, there is a children's play area complete with "digging" sites of rubber mulch that hid small "toy" dinosaurs.

I've already received numerous requests to return. It's looking to become a place to visit during the summer break. You AK locals should check it out as well!