Evansville Vacation – cMoe

Posted on August 11, 2008January 20, 2014 by Matt Todd

The old Central Library downtown has been completely transformed into a children’s museum. And they’ve transformed the place. No more librarians giving you dirty looks if you so much as breathe too loud. When I heard they were making a children’s museum, my first concern was that it was going to be some halfway job like I’ve seen in many cities and towns. And some pretty top-notch children’s museums are within driving distance of Evansville (i.e. Indy, Cincy, and Columbus…although C-bus is a day’s drive with kids). So I wondered if the market was already flooded. While cMoe isn’t those mammoth museums mentioned earlier, it doesn’t pretend to be. They’ve done some good stuff. It’s worth taking a trip to see. And maybe they’re right. It just might help revitalize downtown. It’s a magic harp. You pluck the invisible strings and it plays the note you ‘plucked.’ There was a section talking about different aspects of the human body. One exhibit measured your reaction time. Another told you how many calories you burned while tapping a button repeatedly. Another timed your balance. One machine would play your heartbeat on a bass drum (the left picture below). And there was also a camera that magnified your mouth. Here’s Christy’s mouth for the world to see (right). There was a mini theatre set up with costumes, stage lighting, and sound effects. The kids gathered a troupe together and acted out Little Red Riding Hood. Look! A room full of drums! And they want you to be LOUD! Yes, the kids were in heaven (so was Christy). A remnant of the old library. I’m sure there’s a sense of irony here, since the entire building is now a children’s room. The centerpiece of the museum is the quack factory. What is the quack factory? Well, it’s this massive room full of flowing water, flying balls, and air cannons. It’s beyond description (although the explanation on the museum’s site comes pretty close). So, you take these plastic balls and try to get them up into the duck’s head by shooting them from an air cannon. Even the adults got involved.

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Matt Todd

Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"