MAPS Air Museum

In late March, we visited MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio. I have a free moment now, and I don't want to forget about it.

This is a wonderful field trip for any school age child! We were all surprised at the wealth of information available here. Our entire experience was quite enjoyable. Our guide said that this is often called one of the best kept secrets of the area. If you have never been there, just go!

MAPS stands for Military Aviation Preservation Society. I was most surprised at the plethora of memorabilia and actual aircraft available to view and often, touch. We were led around by a veteran, who, admittedly at times was a little difficult to understand, was able to share from experience. I wonder if someday, the tours will be led by tour guides instead of these veterans who volunteer their time to share their experiences and keep history alive for our children.

I took the stroller with me and had very little difficulty maneuvering it around the artifacts and displays. We saw aircraft from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf War, and other eras too. Being next to the airport gave us a chance to watch a military helicopter practice taking off and landing as well. Probably, the most exciting part for the kids was being able to climb inside the cockpit of a fighter jet. Walking around and under the airplanes was also pretty neat, though, even for me. Many of the aircraft were still in various phases of reconstruction, and I would like to come back and see them when they are finished. The work, however, is slow and requires funds, so it will take a while.

I was impressed at how much historical information came out during our tour. At one point, our guide stumped all of us with a question about a famous battle from WWII. I said something about not having learned that yet in our schooling, so he posed it to me. I sheepishly replied that I didn't know either, and of course, he went on to explain. It's true that although we enjoy the benefits our soldiers fought for, we rarely remember their direct accomplishments, that being the battles that many of them died in or lived through.

My 8-year-old came home asking questions about ways to support our soldiers and make them feel more appreciated. I was really pleased that it had this effect on her, and I would definitely go again.

The gift shop was stocked with military books, insignia, shirts, hats, and more. Most of it was reasonably priced. We picked up a few cheap planes to play with at home for .49 each, and one more detailed for 2.49. The museum is non-profit, so they do take donations. Our group price was $4.50 per person, and the non-group price isn't much more. If you have any interest in our military history, go and take someone with you!

Rolling Ridge Ranch

Rolling Ridge Ranch pamphlet
Originally uploaded by monkbuddy.

Yesterday, we visited one of my favorite places, Rolling Ridge Ranch, near Berlin, Ohio, here in Amish country. Our group had about 21 people and a few babies, as well. Other than one of our people originally being charged for her babies (under 3 are free), it was a wonderful field trip! She did get a refund for the 2 little ones.

The weather forecast said rain and thunderstorms, but we daringly ventured out anyway. Our courage was rewarded with even a few moments of sunshine forcing its way through the clouds. Except for a few drops, the rain and storms held off until later in the afternoon. We fit the entire group on one wagon, drawn by 2 very large horses.

Although there were school groups ahead of us, most of the animals were still quite hungry and happily approached the wagon to eat from our buckets. There were quite a few unusual, exotic animals to feed: a female watusi, ostriches and emus, water buffalo, zebra, a zedonk (half-donkey, half-zebra), a huge donkey, a number of different cattle-type animals with extremely large horns, pot-bellied pigs, more that I don't recall, along with the many varieties of deer, ducks, geese, etc. Most of them stick their heads right into the buckets the kids hold to get the food, and some of them force their giant heads underneath the benches to lick the food from the floor under our feet. It was great! Such close encounters you won't find many places.

Rolling Ridge also has a petting zoo with African pygmy goats, sheep, chickens and other farm animals to pet and feed. There were ducklings and bunnies for the children to hold, and quite a few animals in cages to be viewed, such as exotic birds from China, marmosets, monkeys, an alligator and more.

The small gift shop has a few animal-themed souvenirs and the like, no real food products. You definitely have to bring your own lunch to eat in the picnic area. A small playground sits right in the middle of the action and was generally full of schoolchildren while we were there. The staff there have always been quite friendly as well.

Because it is run by the Amish, you'll need to bring cash or check to pay, and, as one person in our group found, there is no place to plug in your videocamera, so be sure it's charged already.
The group rate for 15 or more is $6.50 each. Be sure you have that number or they will charge you the regular rate of $12.75/adults, $7.75/children and seniors. You can also drive your own car through for $8.00/adults and $5.00/children and seniors.
Open Mon-Sat, 9-5, mid-April to mid-October

Their phone number is 330-893-3777

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

The trip today was to see Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse at the Magical Theatre Company in Barberton, Ohio.

Our enjoyment of the play itself was great. All of the children in our group absolutely loved it. I agreed. It was fun, witty, well-acted and seemed to blend together a number of Kevin Henkes stories into one flawlessly. My almost 2-year-old daughter sat mesmerized by the show on the stage for almost the entire time, which says a lot about its being attention-grabbing. The large groups of schoolchildren also were well-behaved throughout the performance.

My personal favorite moment was a very brief presentation by the young "rodents" about the history of cheese, which was extremely funny and well-written and concluded with the theory that the moon, rather than being made of green cheese, must be made of some type of mild cheddar or colby.

My least favorite moment occurred offstage, when one of the staff came to tell us that our group was taking up too many seats. It seems that my extremely frustrating phone call on Monday to order 2 more tickets had produced only frustration instead of the requested 2 tickets. Apparently, placing us in the back row wasn't enough.

I have never had more trouble organizing anything than I have with the Magical Theatre Company regarding this play. This is my first experience with this company, and it has made quite a first impression. When I originally called, the person I talked to told me that this performance didn't exist; then, when she found it, she sold me tickets for the Tuesday performance and told me that refunds were allowed in case someone in my party couldn't come.
As it turned out, Tuesday was already sold out, I had to change my date, refunds are not allowed, and this person had apparently only been working there for 2 days when she took my order. When others in my group called to buy more tickets, they were treated very curtly, and one was told that she was not allowed to order more tickets. In all, I was on the phone with them 5 times, each call more aggravating than the last.

Would I recommend it? Although we were not treated welcomingly, I can't say certainly that there is a home school bias. I do know of other HSers who have been there with no problems in past years. If you don't mind a hassle, the play was wonderful.

**As a ridiculous exclamation point on the end of a very frustrating sentence, the Magical Theatre Co. sent me a bill. They have decided to charge me for not only the 2 tickets I ordered 3 days before the performance, but also for the 3 tickets a friend of mine ordered and paid for a week before the performance. Because she joined our group, they apparently have put it on my tab and can't seem to understand how someone else could have possibly paid for her own tickets. As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Oh, bother!"
I will be calling or writing them in a futile attempt to explain their mistake. I don't expect much.

Magical Theatre Company

This Thursday, we are attending a performance of "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" by the Magical Theatre Company in Barberton, Ohio. I am looking forward to going, especially since we have a nice group of girls going together who will absolutely love it.

Ordering the tickets was quite a hassle because I was given erroneous information more than once, then was advised later as to their actual policies. This was due to their hiring a new employee who assumed she knew the policies and stated things as fact when, in fact, she was assuming.

For your own use and reference:

• Magical Theatre does not give refunds, even if you ask for them a couple of days after you ordered the tickets.
• They charge a $2.00 service fee to charge tickets over the phone


• Performances are not recommended for children under 4


• If anyone under 4 attends, you still have to buy a ticket for him/her, even babies


• Apparently, only the first contact person is allowed to buy tickets for your group. (huh?)This makes no sense.


• Be sure to state that you are interested in going to a school performance or you may have problems with them finding that the performance exists.

I will, however, say that I was generally treated politely by the staff, even when I was getting quite frustrated with this particular woman's ignorance.

All in all, I expect us to have a great time on Thursday. I'll let you know after!

new photos

If you have already read my previous posts, you might like to look again to see the pictures I've added. Unfortunately, I have to get photos the long way by using my trusty Pentax K 1000, not a digital camera, so they take longer than the writing. Still, have a look! I think they're worth the wait.

Petco Pet Store

Hello there! Another field trip today; this time to Petco pet store in North Canton, Ohio.
I had set up this field trip through the Field Trip Factory online, which was very easy to do. Their website is very helpful and has many extras to go with the trips. They offer a few in our area. In the past, I have been disappointed in the educational value of the trips they sponsored. However, today's trip was an exception.
The tour leader was friendly and seemed to enjoy leading the kids around and teaching them about the animals. All of the staff in the store really seemed to enjoy the animals they were working with. They also were quite knowledgeable about the animals they were caring for. There was a lot of information given to the children as we roamed from one department to another, but with plenty of time for the children to explore, touch and enjoy each of the animals there. They were able to personally pet (not hold, for safety's sake) a ferret, a chinchilla, a lizard and a puppy. They were introduced to a number of different types of fish, hermit crabs, other reptiles & amphibians, and after an interesting introduction, a Moluccan cockatoo, who was great fun to watch.
I was pleased to hear that Petco has agreed to not sell this bird to anyone but an employee or someone with extensive knowledge of how to care for the bird. I personally have some issues with how these and other exotic birds are stolen from the wild, but Petco has recently made an agreement not to sell any more large birds like this one. I found this article about it. Animals that are bred to be pets are one thing, but stolen from the wild just doesn't seem right.

Anyway, the children had a wonderful time. The staff at the store seemed genuinely happy to have us there. Even my little one was able to join in a bit petting the puppy. I highly recommend it.