What's in a Name?

Hi Kids,

A long time ago, William Shakespeare wrote "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." That's kind of an Elizabethan way of saying "It is what it is" no matter what it's called. Except I think I disagree. Miss Elaine took me to the St. Louis City Museum a few days ago.

"Hmmm. City Museum," I said to myself. "What's there? That doesn't sound very interesting."

Now that I've been, I think they called it that because they couldn't think of anything to call it that would describe it! It was full of all sorts of stuff to do, to explore, to climb on, to peek in, to make -- it was fantastic. And you never knew what you'd see around the next corner.

A lot of things were made out of stuff that other people would throw away. It's in an old shoe factory and the people who made the museum used lots of old equipment. Giant industrial coils turned into great climbing tunnels -- some kids call them "the slinkies of death!" A whole wall is made of old laboratory trays and the bannisters on the stairs are made out of old rollers from conveyor belts.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

A giant whale

A huge pipe organ

A circus school -- the man who runs it used to be a human cannonball!

Magical looking fish (you have to look hard to find me!).

A pretend alien Elvis baby

And the world's largest underpants! They're kind of hard to see because I'm sitting on a pinball machine in front of them. And those funny words above them -- "Semper ubi, sub ubi" -- Miss Elaine took Latin in high school and explained them to me -- "always where, under where." That didn't make sense until she made me say it fast ten times! (It sounds like "always wear underwear!)

What would you call a museum like this? I guess maybe City Museum isn't such a bad name.

Love,

Teddy