When your 2 year old has been constantly asking to go to a “bathtub museum” you get your museum educator brain going and figure out what might fill that need.

Sure, lots of museums have A bathtub on display….but if she is asking for a bathtub museum I envision lots of them in all different shapes and sizes.

Which is how we found ourselves at a “bath and tile showroom” one cold Saturday. We looked at colors, shapes and patterns in the tile. We counted bathtubs and showers and she and her brother climbed in and out (with permission) of tubs of all sizes to her extreme delight.

It may not have looked much like a museum visit,  but it filled the need. The object she wanted to see was the centerpiece and we experienced it “in real life” in many forms and variations.

It was a good reminder that museum visits don’t have a certain “look” it is all about the exploration that goes on and the chance to get up close and personal with an object, a concept, a theme and ideas.