BAYLEE'S REQUEST

Several weeks ago Baylee, in anticipation of her upcoming tenth birthday, asked if Papa and Nana would take her to Science Works Hands-On Museum in Ashland. We agreed to take her on the Saturday before her birthday and marked our calendar. Today the three of us got into the car and headed south.

After spending two hours at Science Works, we had planned on giving Baylee some birthday cash and taking her to Barnes and Noble to spend it, since she is an avid reader. What we did not know is that Baylee has been wanting to learn guitar and that she saw a cheap one advertised at Toys-R-Us for only $29.99. We checked it out, discovered that it was not tunable, and apparently it was manufactured for little children who don't really want to learn guitar as much as pretend that they are playing guitar.

So, we asked Baylee how much money she had that she could spend on a guitar. With her saved money and additional birthday dollars, she could spend $64. We left Toys-R-Us and drove to the nearest pawn shop. We found a small guitar with a good sound on sale for $65. We bought it and Baylee is now one dollar in debt, but thrilled to be on her way toward learning guitar.

And, oh yeah, I agreed to teach her for free.

At Science Works, Baylee lifts a chair carrying her own weight using pulleys while Nana watches.

.

Papa's turn.

The three of us plus one camera inside a kaleidoscope.

Nana tries to guess the scent in one of several smell tests.

Nana does not like what she just smelled.

Baylee makes a bubble wall.

This demonstration gives the sensation of slippery or velvety hands when pressed together and rubbed through chicken wire.

Baylee investigates an indoor beehive by magnifying an image of the bees onto a television monitor.

After leaving Science Works, Toys-R-Us, and the pawn shop, we returned home for Baylee's first guitar lesson which started by learning the "D" chord.

Baylee then learns the "E" chord.

Finally, the lesson ends by learning the "A" chord. Baylee now has three chords to practice. Once she learns them, she will know all she needs to know to play and sing "You Are My King".

Lesson complete.