Cosmosphere & Prairie Dogs

We are currently in Kansas visiting family and went to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center yesterday. Their mission statement is "honoring the past and inspiring the future of space exploration."

For the week, we also have a Flat Stanley visiting us from Iowa. Here he is outside of the museum posing with an astronaut.

Here's Alexandra in a "procedure trainer." I wish I would have copied the quote about how you have to get out of there with a can opener. I got in it, and it wasn't easy getting out!

Alexandra is standing in front of a real piece of the Berlin Wall. Her Nana told her she has 2 small pieces of it and will give her a piece.

We've been to the Cosmosphere before, but I'm always so excited to see the paririe dogs right by the highway and Lowes! There's a whole town of them! You can drive pretty close to them, but they get scared when you stop to take photos. One of them immediately started a "danger" call and they all ran to their holes.

I just read on Wikipedia and remember seeing in a video about Lewis and Clark that prairie dogs are named for their habitat (prairie) and warning call which sounds similar to a dog's bark.

And, here's one doing his warning call! He was the closest to me and he must have been telling them I was a huge threat as the others all went INSIDE their holes instead of just standing in the entrance. He would not quit his alarm until I drove away and I wondered if he would sacrifice himself so he could keep warning the others. Anyway, I think they are so cute and it's neat to have them living right in town!

By the way, it is HOT!!! Flat Stanley is pointing that out, though the car actually showed a temp of 109 at one point. I'm sure thankful we have air conditioning!