Sacra-mom-ato: Rainy Sunday at Habitot

It's been a busy weekend. Yesterday it was a trip to the snow; today it was a trip to Berkeley/Oakland to visit Jeff's cousin Lisa & family and to also sneak in a visit to the children's museum in Berkeley called Habitot.

We had a great visit with Lisa and her husband Brian, who live in the Montclair area of Oakland, and met their new addition - baby Zoe. Such a beautiful, sweet baby. Her brother Zane and Eli had a lot of fun playing together.

After lunch and a little play time, we headed over to Habitot in Berkeley for more toddler fun. After tromping through the pouring rain to the museum, we were delighted to discover that it fit the toddler bill to a tee. The museum is small and easily navigable, and divided in distinct play areas. One area is a "farm" with animal puppets, a barn, and bales of hay; another is a face-painting station. There are several train tables; a room that is a store with shopping carts, plastic food, and a cafe; a room that is dedictated to painting and arts & crafts; and another room that encourages water play. There were still other areas that we didn't have a chance to explore.

Vivi loved the painting activities whereas Eli could have played with the trains for hours. After painting, Vivi went to the water play area and "bathed" different baby dolls in bathtubs, pouring water on them over and over. Both kids scooted around on the plastic vehicles and Eli and his cousin Zane climbed through the jungle-gym maze. They had so much fun.

I give Habitot 4 stars (out of 5). Lots of toddler-centered self-directed play activities, good seating for parents, and cubbies to store your things. Public parking is nearby. The place was (rainy 3-day weekend?)very crowded. Almost zoo-like. And it's also a little pricey - for the 4 of us, it was $30.

I think we'll come again, but maybe on a weekday when it's not so crowded.