Wasser Museum

Yesterday Benjamin and I decided to head to the Wasser Museum
of Berlin.  Tesh's mom, Bridget, had suggested it when we first arrived but we never made it until yesterday.  First though, we had to go the BVG to get Benjamin his student bus/train pass (did I mention he is now an official JFK'er?  YAY!!!!) And the BVG is right near the awesome Indian restaurant that the 4 of us had dinner at on Sunday.  Benjamin suddenly becomes SOO hungry he can barely hold his head up. He is "STARVING. UGH!!  So, hungry!" Funny, how he wasn't at all hungry until he noticed we were so close to Indian food.  Because it was lunch time we decided to eat here for lunch.  We are creatures of habit.
After getting the student public transportation pass (by the way, Josie's monthly pass was 29 € and today they told us that there is a sibling discount so next month Benjamin's will be 29€ and Josie's will be discounted and only 18 €.  The older child's is always discounted)

Benjamin and I board a bus that takes us nearly directly to the address.  We walk by an open gated alley.  I peer in and it looks like the place but it looks like maybe back entrance?  There are no ticket takers or anything that would make me believe I was at a "museum" other than the kids happily running around and water contraptions everywhere.  There is no rhyme or reason and it looks like a mash up of a junkyard, co-op preschool, personal backyard.  I've never really seen anything like it.  There are a few shipping containers with sings on them but everything is in German and I have no idea what any of it says.  It is pretty chill - again, like someone's backyard.  There are quite a few kids running around and parents sitting around the outer perimeter.

There are two sections.  One with the large climbing contraption with chutes, ramps and buckets, pumps and tubes attached  On one side of the climbing thing is another lower contraption with tubes and pipes and an old bathtub and shower and a door frame.  Everything here has a purpose and the kids just figure it all out on their own.

No signs, no instructions, no workers or parents showing kids how to do anything.  They just intuitively figure it out. One the same side of the "museum" is a small building station where kids can use tools and supplies to build their own toy boat and there is a bike that pedals a water wheel and a large steering wheel pipe thing with tubes attached so that when you spin it the tubes fill up with water.

On the other side of the "museum" are a bunch of "stations"  There is a window/squeegee, a water carrying station, a huge plastic bag filled with water to jump on, an old toilet with chestnuts in it (that look like poop), old toilet seats that you throw sponges throw to score points, a large sponge throwing station, a pretend kitchen area with old sink.  Even the next day I'm still thinking about this place.  I honestly have never seen anything quite like it.

The only directions were a sign (with pictures so I could understand) that the blue buckets stay on one side of the "museum" and the orange buckets on the other.  Even the signs that were all in German that I though must have been directions or instructions or warnings were just simple things like "draw your favorite station and give it a name" I took photos of the signs so Marty could translate.

Benjamin figured out with this contraption that if you pump the pump it fills up the long tube of water.  You need to plug up the holes along the side.  Once the tube is filled you unplug the pluggers and the water shoots out like a sprinkler.  

There were so many very cool but simple things for kids to figure out. When Marty saw the photos he said it looks a little hillbilly.  And it was I suppose.  There were two older couples (maybe in their mid 60's) who must be the owners.  They would randomly, occasionally walk around and fill up the various buckets and stations.  Were they former science teachers or boaters?  It really seemed like a labor of love for them.  Who creates something like this?  In what looks like their huge backyard. They would sit in chairs and read the paper.  Sometimes, but very rarely would they help a child figure out one stations and what they did. I'm not sure if we will be back but the Wasser Museum was one for the books.  So cool, hillbilly and all.