Science!

Phil and the boys went to the Lawrence Hall of Science for a day of nerding. I think it will be best to let Phil guest blog on their adventure.

After raiding Natasha's car for change for parking, we proceeded to the plaza outside the science center where the boys enjoyed playing around the DNA model, tossing coins in the fountain and climbing the fluke of a whale. We moved inside and found many fun activities just inside the door including blowers holding balls of varying size and density in the air, a game with balls on sliding rails, and a pin-wall. Zachary enjoyed pushing in little areas of pins while Alex worked to push big areas including one with a little girl on the other side working to make a pattern. oops. She didn't seem bothered but instead looked confused.



Next was the KidsLab! The 'Lab is a no-shoe area with big soft blocks, fun mirrors, and two activities involving balls. Needless to say, we only briefly visited with the mirrors and didn't touch the blocks in favor of the activities with the table-tennis balls. The first is a wall with slots where envelop sized plastic rectangles can be positioned to form ramps for the ball to roll down. The other ball activity is a big (6 foot diameter) funnel. I put Zachary in a chair so he could reach the top of the funnel while I provided balls from the bottom. Alex could get his own but also used Zachary's excess. We played at the funnel for at least twenty-five minutes. The whole time I'm thinking of the elliptical paths the balls travel, the relationship to comets and other heavenly bodies, the forces on the ball (gravity, air and surface friction) as it continues around gradually precessing to the center, the force vectors and complex mathematics describing those forces and the path traveled. Meanwhile, the boys are alternating between trying to push balls out in an attempt to collide with other balls, and simply trying to maximize the number of balls in the funnel at one time. I spared them my thoughts allowing the boys to enjoy the ball funnel for what it is; they will learn the forces and the math soon enough.



Next was fun with optics. Again, my head is full of the psychology of visual perception but I just point out the moving pictures in side the can. They had several different strips to put in the can to animate. Here, Zachary is having fun spinning the cylinder and, maybe, briefly watching a walking figure inside.


A temporary exhibit called "Grossology" was next. A talking penguin instructed visitors on the characteristics of poop and how they related to their producers. A cut away cow model mechanically demonstrated bovine digestion including burps every minute or so. A submarine-like model had animated, life-size sea creatures. Nothing particularly gross about the sea creatures unless you count sea slugs, barnacles and starfish, but they captured the boys' interests for a while as did the parascope that could be used to look around the room from inside the sub. We did have fun learning about cat hairballs as Alex moved the hairball out of the cat tummy and on to the rug - a process we are, unfortunately, somewhat familiar with.




We then move outside to an enclosed area with exhibits on earthquakes and erosion. These include big moving rocks one can stand on while they demonstrate a shearing earthquake. Our area of focus was a giant sandbox in the shade where we took some time just to chill out and play. The view from this outdoor area is impressive enough to capture the boys' attention for a few minutes:



From here, we went in, played a few math-related games inside, went to the cafeteria for a snack and a drink, and then to the store. Alex wanted a little builder kit with plastic nuts and bolts, and Zachary got a book and small musical tube. We headed to the car and the boys were asleep before we were off campus.

Overall, I was impressed with how much the Lawrence Hall of Science had for young children. I knew of the KidsLab from the Website but found many of the exhibits throughout the hall were of interest to the boys. Next time, we'll let Natasha come and join in our nerdy fun!