Science Central, Field Trip #1...

... Three hours in the car, was it worth it?

Yeah... I'd say so!

The kids and I had a wonderful time at Science Central today! We went for a meteorology lab, but we figured since it was such a long drive we might as well make a day of it! So... for the morning we explored the exhibits!

Seth and Grace had a lot of fun going down the two story slide and measuring the amount of time it took to reach the bottom. Unfortunately, the calculator was broken, so we didn't figure out their speeds... Yeah, I could have done this with pencil and paper, but I was being lazy... Seth also had a "blast" with the rocket launcher (yeah... bad pun intended), and Grace loved using the pulleys to lift herself off the ground! The mirror exhibit was lots of fun, but I liked the one that made me skinny a whole lot more than the one that made me fat! Caleb enjoyed the climbing wall and kept posing and saying, "Mommy, take a picture of me!" I think he thought it was a huge studio prop... hehehe... He also had fun in the "littler kids" area, where there was a train table! And Ian... Oh, how he loved the water table... so much so that when I turned my back for a moment he climbed right in! He spent the rest of the day in wet pants, because I didn't have a change for him, but wow, did he ever have a good time!

All of the kids liked "the sewer"... but not in the dark... at first! It was this tunnel that they had to try to crawl through using only their senses of touch and hearing, since it was completely dark. They couldn't find their way out, which was sort of hilarious until a balloon popped somewhere and they all freaked out! And I really mean freaked out! Seth thought it was a bomb, and all three of them started screaming and crying! (By the way, we were almost the only people in the building, so there wasn't a huge audience or anything) I got one of the staff people to turn the lights on for them, and they made it out, but it took some doing to convince them it was only a balloon! After that, they went through the tunnel a few times in the light and were finally brave enough to try it again in the dark, which they did masterfully this time around!

We left for lunch, because the "food court" consisted of a couple of vending machines (not even with sandwiches, just chips, candy, and ice cream). We had to take some one way streets, which always makes me a little nervous, because I am scared I will not be able to find my way back! We found a Burger King and did, indeed, get back to Science Central. We then walked to a nearby park to eat our "picnic", which was good until the "bumblebees" decided they wanted to share. Then we picked up the rest of our food and ate while we walked back! Next time we will pack a lunch!

The lab part of the day was really fun for the kids. There were about 12-15 kids, I would say, and they all got to participate! Seth did part of the balloon popping experiment, and Grace got to demonstrate the effect of lightning! Everyone had the chance to shake thunder sticks, and then the kids did a weather forecast (which they think was actually on TV, even though I am about 103% sure it was not!)

Here are a few pics of the day:

The only really bad part was the drive home! I actually managed to navigate the one way streets without any issues, but when I went to get on the expressway, a semi truck literally ran me off the road! I have gone over this about a million times, and there was absolutely nothing I could have done differently to make the situation any better. I tried to give him the right of way... twice... while he was running into my lane. I know... for sure... that I was not in his blind spot and that he definitely saw me, because he sped up when I tried to get over, and then he decided to get into my lane (without the use of a signal, I might add). I finally had to make a split second decision about whether I wanted to be hit by the semi or go over the embankment. I, of course, chose the embankment and was, thankfully, able to stop just barely short of actually going over it. Can't say I wasn't shaking when the whole episode was over, but I was very, very grateful that we were all safe. If it hadn't been so scary, it would have been funny with the kids yelling, "Mom, how are we going to get back on the road!"

So... yeah... Science Central! Overall it was a fantastic day! This is definitely a spot we will hit again... and again!

Lisa