Saturday, June 9, 2007

The Science Museum of Virginia - Its not just science

Today, my 6 year old and I went to the Science Museum of Virginia. She is interested in sea animals and we've signed up to be Time Travellers. Its an awesome program where if you go to six places listed in the brochure, you will get a certificate signed by the Governor. My kids are totally stoked about this. Anyway, we went to the Science Museum of Virginia and it was awesome.

I haven't been there for about 6 years so it was a nice return to the museum. I have to tell you, she was thrilled with all of the hands on things to do. She discovered about space, electricity, dinosaurs, the human body, etc. She kept saying, "Mom, this is what I call Science." We started our visit by going to the IMAX theatre and watching the movie regarding the Coral Reef. It really enlightened me on how important the reefs are and how they are an intricate part of nature. K at first was totally overwhelmed by the size of the theatre. I told her it was just like going to a regular movie theatre just bigger. Once she picked out the sits and the movie began, her mouth stayed opened. She fell in love with the beauty of the coral and the bulldozer shrimp. She thought they were very cool and smart. These shrimp are near sighted so for protection from predators, these shrimp live with the "safe" fish that live in the coral. They "bull doze" all the trash and unwanted rocks from the burrow. The fish hangs out and when a predator comes, it darts into the burrow. This alerts the bulldozing shrimp and they hide in the burrow behind the fish. It was pretty cool.

We investigated all 4 floors and the next favorite of hers was going into Lab 2. Lab 2 inhabits the snakes. She got to pet a corn snake which was "way cool" and she watched them feed the snake. A frozen dead mouse that they thawed out in a cup of warm water. She intensely watched the snake eat the whole mouse and she said he must have been hungry as she can see the mouse inside of him and he was still pushing it down.

And finally, she had to watch the rats play basketball. We did this in Lab 3. The rats had a great time and she kept score. When it was over, she was there rubbing and loving the rats. This is a child who is afraid of mosquitos but she loves these things.

We did get to see the Savage Seas travelling exhibit and that was pretty awesome. They have displayed the jaws with teeth that can swallow a human whole and have plenty of room left. It reminded me of Jonah and the Whale. Many people have said that it was a tale and couldn't happen. You should check out the jaws on this fish and we can begin our debate from there.

She can't wait to go back and she said that when she gets to be a teenager, which to her is the epitome of childhood, she wants to work there. I'm glad that we got to spend some one on one time together and that she had a blast.

If you are looking for something cool to do and your tired of the latest movies and hullabaloo, I recommend spending the day at the museum. We had fun and I got souvenirs for three kids and spent under $20 so price isn't an issue.

2 Tickets to the Museum and IMAX $34
Souvenirs $17
A day with my daughter, PRICELESS.

Take Care,

Beamer 319

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