We went in the Tower Entrance and asked how to get to the green gazebo in the main hall. The helpful guide sent us on our way. As we walked down, I saw my cousin! After hellos and hugs, we walked over to the science and technology gallery on level one, where lots of interactive exhibits kept the children entranced.
Jacob's favorite exhibit by far was the robotic arm (the "white robot" according to him). A touch screen let you type in your name and the arm would pick up wooden blocks and spell the name on a little rack. We must have played it fifteen times, using different names and words.
The arm spells "train" |
Across from the white robot was a demonstration of efficiency of maglev trains. One model train had wheels on a track, the other was supported on a cushion of air. Lucy would push the first and it would go a small distance. She would push the other and it would go all the way across! It's a great demonstration of how friction can eat up energy.
Faster! Faster! |
We tried out some other exhibits and then walked through the main hall to the Animal World, where all the stuffed animals and skeletons of animals are kept. I'd never seen a moose skeleton before which was pretty neat. Lucy loved identifying the animals--lions, snakes, sharks, etc. Dinosaurs were mixed in, too, which was lovely. Andrew, my cousin's husband who's a native Scotsman, said this hall was getting a bit dusty until the recently completed overhaul of the museum. It only reopened at the end of July this year (2011, for those reading the blog in the far distant future).
We also walked through the nearby space exhibit and saw some meteors and a thousand-year old astrolabe. Then we went upstairs to see the costume and musical instrument exhibit. Jacob and Lucy had fun playing on the demonstration instruments with their second cousin. Or is he a first cousin once removed? I still haven't figured out that complicated family tree dynamic. Maybe the museum should have an exhibit on that!
Lucy, Jacob, and Thomas enjoy this percussion instrument. |
Time's up! Also, this is much taller than the rocket would go. |
We didn't get to see everything I would have liked to, like the famous Lewis Chessmen. But that gives us an excuse to come back some day. And since the museum is free, why not?
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