Our first visit (you can read about it here) was last July - a day that was unexpectedly crowded. It seemed every day camp in the Philadelphia area had a field trip scheduled the day we visited, not to mention the five friends and two moms who joined us there. This time, it was significantly less crowded, which made for a much more enjoyable visit.
There were several areas of the museum we missed the first time around, including The Franklin Airshow, which does a nice job teaching about the principles of flight. We were able to sit in the cockpit of an Air Force plane, learn about the Bernoulli principle, try out wings in a wind tunnel, use wind to lift bottles and balls, and fly a simulated kite using two pulleys. 
One thing I miss... when taking trips to the Franklin Institute when I was young, there used to be a plane outside the building that you could walk through. That would have been fun. But, that's still available at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, so perhaps we'll have to plan a trip there again this summer... |
| Flying the kite! |
The Giant Heart is also a favorite exhibit... though we were terribly disappointed that the 'scale' that lets us know how much blood we have in our bodies wasn't working. Individually, we each had six cups. Together? Six cups.
Instead, we rode bikes. We listened to noises to see how they might affect our heart rate - screaming making it go up, calm sounds keeping it low. And we went through the heart. Several times. I never grow tired of this part of the museum!
We went into the train room long enough to ride the Baldwin 60000. Matt and Cathy were the only kids on the train and so they were able to 'drive' it. Matt was the engineer, while Cathy was the fire person. We also caught a show in the planetarium about black holes while we were downstairs. It was not the best choice for the kids... so if you have little ones under eight, I'd say skip this one and look for one that focuses on constellations instead.
Another highlight was being able to play more in the sports room... someplace that was just too crowded last time around. The kids raced wheelchairs, pitched balls, scored soccer goals, surfed, climbed a rock wall, tested their reflexes in starting a drag racing car, and compared their vertical leap to NBA players (we all stink in comparison).Cathy even posed with her favorite baseball player!
One last highlight - also a new room for us was Sir Isaac's Loft. Cool optical illusions, and the contraption below. Something that reminds me of the lobby down at CHOP (a place I am happy to say I don't miss at all!!!) and that both Matt and Cathy seem drawn to whenever we see one.
Overall, a fun day. We stayed until closing and then hit the road for points south. We stopped in Wilmington for dinner - now the kids can say they've been in DE - and then drove on to our hotel in Baltimore.
Next up: The Maryland Science Center
No comments:
Post a Comment