Super Science

This morning Tab and I took the boys to the New Jersey State Museum for "Super Science Weekend," the annual science festival. Tab had taken Daniel to this festival last year, and based on that experience, he recommended that we get there early. He had found that the museum started to get pretty crowded by noon.

It turned out to be a good idea because we were practically the first guests of the first day of the Science Weekend, and the exhibitors seemed excited to see us walk through the door. They had not yet become tired and jaded.

The first display we saw as we walked into the museum was that of the Mars Society. I made the mistake of asking the fellow behind the table just what the Mars Society was. He looked as though he'd been waiting half his life for me. His eyes brightened with a fanatical gleam as he began telling me why human beings should go to Mars and how this could be accomplished using an international space station as a platform for building and launching the space craft. I listened with half an ear, all the while watching the boys as they dashed from table to table and telling them: "Be careful," and "Don't touch that!"

After I extricated myself from Mr. Mars Society, we went upstairs where we saw some geology, paleontology, and natural history exhibits. The boys especially liked looking through the microscopes at fossils. We talked to a woman who represented the largest wildlife rescue organization in the state. She showed us a baby bat and a screech owl they were nursing back to health. Nearby were representatives of the state's public health department who had an exhibit on the life cycle of the mosquito, complete with squirming larvae in a tank of water and adult mosquitos in a glass cage.

"I don't want to scare you," called out the wildlife rescue woman, jokingly, "but those guys over there can come onto your property without a warrant if they suspect you have a mosquito infestation. Talk about your men in black!"

When we had finished looking at everything in the museum, we took the shuttle bus down to the War Memorial building to see the other exhibits and an animal show.

The animal demonstration was pretty good. The naturalist brought a peregrine falcon, a red-tailed hawk, a European eagle-owl, a turkey vulture, a Burmese python, and an African pygmy hedgehog. Daniel was enthralled by the show, but the twins started to get edgy and impatient after a half hour.

Stephen's favorite exhibit at the War Memorial was staffed by middle school students, mostly girls, who helped him stack circular magnetic disks on a dowel, positive to positive and negative and negative, so that they repelled each other and appeared to float. Stephen, who always has an eye for older women, soon ducked under the table and joined the girls on their side. Another highlight was the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab exhibit. The scientist at that table was especially good at talking to the boys about electricity.

It was a fun morning, one which we all enjoyed. I hope my children take an interest in the sciences; it's all part of appreciating the world around us.

Things I Learned at the Super Science Weekend

The New Jersey state tree is the red oak.

Snakes are not only smooth, they are incredibly muscular.

When eliminating wastes, turkey vultures often position themselves so that their feces run down their legs, forming a coating that protects them from bacteria that infests their decomposing food.

Mastodon fossils have been found in every county in New Jersey.

The Mars Society guy is really lonely.

<<previous : email me : index : next>>