From a soon-to-open Physics Forest to a new Mammoth exhibit, children’s museums along the West Coast are making their mark – attracting curious kids, and their fascinated parents.
Here’s what’s hot:
A phantasmagoric Physics Forest at LA’s Kidspace Museum is set to open July 12. If you hated physics in school, you’ll love it here. The exhibit defines the term interactive. Kids can launch a wire-guided bottle 30 feet into the heaves using compressed air and water, try to swing a pendulum by employing cords tipped with magnets, try out a physics-based version of tug-of-war, transform their own physical energy (there’s plenty of that) into wind power by pushing a large capstan round and round.
A new Mammoth exhibit is on display at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. The object of their affection is Lupe, a painstakingly-reconstructed replica of a Mammoth using Lupe’s actual skull, femur and pelvic fossils. To connect to the paleontologists who unearthed Lupe, kids can dig into a riverbank to find their own fossils. This is the part they love.
A place just for kids three and under to cavort. It’s called Discovery Bay, and you’ll find it at The Children’s Museum, Seattle. There’s a water wall, slides, soft sculpture climbers and a more. As for parents, they’re allowed in too.
For children just a tad older you might want to consider the Cog City exhibit. Most folks at this Seattle museum just call it the “ball room.” Balls disappear into tubes, drop down drainpipes, and ascend a pulley. The idea is to demonstrate cause and effect.
The cause of your child’s consternation just might be the perception there’s nothing new to do. The effect can be…Well, you know the answer to that one. Here’s the solution: pull the plug on the television set, toss the video games and get the kids out of the house. There’s a whole world waiting out there. These museums show just how wide it is.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: Allie_Caulfield)
