Category Archives: Kid Stuff

Cleveland, Kid Stuff

The Great Lakes Science Center Pushes the Right Buttons

story and photos by Kayte Deioma

Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, OhioIf you’re a regular reader of RainyDayTraveler.com, you might have noticed that I lean heavily toward science related museums when I am looking to get out of the rain, with or without kids. It is not because I was ever particularly good at science. It is because, like most kids, I prefer a museum where I am not only allowed, but encouraged to touch stuff. I may or may not get the underlying concept being illustrated, but I like to turn the knobs, push the buttons, move the mouse and generally play with stuff to see what it will do. My nieces and nephew are with me on this one. If it has a button to push, it’s good. If something actually happens when you push the button, even better. If we understand what happens when we push the buttons, we’re brilliant.

Derick, Becca and Sarah at the Great Lakes Science Center.The Great Lakes Science Center lets you lift a one ton car, drive a blimp, generate electricity, operate a train, be a fashion designer, play music, fly a hang glider over the grand canyon and so much more.

I went to the Great Lakes Science Center with my sister Ellie and her three children Derick, 14, Becca, 7 and Sarah, 5. I called them a month after our visit to see what really stood out in their memory.

Teamwork: Derick, Becca and Sarah create cloud formations at the GReat Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.Derick, whose first comment to me when I asked how he liked high school was “I don’t like science. We’re studying atoms.” was fascinated with the tornado exhibit, where he could create a tornado within a clear eight-foot-tall tube. The big black circle that made cloud formations that looked like smoke signals was also high on his list. “The noise volume thingamajig where you could test the decibels of noise…how many decibels your voice was….” was also interesting.

Derick tries out a recumbent bicycle at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.He spent a lot of time on the various stationary bikes. Two different models measured speed, one generated electricity. The thing that impressed him the most was that the stationary bike used to generate electricity had high-end state-of-the-art Profile Racing cranks. This is a kid who regularly takes his bike apart and puts it back together. He knows his cranks.

Derick had been to the Science Center before, but the IMAX movie, the Human Body, was new and made quite an impression. When I asked if there was anything in particular that he remembered, he commented “The giant zit did NOT have to be in the movie. That really grossed me out!” He did appreciate the lesson on reflexes though, since he could see how it related to his BMX bike riding.

 

Sarah demonstrates her talents as a weather girl at the Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, OhioBecca, seven, was partial to the outdoor playhouse. “It had the steering wheel of a boat and different colored windows and fountains. And I liked looking out of the telescope and seeing a big boat in the water.” The outdoor balcony looks out on Lake Erie and across to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“I liked being on the TV. I was on the news!” She giggled at the memory of herself as weather girl. She also enjoyed watching her big brother generate enough electricity on the stationary bike to light up the board and ring a bell. Becca has an excellent memory and remembered that she was able to balance on a skateboard-shaped balancing board for 53 seconds.

 

Becca watches as Derick creates a wall of soap bubble at the Great Lakes Science Center.“I liked the part where the ball flew up in the air and my hair too…I looked like an iguana,” she recalled of the Bernoulli Blower. “And do you remember the giant wall of bubble? Derick made it almost to the top before it broke. The light on the bubble made rainbow colors.” “I liked making pictures on the wall with our shadows when the flash went off,” she continued. “And I liked when Mom and Derick rode the bikes and Mom won.”

 

Sarah operates the MRI machine at the GReat Lakes Science Center.Five-year-old Sarah called it the Body Museum. She was as impressed as Derick with the IMAX Human Body film. Her Aunt Carol is expecting a baby and the footage of the baby being born was terribly fascinating and relevant for her, providing many days worth of questions for her mother and aunts. Outside of the IMAX Theater, Sarah mastered the art of pushing the red buttons that sent a body in and out (and in and out and in and out) of an MRI machine. She also excelled at the concept of momentum on the outdoor solo merry-go-round and enjoyed playing in the Polymer Funhouse.

Sarah learns about momentum at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.From their Mom’s perspective, the best thing about the Science Center was seeing the kids interested in and entertained by the exhibits and activities. She had half-expected her son to be a typically disinterested teenager and was amazed that even he was thoroughly engaged by the exhibits.

The Great Lakes Science Center is located at 601 Erieside Avenue, next to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at Cleveland’s North coast Harbor. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily (closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). For ticket information visit www.GreatScience.com or call (216) 694-2000. Advance tickets are available online or by calling (866) 866-4506.

 

Boston, Destination Features, Kid Stuff

Boston Duck Tours Quacking in the Rain

story and photos by Kayte Deioma

A colorful row of Boston Duck Tours' Amphibious Vehicles are parked in the rain at the "Duck Stop" in front of the Prudential Center in Boston.Boston has an abundance of great foul-weather activities, but if you have only a short time, there’s no better way to get the lay of the land on a dripping wet day than in an amphibious vehicle designed to go on land and water. In recycled military vehicles that once might have stormed the beach at Normandy, Boston Duck Tours takes you through the historical streets of downtown Boston and right into the Charles River for a waterborne view of Boston and Cambridge.

Major Groovy narrates a rainy day Boston Duck Tour on the Charles River in Boston, MAOur guide, the bearded Major Groovy, was dressed in a lavender Hawaiian shirt and crocheted lavender beret to match our hot lavender “duck.” He offered optional plastic rain ponchos to the passengers near the open back of the vehicle. Zipped-down plastic windows gave the rest of us the option of being as dry or wet as we chose to be.

We took off from the “Duck stop” in front of the Prudential Center, making our way splendidly though flooded streets that had less amphibious vehicles stopped cold. As we inched around a stalled car, Major Groovy gave us the safety drill: life jackets and throw rings on the ceiling in case anyone decides to take a dive off the duck once we hit water.

Flooded streets and a row of closed-up movie trailers on a rainy day Boston Duck Tour in Boston, MAThere was no sign of either Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon as we splashed past Boston Common but a line of closed-up movie trailers attested to the temporarily rained-out filming of their most recent movie, “The Departed.”

Major Groovy’s monologue kept us entertained with current statistics and historical facts and anecdotes as we made our way around Beantown’s major tourist attractions. He introduced us to the Suffolk County Jail, known as the “glamour slammer,” on our way to the river ramp.

Amphibious vehicles drive into the Charles River on a rainy day Duck Tour in Boston, MAWe entered the Charles River near the dam that regulates its release into the Atlantic Ocean. We got in line behind two other Ducks, one white, another chartreuse, waiting for a camouflage green Duck coming out of the River. The heavy rain was creating a stronger-than-normal current, making the sixty-year-old vehicles work harder than usual to get through the narrow channel and out into the river.

Our guide narrated our way into the water: “Throw the Duck in neutral…propeller on…wheels off…big splash coming up…we’re afloat!” Our little crowd cheered.

A rainy day Boston Duck Tour on the Charles River in Boston, MA“This thing was built in 1942. We believe that the very duck you are riding in actually hit the beach on D-day in 1944.” Major Groovy told us. “You can imagine how terrified the German troops must have been when they saw this hot lavender duck coming up out of the water driven by Major Groovy…Hey guys…peace and love man… I should have been there…could have straightened it all out.”

 

Museum of Science on the Charles River Dam from a rainy day Boston Duck Tour on the Charles River in Boston, MAThe rain was streaming down – way beyond drops by now. Clouds obscured the tops of the John Hancock and Prudential skyscrapers downtown, chopping them off at the knees. Through the veil of rain we got the waterfront view of the “glamour slammer” on the Boston side, the Museum of Science straddling the Charles River Dam, MIT on the Cambridge side, and the Esplanade Park along both banks of the river.

Massachusetts State House in the rain from the Boston Duck Tour.Back on land, we crossed the Charlestown Bridge with a view of the Bunker Hill Monument and made our way through the North End Italian neighborhood, past Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, the Old South Meeting House and several other locations along the Freedom Trail. We circled past Beacon Hill, where we saw the Cheers Pub; the old Bull & Finch Pub which inspired the TV series, finally took its name last year.

A traffic accident on our planned route sent us on a detour through Newbury Street, Boston’s version of Rodeo Drive. Major Groovy quizzed us occasionally along the way to see if we had been listening. How many Dunkin Donut shops are there in Boston proper? Who is buried at the Granary Cemetery? How much is Boston’s Big Dig highway construction project costing taxpayers? Who won the battle at Bunker Hill? Which is the oldest tavern in the country? I’m not telling. You’ll have to take a Duck Tour and ask Major Groovy.

For more information, visit www.bostonducktours.com.

Boston Duck Tours are included in the Go Boston Card.


Boston, Kid Stuff

Concrete Exploration at the Museum of Science

story and photos by Kayte Deioma

Mother and Daughter try to identify butterflies from a reference sheet in the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science, Boston, MAWith MIT and Harvard right down the street, it’s only to be expected that the Museum of Science (MOS), straddling the Charles River Dam between Boston and Cambridge, would be one of the best in the world. Between the museum’s exhibits, lunch at Puck’s (as in Wolfgang) café in the first floor dining area and a visit to the Mugar Omni IMAX Theater and the Charles Hayden Planetarium, you can stay dry all day, or even two at the MOS.

Incorporating all the sciences in one place, the MOS lets you learn about A boy builds a computer-generated fish to add to an animated scene at the Museum of Science, Boston, MAdinosaurs, electric currents, animal behavior, the brain, X-rays, the properties of light, human genomes and how a computer works – all without leaving the building. Kids can measure their own motion waves, see themselves on interactive video, create colored shadows of themselves, build and race a scale model solar car, use a computer to create an animated fish or discover the properties of flocking birds. In the Current Science and Technology Center you can check in on what’s happening at NASA or communicate with research expeditions around the world.

Get a schedule when you arrive and plan your day according to the live Zebra Butterfly in the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science, Boston, MApresentations and special exhibits you want to see. Appointments are required to visit the Butterfly Garden, where flowering plants and a steamy environment keep a vivid assortment of butterflies fluttering happily from cocoon to adulthood. A mirror on the way out lets you check yourself for hitchhikers before you exit. Don’t miss the lightning show created by the world’s largest Van de Graaff generator in the Theater of Electricity. A variety of live animal presentations, demonstrations and plays about developments in science are presented on the SA young girl builds a scale model of a solar car at the Museum of Science, Boston, MAcience Live! Stage. The 3DTheater presents 20 minute films that get you up close and personal with insects and butterflies. The Mugar Omni Theater has a five story domed IMAX screen and tilted seats that put you smack in the middle of the action. Planetarium shows introduce you to the stars and planets.

To maximize your visit and choose the exhibits that interest your family most, visit www.mos.org ahead of time for hours and prices and explore some of the museum exhibits online. Today’s schedule of live events is also posted to help with pre-planning your visit. The web site also has some virtual exhibits found only online.

The Museum of Science is included in the Go Boston Card.