Published on WTMX Moms in the Mix- June 2015
My 4-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son, our friends (a mom and two kids of similar age) and I were so excited to see Robot Revolution at the Museum of Science and Industry. And it didn’t disappoint. But that’s just one of many entertaining and educational reasons to visit MSI this summer. There are so many interactive and interesting exhibits, we always delight in discovering new subjects and experiences. Here are our latest favorites:
We went to Flight School, upstairs in the Transportation Gallery, for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed the Ride Simulator. You can choose from several different adventures to take on your private eight-passenger trip. Our group selected the racecourse, and felt like we were driving a racecar in the best of video games. As the door closed, the kids got a little nervous, but as soon as the engine revved up, the car peeled out and started whipping around turns, there was nothing but continuous giggles. In fact, they woke up the next morning delighted from dreams of driving fast cars.
The Mirror Maze as part of the Numbers in Nature exhibit, a dark maze of mirrors that appear to go on for infinity, is both challenging and fun. I instructed my kids to put their hands out in front of them, to avoid walking directly into the wall, and to stick together. They had such a good time, they insisted on going through three times in a row.
The Toymaker 3000 exhibit has a rock wall that teaches children about climbing your way to success in business. Not only did my 6-year-old love climbing the wall, but teenagers also were taking turns and learning about the tough terrain companies face during the year one investment phase.
There were so many intriguing and engaging stations within Robot Revolution. The kids got a huge kick out of the robot soccer, where two bots play against each other with no human input. The Versaball squishy gripper, an inflated ball on a robotic arm that picks up objects by squishing them, got a lot of laughs. The kids copied a robot in a sequence that looked a lot like head, shoulders, knees and toes.
We always have a lot of fun at the Museum of Science and Industry. The best part is continuously discovering (and learning) new things. This visit, the kids couldn’t get enough of the robot soccer and ride simulator. Next time we’ll explore something new. No summer brain drain for this crew!