On this page we describe places we have been on our adventures. We will also add links so that you can virtually visit the sites.

Categories:

Science Centers, Historic Sites, National Parks, Amusement Parks, Natural History Museums, Presidential Homes, Favorite Cities, Re-enactment Locations, Miscellaneous

California:

In San Francisco our favorite science center is the Exploratorium. We think they have a particularly good youth volunteer program. The high school students did a great job of demonstrating experiments for our children.  Young people sharing their enthusiasm is naturally contagious. Also, for the teens, the ability to teach someone how to do something demonstrates mastery.  Even if the teen docents are not there, the center is enormous and diverse.  We really like the microscopes that show living samples, like a chicken embryo still developing. The web site is at:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

Santa Ana: At this Science Center we really love the bed of nails. It is just creepy to look at a bed of nails, then to lay on it without being injured.  First you lay on a plexiglass surface with thousands of holes in it, then the surface slowly moves away to leave your weight distributed on the nails, then the surface rises again and you can get off.  They also do good cow-eye dissections.

http://www.discoverycube.org/

Los Angeles: In L.A. we love the California Science Center. This one is free all the time, so you don't have to buy their family membership.  However, their membership does have benefits like free entrance to other centers and some free IMAX tickets.  Their IMAX theater is excellent. We really like the movies that show astronauts and outer space. Be careful though, it is so realistic that Ann actually gets motion sickness. They have a giant (room size) robotic doll named TESS who explains how the body keeps itself cool and regulated (homeostasis). It is entertaining and educational, though very young children are usually frightened by the giant.

http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/

San Diego: The first place we visited on our one year excursion was the Reuben H. Fleet Science Museum in San Diego. This is the museum we first joined to allow us to visit other science museums across the country. The staff were particularly friendly at this museum.  We told them that we liked to watch Star Trek, so as we left the museum one of them shouted the Vulcan phrase, “Live long and prosper”. Our six year old daughter turned and gave the Klingon alternative, “Die young and gloriously."  She delivered this completely deadpan, and it made the whole place bust up laughing.  When we returned from our trip, we visited again and sent them a letter explaining how our membership had saved us over $1,000 on entrance fees at other centers.  They quoted us in their annual report, and their membership marketing.

http://www.rhfleet.org/