Homeschool Day at Liberty Science Center

March 30th was Homeschool Day at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. (Yes, I'm a bad blogger! I'll be caught up soon. I just take waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many photos that I dread editting...) Mikro and I had never been there before, and had the fun of taking two new railroads to get there-- the PATH train and the Hudson Bergen Light Rail (which is really more like a trolley.) We met up with lots of friends from our homeschool group, and really enjoyed the day.

Near the entrance, there is a massive motorized Hoberman Sphere, which opens and closes over your head. Mikro loved that thing.





Our first stop was the Energy area, which is full of hands on activities for kids to try involving all sorts of energy. This photo shows Mikro and his friend A getting up close and personal with wind power and having a blast (Ok, bad pun, sorry...)



There was also a really cool exhibit on the Hudson River. Mikro played at dredging the shipping channel, saw fish and other critters, and demonstrated, with A, where all of us live in relation to the river. My very favorite thing was a computer simulation that showed you how the area has changed over time from billions of years ago to our times. There's a module on evolution, one on climate change, and one on continental drift. Really really amazing stuff. I admit to hogging that thing shamelessly.







Then we went to the "wonder" area, which has a collection of favorite exhibits, including a rock wall, air pressure and a demo of the speed of sound. There is also a giant sheet bubble maker, but I never could get a decent photo...







After that, it was on to Eat or Be Eaten, which showcases animals and their hunting and defensive capabilities. Really cool, though I despised the hissing cockroaches. Mikro liked the nasty things.



Then we did Infection Connection, where we designed a virus, played at diagnosing a patient, and explored the world of germs. It is only fitting that I contracted some awful kiddie plague and was sick as a dog for a week after our visit...





We went and played in the little kid area for a while, building cars and testing what happened when we changed the size of their wheels, looking at some critters, and playing with the awesome Rube Goldberg-esque machine.



We ended our day with a workshop on states of matter called "Sub-Zero" featuring liquid nitrogen experiments. Very very cool! (Gah, it must be the night of bad puns around here...)