California Science Center

On a recent Friday night Brad asked what we had planned for the weekend. I answered, "Church on Saturday night." That was it! The entire weekend was a blank slate! After much brainstorming we decided to visit the California Science Center. Brad was happy to hang with the family, the kids excited to visit the museum, and I was rubbing my hands together as I thought of the exhibits that would mesh perfectly with our Wizard of Oz unit study! Brains, hearts, and hurricans... oh my!

The kids sure did get off easy, because I was one drive away from visiting the butcher to ask for a heart! I wanted to show the kids the four chambers and the valves and the whole thing!  I wasn't sure Kaeley, who's stomach has weakened with age, could take it, but I was sure going to try.

Instead of a spontaneous experiment involving a steak knife and heart over the kitchen table we compared the sizes of hearts of various animals. We listened to the quick rat-tat-tatting of the mouse's heart beat and the slow pounding of the elephant. We saw chambers and how much blood would be in an average child's body.

Here we contemplate why the library books tell us our brains are about the size of our two fists put together when real brains look much larger.
Have you read the Wizard of Oz? Oz ends up giving the Scarecrow a head full of pins and needles (so he's "sharp") and a fills it in with a box of bran flakes. The Scarecrow now had bran-new brains. :)

Here we pay the $2.00 to experience a hurricane.

It was a little windy and very loud for about thirty seconds. Brad was not impressed with our purchase. I saw it as an investment and a beautiful, perfect check on my unit study check list.

Kaeley is trying to cover Simon's ears with her elbows. I don't think it worked real well.

Brad had a good time at the museum, but he spent the big bucks ($2.00 a person) to see the Endeavor. The kids thought it was a cool exhibit for about five minutes. I think Brad could have spent the night.  

Gracious, did that boy need a haircut!

I think Alynna is being Nathan's pet cat.

Alynna is my future actor.

Here's where the kids get all their good looks. :) They get their sense of humor, obviously, from me.

Nathan wanted me to take a picture of him and he graced me with this masterpiece.

I can't get enough pictures of sibling love! "Pay no attention" (Get the Wizard of Oz reference? Check!) to the baby climbing over the fence. 

After several hours at the museum I was taken to the refreshing and awakening Starbucks and then we all went to church. I would say that was a day well lived!