Trip to COSI

I'm finally getting around to posting the slide show from our trip to COSI, as promised! You might wonder why I'm not at church right now, and the reason is that today is LIFE Group Sunday. So that's that.

Well, I suppose I just thought that a little explanation of the photos was required for those of you unfamiliar with our Center of Science and Industry. COSI unveils new exhibits periodically and yesterday we went to the opening of the new Einstein exhibition which, I must say, was terribly overrated in my opinion. Fascinating for an adult, perhaps, but not nearly the draw for children that we're accustomed to. Much of the exhibit consisted of photos of Einstein simply blown up to tremendous proportions and plastered to the walls, and reproductions of many of his theories, written in his own hand, again blown up so as to be legible and fixed to the walls. There were very few interactive elements, which is perhaps why our visit took the turn that it did. You see, anyone who knows us knows we are, in large part, creatures of habit and we tend to visit the same areas over and over again (Space and Ocean are particular favorites). But yesterday, our disinterest in the Einstein exhibition led us to explore areas we had never previously visited in the past.

While still in the Einstein exhibition, an employee came in and announced that the "Einstein Show" would be starting in five minutes on the "Life Stage." Intrigued, I suggested to the fam that we check it out and everyone was amenable to my suggestion so we hoofed it up to the 2nd floor. I have to say, the show itself was not the greatest I've ever seen--one "actor/employee" seemed committed to his role as the comic relief and did elicit several laughs from the audience, but watching the other "actor/employee" who, sadly, was playing the pivotal role of Einstein, was about as exciting as watching grass grow. I have to admit, I pitied the guy who was trying so hard to make the kids laugh because a lot of his humor went right over their heads, but he was all grins at the end of the show when my kids (why is it always MY kids?) expressed their appreciation by repeating OVER AND OVER the punchline to one of his jokes (I could try to re-tell it here but trust me, it would fall flatter than a pancake). You could tell it made him happy to have made them laugh.

After the Einstein Show ended, we remained in the Life area, a section of COSI we had never previously set foot in. It was, in a word, creepy. Disgusting, revolting, occasionally surprising--probably not the sort of description the COSI benefactors are hoping for! The organ you see Tyler and Sawyer playing consisted of nothing more than the sound of bodily functions being emitted when you pressed the keys (I would list a few examples but it still makes my stomach turn thinking about it!). Ugh. There was also a very detailed exhibit with video instructing the viewer on the correct way to check for testicular cancer. Are you kidding me??! Sure, good info to know, but does a small child need a close-up of . . . well, let's just say my ten-year-old son was appalled! "Mom, why in the world would they show a video of a naked man?" Why, indeed. I quickly ushered him away and got absolutely NO resistance from him! Double ugh.

Sorry I don't have a better picture of "Rat Basketball." It was exactly what your mind conjured when you read the caption--we watched two rats "play basketball." The trainers begin when the rats are about six weeks old and use tiny bits of Cheerios to motivate them to drop their tiny ball (actually, the discarded ball from a deodorant roll) through the hoop. We cheered for Louise while the other side of the room urged on Thelma (yes, that's right--Thelma and Louise, just like the movie). Unfortunately for us, Thelma was not only a ball hog but she was also very domineering so Louise never stood a chance. She (Thelma) would grab the ball away from Louise, sink her shot and then hover over the ball in the corner, waiting for her Cheerio snack. Louise mostly just sniffed herself.

I guess most of the other photos are fairly straightforward. In the Space area, there is a model of a space shuttle that you can sit in and it simulates a ride in space (albeit a very short ride). There are lots of buttons and switches and lights, and it's just a cute little one-minute flight. Oh, I might perhaps need to explain "Sound Spot." There IS a really cool new area that is quickly becoming one of our favorites that is sort of like a TV studio. You can be on either side of the camera, and our kids will literally spend an hour in this section of COSI. The spot that Peyton is about to jump on is just outside the studio, and is one of about eight spots scattered around that makes a different sound when you jump on it. I just thought it was cool that I actually caught her in mid-jump!

As for the "Pixels," that's sort of a cool board with all these plastic rods that you can plant your hands or face (anything, really) in and the form is pressed out on the other side. If you notice, in "Pixels 1" Sawyer's hands are down at the bottom, and in "Pixels 2" if you look carefully, you can see the image of his hands. Kids have more fun pushing the pixels back and forth so it's hard to make an impression that lasts for more than a second or two before being crushed into oblivion, but the kids love it!