A Day At COSI

On Friday, since there was no school, and both Lady Nottaguy-TYG and I had the day off, We made a trip to COSI (the Center Of Science & Industry). We weren't the only ones who had that idea. After a 30 minute wait to purchase tickets to get in, we went to see what all we could find.

When "Lady Lemon" & "The Ogre" were kids, we took them quite a bit. That was at the old location. They moved about 10 years or so ago, and I have been there only once since. Lady Nottaguy-TYG had never been to the new location.

Anyone who had ever been there before knows that are many hands-on activities for those of all ages. When it is crowded like it was Friday, you have to wait your turn to do the activity before you. In the Space exploration area, "The Boy" landed a lunar module on the moon, captured the Hubble telescope in the space shuttle, and flew a space ship using the expelled fuel to direct it.

We then went to the "Life & Body" exhibits. There were many hands-on displays about the body and how it works. "The Boy" seeing an empty kiosk, made a beeline for it, seeing that he didn't have to wait for it.

I was a few steps behind him, so I was able to see the name on the exhibit. I chuckled to myself, a thought "This is a place for learning. I'm going to keep my mouth shut." When I got to the kiosk, "The Boy" was already seated and had his hand on what appeared to be a rather large computer mouse. His hands were twitching in anticipation of beginning this learning activity. He touched the screen where it said "Touch screen here to begin". The instruction then came up on the screen on how to self examine yourself for breast cancer.

It took a moment for the idea to sink into his head just what this activity was. Then there was the moment of revelation. His eyes got as big as saucers. He jumped back from the screen and let go of "the computer mouse" when he realized what it was like it was on fire. "EWW YUCK", he exclaimed. I nearly busted a gut in laughter.

We also went on an adventure where you had to go through mazes and "perilous" situations (ala Indiana Jones") to find statues and inscriptions & clues to solve an archaeological puzzle. There were a few moments of frustration, but with the help of the COSI guides, we were able to find all the clues. Finding the clues was more fun that solving the puzzle at the end. I won't ruin it for you, you'll have to experience it yourself.


After lunch ($$$$), We checked out the gecko exhibit. I never knew there were as many types of geckos as there are. "The Girl" had to look in every display to find them. If you picked her up to see them, she wanted "DOWN". If you didn't pick her up, she fussed because she couldn't see.


We then went to the oceans exhibit. It was a plethora of hands-on water activities. I tried to keep "The Girl" interested in the grated sidewalk that randomly squirted water out different openings. There was opportunity for her to be absolutely drenched by the time we left there.


We had little time left, so Lady Nottaguy-TYG went to check out membership while I took the young'uns to places we hadn't been to yet. I had to hoist "The Girl" onto my shoulders. She was none too happy. When we got to the street of yesteryear (it's a lot like the old one but the similarities are different) "The Boy" was fascinated. The 1868 street was fun for him, but when we turned the corner into 1962, he flipped out.


There were things he was vaguely familiar with, but now he was able to see in real life. The dial telephones were a riot to him. Each one spoke to you when you picked it up. There was a working pinball machine that cost 10 cents to play. "The Girl" had to get down to sit in the spaceship ride. Both were fascinated with the old phone booth like the one Superman used to change in. They loved the Hula hoops.









We had a few minutes before closing, so we went over to Gadgets. We watched two robots doing a disco dance. "The Boy" found a catapult that lobbed balls onto a wall that looked liked a configuration of mazes, whirligigs & sprockets. The all moved when hit. "The girl" busied herself chasing down the balls. I got a text from my wife saying that it was closing time and we needed to leave.





Before we even made it out of the parking lot, "The Girl" was asleep. She was plumb wore out.