Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

Another thing I like at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is the Whisper Dishes (one dish pictured above…there are two dishes placed at opposite sides of the room). It is part of their permanent exhibit called, “Look! Touch! Listen!” People can talk to others by sitting next to one dish, while someone sits at the other. What they say to each other can be heard clearly even though they are 50 feet away from one another and using their usual tone of voice.

From when I went here several months ago, the Gallery of Illusions and Perceptions wasn’t there yet. The website says that it’s a permanent exhibit though, so I think it is new. One of my favorite things at this exhibit is Velvet Hands (pictured above). It is wire disks that give people a velvety sensation on their hands when they put the wires between their palms and move their hands around. There is also something similar to this at the California Science Center. I think people who love texture would really like Velvet Hands too…

I’ve been to this place a couple of times several years ago. Once was during an elementary school field trip…I remember that there was a lot of hands on experiments and we watched a show in the Planetarium (I thought it was the coolest thing ever!). I think the Planetarium also shows IMAX movies now, but there aren’t many movie options to choose from. Another time I went during a free museum Tuesday and I remember doing a lot of interactive things there too. I recently went there again about a month ago and the hands on aspect was still there! I enjoyed the museum as a kid and I still enjoy it today.

Some of the exhibits that I saw when I went there recently was Grossology, More than Meets the Eye, and Aging for all Ages. My favorite exhibition was Grossology (April 29, 2007 is the last day to see it), which had several exhibits that show how the human body works in a kid friendly way. One exhibit had the different body smells (anus, mouth, feet, arm pit) people could smell and guess which part of the body it was. There was also a life-size Operation and a multiple choice game (questions about the body) that up to 4 people can play at a time. The multiple choice game was fun and I got a little obsessed with my score and ended up playing it about 5 times! There are many more exhibits that I didn’t mention, which I think both kids and adults (especially those who are kinesthetic learners) will enjoy very much. Click on this link if you want to know more about the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.