The Tech brings science alive

You're a science teacher, a writer, a lover of technology, and a mom. It's Spring Break. What do you do? Something that puts it all together, of course.

For me, that meant a trip to San Jose with my two small children to take a look at The Tech Museum of Innovation. What a great investment of time!

Augmented reality inspires amazement

It all started when I offered extra credit to my students if they saw Island of Lemurs: Madagascar. I looked up where it was showing and found it at the IMAX in Sacramento and the IMAX at The Tech in San Jose. I shared this information with my students at which point one of my sixth graders informed me of the greatness that is The Tech. I looked into it and found it looked like a perfect outing with the kids. Of course, I had to go sooner rather than later as part of my initial purpose of going was to see the documentary I offered as extra credit. So onto the calendar it went! Perfect!

We arrived with enough time to spend a little time in the museum before the movie, but I knew from the moment we arrived that we would need to return to see more. The first step we took was investing in a membership. If we pay even just one more visit this year, it will have paid for itself. Additionally, the membership includes discounts at the store, at the cafe, and on IMAX movie tickets. Two other bonuses are that it included a certificate for discounts at certain San Jose restaurants AND with that membership, I will receive either free or discounted admission at tons of wonderful science museums around the world including some of my favorites here and in the Los Angeles area. The last science museum I attended was the California Science Center and it has been a few years. I love hands-on activities! So do my kids!

Look! We made an earthquake!

We explored a great variety of science things including writing binary code and "riding out" an earthquake. the kids built things and explored electricity. We also conducted music with just two swipes of our arms. CD loved that his favorite Mythbusters made on-screen appearances in an exhibit.

Track trials

The IMAX dome took my breath away. This beat any 3D experience I ever had and it was 2D in a dome! I felt immersed in the lemurs natural habitat. At one point, we felt as though we were standing at the bottom of a cliff, looking up at a small group of lemurs. We will certainly have to view another film there in the future.

The Tech offers an amazing blend of science and technology. We loved getting to DO science, live science, and experience science. We have already put a return visit on our summer activities list. We have much to learn each and every day and The Tech offers many ways to do it.