Adventures in the Science Museum

Last spring our SPS chapter at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities took a field trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota, where we spent a few hours wandering around in fascination, learning and relearning. We began by projecting our faces onto an astronaut helmet for the entire museum to see. Most of us pretended to be actual astronauts, while some made odd faces that were hilarious on the big screen. Soon, we split off into smaller groups, eager to explore the museum.

We learned about the physics of the human body while participating in rigorous challenges such as racing an athlete or T-rex on a horizontal screen. We high jumped to see if we could match NBA stars’ dunks, and grabbed rope as it fell to measure our reaction time. At one exhibit we tossed balls onto small rings to test our (not great) hand-eye coordination. We attempted to fit into the stomach of a brontosaurus and discovered how ecosystems are integral to the balance of the world. We ended the day in the butterfly room, learning about insects and how important they are for our environment.

This was an awesome event for our chapter. We had fun exploring all of these topics as people rather than as students ground down by problem sets. We really enjoyed the opportunity to rediscover the magic of science that first enchanted us as kids.