Do you have a bucket list?
We are developing one about Ontario at the moment, trying to see some of
the highlights within our region.
We started getting serious about it a couple of weeks ago,
and went to Sudbury for 2 days.
Sudbury, you ask? The city is
home to two fascinating museums, one called Science North, and the other called
Dynamic Earth.
We spent a full day at Science North, much to our surprise,
because there were so many things to see and do. One could argue that Science North is for
children, because there are so many ways they can interact with the
displays. On the other hand, some of us
seniors held our own in getting to do things.
One of the first displays we saw was a 4-D display on
firefighting wildfires. Yeah, we had the
screen and the special glasses, which gave us a terrific 3-D picture. Then, our seats shook as the water bomber
took off to deliver a load of water, raindrops fell on us as the load was
delivered, and mist arose when we were following the groundfighters into the
smoky forest. Wow! What a bag of fun!
Most displays had information explaining natural forces and
then opportunities to see how they worked.
Doesn’t this remind you of playing at the curbs after a rainstorm?
They had an excellent bug museum where everyone was
encouraged to hold the insects and spiders.
In addition, a butterfly museum challenged photographers to
try and catch the insect on the wing.
A collector’s trading place allowed kids to bring in
whatever rocks, insects, pressed plants, etc. they had collected to earn
points. Those points could be used to “purchase”
other collectables. The rock samples
were to die for—I almost came home to get mine to trade in. Staff helped a collector to use the library
provided to correctly identify their samples, and points were awarded not only
on the relative rarity of the sample but the knowledge of the collector as
well.
As you went up the stairs to the topmost level, a huge
dinosaur skeleton hung overhead.
The topmost floor was dedicated to space (naturally) and
participants had the opportunity to participate in a gyroscope that trained astronauts
on their new orientation to different perspectives. The guys toughed it out, but the women always
screamed.
The best part about Science North was there was never too
much on any one topic; there was just enough to stimulate curiosity and
interest and make us plan to come back soon to see more. (And play with the toys when the damn kids
weren’t around!)
Our second day was spent at the museum called Dynamic Earth,
but was best known as the Big Nickel.
This museum focused on mining and the history of
mining. We got a tour (merely 70 feet
underground) which depicted mining from the 1800’s to today. What I didn’t expect was all the water
dripping down the rocks (it was raining outside), and realizing how miserable
it must have been in the primitive conditions the early miners experienced. Our tour guide gave us lots of useful info.
Today’s mining mostly comprises machines underground that
could be remotely operated, and you could try your hand at it at different
points in the museum. Apparently it is
an acquired skill.
Dynamic Earth also featured fossils to some degree, and had
a special feature on sharks. The ancient
ones were BIG.
All in all, it was a wonderful Ontario adventure, and we are looking forward to the next one.
