technology museum
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
I've been told that there are some 46 museums in Ottawa, and I'm inclined to believe it. On the advice of my aunt, we took Kenny to see the Ottawa museum of Science and Technology.
The boy simply loved it. We were there for about three or four hours, and even managed to participate in a small "rocket" demonstration involving pumping air into PET bottles 1/3 filled with water -- when the pressure overcame the seal's strength, the bottle would take off. They sold these water-rocket kits at the museum's gift shop, but at $27 I think I can do better.
Running from one exhibit to the next (each would absorb him for as long as we'd let him stay), the boy was babbling with excitement. He's inclined towards vehicles and widgets and whatnot, and this museum had arranged quite a few of them in a way that worked even for our three year old. I can't recall seeing him remain that excited for such a long period. There were steam locomotives, (real) rockets, ships from various eras, cars, space craft, radars, pumps, exhibits on green technology and energy use... etc. Mari pointed out at one point that Kenny was by head-and-shoulders the smallest of the children playing with wooden and plastic pieces you could assemble into various cars. And yet he managed to complete a model despite the grasping hands of all of the bigger kids.
We did a bit more browsing through "outdoor" stores looking at things for our coming night of camping in Killarney. I've decided I'm not a fan of people bringing their animals into stores any more than I am of bringing them to work. Who wants to shop while everything smells like dog farts?
After a leisurely trip back up the Rideau to Osgoode, we had a delicious chicken dinner for which I'm very to say that Mari has asked for the recipe. My uncle was exhausted from a day of working with customs to get a glider imported to the country for a client; we traded fun stories of our dealings with customs agencies in various parts of the world. My cousin Julia, who I see about once a decade, was there for dinner, too. She's interning at a law firm before her final year of school starts next month (she's off to Vienna for a semester!). She's working very long hours and I tried to offer her thirty seconds' advice on that front. There will be two lawyers in the family.