So I finally decided to hit the Air and Space Museum and although it was super interesting, I have to go back as there is so many things to look at and read and learn but with the amount of kids running around that place, I could not stand it for very long. And the fountain at the Sculpture Garden was beckoning since it was a gorgeous day.
Going to a museum with me can be an adventure in and of itself. One of these days I wish to audiotape the entire going as some of the discussions that I have with the wonderful people who go with me or some of the questions that come to mind when at the museum are some of the most profound, awe-inspiring, first world problem questions that should be on everyone's mind. Seriously. If people do not think these questions, they are living a sad, sheltered life. I really do not know how to tell you about the air and space museum as seriously, there are a lot of things there to see. I really wish my brother was able to see it when they were down as he would have enjoyed it and probably could have explained somethings to me that I would have liked to know more about. So I shall tell you all about Riya and mine conversations at the museum as that is probably the best part out of everything. Riya's expression when she saw these missiles: "now I can see why people were worried about these things".
Okay so this picture is that of a 'hands on' activity that would mimic a supersonic boom, or air tunnel, or something of the nature. Not at all what it really was. So I pushed the button that was supposed to show whatever the bloody thing was supposed to do. Oh, what it did was cause me to have a heartattack and almost pop out my hip. I hit the button and this loud stream of air went through the exhibit but the noise it made was huge, something I and Riya were very unprepared for. I jumped back, Riya clutched the railing (maybe because I jumped into her) and we both kind of gave a scream. Once we regained our footing, we turned around and there were children there, just looking at us, like we had grown 2 heads. This 'hands on' activity is certainly not for the weak hearted.
I also made something a 'hands on' activity, although I think it was not meant for that. Okay, I do not think it was, I know it was not a hands on activity, but it was still fun to make it so. In the kids section, they were being taught the different aspects of fight - force, thrust, motion, etc etc. We got down to this section and I thought it was to show the way that thrust works, so I pushed the table along the path thingy. That is when Riya kindly pointed out that the table was probably what the workers used to do their demonstration and the table itself was not the demonstration. All I can say is 1) yes folks, I am a graduate student and 2) it would have been a lot funnier if I took out a child when I pushed the table to show them how velocity and thrust work together to show what flight is.
As we continued on, we got onto the topic of whether or not a person could catch a meteorite and what would happen in that case. I was posing the question of catching one in your hand. Or maybe it was a comet. Not sure if there is a huge difference between the two but whatever. I was thinking that the only thing that could happen was it would take a person's hand off but the person would still live. Riya thinks that you would die if you tried to catch one, probably because it is coming down so fast, you wouldn't actually be able to time it properly to catch it and it would hit your body and kill you that way. I still don't know and I should google whether or not a person can survive trying to catch a comet or a meteorite.
Another conversation we had was about Mars as apparently people can start buying tickets, one way tickets mind you, up to Mars to live there. Now, I would like to talk to these people who are buying the tickets as I would think something isn't right in the head. My theory is that they are sending up all the people who cannot be rehabilitated or are a drain to society. I mean, honestly, how long can people survive up there? What do they really know about Mars?? I would say not enough to make it a second Earth. Then I asked the wonderful question "why Mars? Wouldn't mercury be the better planet" Riya, knowing exactly where this was going, got me to explain my theory. I told her that Mercury was closest to earth than Mars so wouldn't it be more sustainable? You know the nmemonic that we learned in school 'many very early men jump stumps until nearly play down'. Well I always mixed up the two M's and I did so again this time around. Which doesn't make any sense. If a child was trying to learn, they would think that Many would be Mars because of the Ma's and Men would be Mercury because of the Me's. Totally not the case. I wonder how I ever learned them in the first place but then it dawned on me that I didn't really learn it, apparently. What the hell did we learn in school back in the day???
Anywho, I am pretty sure I will be heading back there, maybe on a day that the sun isn't beckoning me so that I can read more and try to learn more about the solar system and air and space since I am clearly very not smart at any of it. But a very interesting place indeed.
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