and now for a little physical science

We took advantage of a rainy day and rounded out our week of science with a visit to the CT Science Center for a little physical science, to balance out all the natural science (apple festival, mountain hike) and marine biology (aquarium) that we got this past week. So off to Hartford we headed! First thing we learned about was weather (I figured it was apt, given the view out the window).


Then the kids created and recorded their own weather forecasts. (Here's J -- his clear broadcast attracted several science center workers, who all complimented him on his speaking skills.)









Zoo Boy studies an electronic book about the CT River Valley while J and I viewed footage of the same valley taken from a helicopter. Next came a bit more study of our local geography.





Then it was off to the robot exhibit, where J played with laser puzzles and constructed robots, while Zoo Boy and I played a game of chess (his understanding of the game blew me away, and although I ultimately beat him, he held his own pretty well, capturing my Queen early in the game!).

We saw one of the museum's amazing 3-D movies, on Aeronautics. Now, other than the incredible special effects, I though the movie was a snore (and made a few snores myself, I fell asleep during it!), but the kids absolutely loved it. It was very technical, and all about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (which is in production now). Lost me for sure, but the kids were really into it. Afterwards we headed straight to the Forces of Motion exhibit and the kids spent the rest of our visit designing helicopters and other flying machines and launching them on the air table.

What a fun (and educational!) week! Isn't homeschooling great?!?!