A DAY AT THE OMSI

Armed with a season pass to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), I joined the Weathersbys for a full day of educational enjoyment.  This is a place where the kids don't require adults to entertain them and in fact, if the adults were to disappear, the kids would likely not even notice.

The OMSI provides hour after hour of interactive displays.  We arrived there when they opened at 9:30 am and stayed until everyone was worn out, about 2:30 pm.

Then we returned to the Weathersby home, spent an hour of either down time or napping, ate at Arctic Circle, where wealthy people eat, and finally returned to the house where we ate ice cream and watched the movie, Annie.

Bethany, Devon, Silas and Naomi lead the pack from the parking lot to the OMSI.

Tyler tries to catch up.

Since we arrived about five minutes before the doors opened, Tim and Tyler killed some time while waiting in line.

Devon took me to a display that showed us on a screen, with the image based on temperature.  The refrigerated block appears dark, first when Devon touched it to my head, and then when he touched it to his own head.

Naomi and Devon operate cranes that lift and move plastic balls using suction.

Bethany and Tyler transport and launch rubber balls using air flow.

Naomi takes a picture of the previous two generations.

Tyler and I take the escalator to the next level.

Around noon, we took a break, stepped outside, and ate lunch by the river.  
Devon eats his sandwich while perched upon a rail.

Naomi dines with her back against the brick OMSI building.

The 10-second video below shows what happens when Tim creates static electricity by cranking a handle while Silas touches an attached metal ball with one hand and holds some small aluminum pans in the other. (Click play tab).

That pretty much wrapped up the bulk of our day.