The Number Field

Jenny, Elena, and Roman are spending a week in Seattle with Carrie, Matt, and their kids. I joined them for a long weekend, which we filled with fun activities and lots of time to play.

A visit to the Pacific Science Center was the centerpiece of our weekend. When we first arrived, walking through the hall of dinosaurs, Elena seemed overwhelmed by all the things to look at--she bounced from one place to another, not ever stopping long enough to take anything in. She calmed down eventually as we worked our way through the exhibits. Roman took everything in stride, not minding too much as we handed him back and forth between the four adults, depending on who was nearby and who needed to run off to chase the others.

We touched sea anemones, explored water machines, looked at snakes and lizards, and made funny shapes with our bodies against the shadow wall. All that happened before we made our way to the main attraction: the butterfly house. Jenny didn't enjoy running the gauntlet of yucky bugs before we got to the butterfly house's controlled access entrance. When we got inside, Elena wanted a butterfly to land on her but it wasn't destined to happen. I'm glad that we managed to keep her from taking matters into her own hands, because we were under strict instructions not to touch the butterflies. After we exited the butterfly house, we caught the second half of a demonstration about air. The best part was the big finish: a whirlwind of fire.

After lunch we all had a good time playing in the funhouse mirrors and learned more about the human body. For instance, I learned about my center of gravity by falling right on my nose while trying to complete one of the activities. I'm not sure if that means I have a high center of gravity or a low one, but at least everyone got a laugh out of me.

On our way home we stopped to see one more sight: the Fremont troll . The children were almost asleep, so they stayed in the car while Matt and I snapped a few pictures. It looks pretty odd, so I don't think everyone else missed out too much by not getting a closer look.