Maryland Science Center: The touching museum
Science centers are a great place for both kids and adults, particularly families, and the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore is no different. Located directly on the water, this architecturally-funky building holds one of the oldest scientific institutions in the country, the Maryland Academy of Sciences. With dinosaurs suspended from the ceiling and lots of things for kids to touch without being scolded, the museum is a perfect way to while away an afternoon with the family.
Exhibits focus on all types of science, including dinosaurs and fossils, the human body, physics, the environment and local Maryland/ Chesapeake Bay life (where you can study the life of the famed and delicious Blue Crab).
In the “Dinosaur Mysteries” section, children can touch actual fossils, stare at 13 different full-scale dinosaurs and a recreation of the Maryland state dinosaur (the astrodon johnstoni), examine a 100 million-year-old dinosaur egg excavated in China, sit inside a recreated dinosaur nest, and watch tanks of lizzards, salamanders and frogs to show how dinosaurs evolved into today's creatures.
In the human body section, which includes “Bodylink” and “Your Body: the inside story”, visitors can perform experiments, learn about negative effects of chloresterol, and experience a large-model version of the body's day-to-day functions, which includes waking, being exposed to germs, stimulating the touch nerves, listening to the digestive system and experiencing jolts of discomfort.
Newton's Alley allows visitors to learn about the basic laws of physics and kinetic energy, create climates like that of different planets, and study how gravity relates to the planets as they orbit around the sun. Related subjects are found in other exhibits dedicated to space exploration, the David Planetarium, images from Hubble Space Telescope, and the rooftop observatory with its own computer controlled telescope.
In addition to the already educational activities, there are more offered by museum staff. Demonstrations are held throughout the day on the demonstration stage, and there are also planetarium shows held in the Davis Planetarium. The Maryland Science Center also offers overnight camp-ins for children, in which workshops, exhibit explorations, dinner and breakfast are served.
For the older crowd, the Maryland Science Center can also be rented out for private events, which can be a fun and interesting, if not educational, twist to the evening. Party-goers can dine and dance by the dinosaur bones and wander among part of the museum, and then consider bringing their kids back in the daytime the next day.
Posted by Rin-rin Yu
