THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 24, Number 36 Thursday, September 11, 2008 Science Center is Out of This World by William F. Keefe Adventure Science Center of Nashville, Tennessee It may be a little early to write August 21, 2017 -- A few yards away, the young visitor (and accom- in your Engagements Book--to make sure you don’t panying adults) can stop in the Solar System Survey. miss the next total solar eclipse. But it’s never too Here in subdued lighting the visitor can personally early to visit the Adventure Science Center in Nash- tilt and twist our Earth to explore any portion of its ville, Tennessee. surface. With scale models of the planets to watch, There may be nothing like it on earth. This center the young scientist can operate any planet’s interac- combines the best features of an amusement park, tive digital panel to learn its innermost secrets. a science classroom, a kid’s heaven, an inspirational On a separate bank of directional arrows looking experience, and a museum. like street signs, the youngster planning a space “A private, nonprofi t educational institution,” voyage can learn how far the destination is. One the center describes its mission as inspiration for sign says the Andromeda Galaxy is 2 million light youngsters, parents, and teachers toward science years from us. The Cygnus X-1 Black Hole fl oats a learning “in a fun, dynamic, and interactive envi- mere 8,000 light years away in space. ronment.” -- In the same exhibit you could check and chortle Underscore the words fun and dynamic. Write IN- over the weight you’d register on each of the plan- TERACTIVE in caps. Note some of the ways young ets. You weigh 100 pounds on Earth? On Jupiter, people can interact. the needle goes to 264. -- In the Test Bed, a simulated astronaut training -- Exploring another exhibit, those oversized pia- center, fascinated youngsters in safety harnesses no keys in the fl oor respond when you step on them. can fl oat weightless in “space”, feel what it’s like to The musician doing a little jig to play “Twinkle, walk on the moon, and go on a space walk to work twinkle, little star” is Elmo Ferguson, son-in-law on a “spacecraft.” and volunteer guide. Science Center Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 September 11, 2008 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $38 6 months $21 3 months $13 1 month $6.50 Science Center Continued from Page 1 A while later, while I’m trying to fi gure out how -- In the “Senses Safari” the youthful scientist Jupiter can be 1,000 times the size of the earth, can compare his/her own senses to the workings of Danny is moving on. He is probably following the taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing in common progress of blue moon ice cream through the human animals. digestive system. In all, Danny visited and inter- -- Making waves becomes instructive when the acted with some 20 different exhibits. How did he student learns--and sees__the kinds of waves, rate them? Three took Danny Gold Medals. among them electrical and sound. A basic display Number 1: “The I-Max was especially cool be- shows sound waves and how their frequency and cause the projector is one of only fi ve in the world wavelength determine pitch. and the other four are all in Japan. It can project 6.5 -- Depending on their school grade levels, teams billion stars all at once.” of fascinated students become Dick Tracys to solve Number 2 on Danny’s list was the fl ight simula- typical mysteries. This “Crime Scene Science” ex- tor “that actually seemed to give you the experience hibit offers a chance to work in groups: interacting of being in the space shuttle and on the moon.” by committee. As for Danny’s third choice, the Weather Tower The list of other interactive exhibits at Nashville’s wins hands and umbrellas down. “What I found Adventure Science Center could continue almost most enjoyable. was that they had lots and lots from here to Pluto. of games as you went up higher and higher. And I Consulting an Expert went to the very top--seven levels, I think.” As any teacher knows, the best way to study and Did your tour leave any indelible impressions? remember an experience like the Adventure Science “No question, yes.” You could leap in your mind Center is to enjoy it with a 13-year-old science stu- from imagined career to career, as Danny explains dent as backup. This trip, our student answered to it. You could see yourself as an astronaut, an as- the name and title of Danny Keefe, grandson. Lady tronomer, and just about everything else between Luck was smiling. engineer and dietician. Much of what he saw and Here’s what happens. While I’m falling apart experienced interactively reminded him of science with imbecile laughter, Danny and his sister Katie, classes and Chicago’s Museum of Science and In- 8, are fl oating astronaut-fashion 12 or 15 feet above dustry. the fl oor. They are also creeping up the side of a “Which exhibit would you choose for your own “spaceship” to check out what an astronaut working back yard at home--if you had the choice? Answer: in space would see: “Airlock, Hatch, Port Electrical, “It wouldn’t fi t in our back yard. So I’ll take all of and Port 4 Communications.” them.” Danny (left) and Katie Keefe make like weightless denizens of outer “Eat your hearts out, earthlings.” That might be Katie Keefe’s space. In the simulated astronaut test bed they are simulating clarion call as she scrambles, “weightless,” up the work on the space capsule that got them there. outer wall of the mockup space vehicle. THE September 11, 2008 Page 3 Anything we’ve forgotten? “Yes, the Sudekum “Now showing” in the 166-seat theater that repre- Planetarium tower is lighted up at night. Next time sents the Planetarium’s core, one production trans- we go I’ll have to see that.” fi xes audiences with an unforgettable 26 minutes of incredible sky lore. In those 26 minutes this exposi- tion on “the powerhouses of the universe” in a sense touches on all of space heavenly history. As the Center notes, “the full-dome digital pro- duction takes. .a journey through the life cycles” of the familiar stars and galaxies. Bringing the leg- ends and traditions up to date, the show in effect “explores the history of our relationship with the night sky.” The journey introduces the audience to ancient peoples who found meanings in the stars and their companions in the heavens. Some sky watchers developed systems of superstitions. As knowledge about the empyrean spread, it became possible to eliminate old legends and myths. Ghostly globes representing the earth’s planets cast an appropriately The names of some star-gazers won undying glo- eerie light in the Adventure Science Center’s Solar System Survey. Basic information on each planet is available at the touch of a button. ry. The “Stars” show not only identifi es them; their cartoon-like fi gures fl ash on the great interior dome, The Last Whinny our substitute for silver screen. Among the fi gures If any single bread-crumb trail runs through the were Copernicus, who proclaimed that the earth entire Adventure Science Center, it’s reality-based and other bodies in our universe revolved around humor. In no way or degree is safety compromised. the sun, and Galileo Galilei, whose work added But fun characterizes so many exhibits in so many proof to Copernicus’ theories. modes that the kid or adult who goes through with- The new Planetarium offers one other sky show out breaking up needs a funny-bone transplant. that was not playing during our visit. Next time, Role-playing adds instant appeal. As one exam- runs our promise to ourselves, we will make it a ple, young visitors become atoms in role-play activi- point to see “Skies over Nashville.” In the mean- ties, in that process fi nding out how atoms move dif- time, we can plan according to the Science Center’s ferently in a solid, a liquid, a gas, or plasma. considered advice: In another example, thanks to a collaboration be- “Sit back, relax, and watch the stars come out as tween the Science Center and the University School we take you on a tour of the constellations, planets of Nashville, students assigned to informal teams and other astronomical sights. This is a great op- can learn what goes into a real live wetlands sys- portunity. .” tem. They do so by going to the university’s private The 400-plus earth miles separating Northwest wetlands. Indiana from Nashville can’t make much of a dif- Yet again, cast in the roles of forensic anthropolo- ference between their night sky and ours. We might gists, student teams learn about human bones while have a little more cosmic dust.