Play and Learn at the Detroit Science Center! – Educational Solar Energy Plans

A Summary
My Aunt was watching her 4 grand-kids all summer and we were trying our best to give them modern things to do. On a Sunday in June 2006, we took them to the Detroit Science Center because it sounded like fun and none of us had ever been there so we wanted to check it out. It turned out to be a fun day but you should read my review if you want to really know what to expect. Note that attractions change overtime but the basic premise should be the same. I strongly suggest checking the website and calling ahead to verify times and attractions – then plot your itinerary in advance. There is a lot to do and you wouldn’t want to miss anything. Delight in!

Attraction 1: PLANETARIUM
There are different shows at the planetarium that run during scheduled times throughout the day. If you get tickets, you will come by tickets to a specific time and you should be there at least 5 minutes before if you want excellent seats. The Planetarium is small and probably seats about 50 people, maybe a small more. You sit relieve slightly as the “screen” is in a dome shape above, in front of, and to the sides of you.

We saw Wonders of the Universe which started by showing the 7 wonders of our solar system and then 7 wonders of the universe. The content was very scientific but fascinating and cool at the same time. I won’t remember any of the words from the expose but I do remember things like Saturn’s Rings are made out of lots of pieces of rock and they are not solid… who knew! Ok, maybe some people knew that but I sure didn’t. Another fascinating fact is that Jupiter is constantly in storms! The images were titanic although sometimes they didn’t leave things on the screen long enough for you to really see it. I guess that’s what happens when you try to problem 14 radiant wonders into 45 minutes. I loved this and it makes me really want to go to other planetariums (like the one in Chicago) whenever I can.

The kids… well two of them fell asleep but they did fetch up really early that morning so that might have been why!

Attraction 2: ROBOTS
This small demonstrate is 90% based on the movie Robots with a few others thrown in. Their are many displays of life-size robots for your kids to take pictures with. Inside, there are tools for kids to build a robot, 2 domino tables that try to teach you to do a domino carry out type thing, and a robot arm that you can control and try to get it to stack up some shapes. There may be more interaction but these were the three things the kids seemed to go to. I loved watching the chess playing robot! Although I was curious how it could play against itself. The present was smaller than I anticipated given all the hype on the local tv stations. You can walk it in just a few minutes if you don’t read anything! If you have the time, meander with your kids and read the history of robots… if not, play with a few things and fade on.

The kids loved this and had fun playing with the dominoes the most. We went all the way to Detroit to play with dominoes. Now I know what to derive them for Christmas!

Attraction 3: IMAX DOME
The IMAX Dome is very similar to the planetarium except here you will watch movies or documentaries. These are also accelerate on a schedule and you should check the website to make your plans. We saw BUGS! It was cute, and the rounded screen really made it look cool. You may have been to the IMAX, but the Dome is a completely different experience. The regular IMAX is larger than life, loud, and visually awesome. The IMAX Dome is large, loudish and visually makes you feel like you were in the movie. It’s relaxing since you are sitting back and I imagine that anything you see there would be unique and fascinating.

Attraction 4: SPACE Share 1 AND 2
The Space exhibit started out on the 4th floor. There are only a few interactive areas, and some were closed because it was Sunday, but overall there’s a lot of movies/reading so you can learn the history of going to area and being in space. The kids seemed to loved the infrared sensor camera that showed where your hot/cool zones were. There was also a scale to survey what you weigh on the moon. There were also some spinning chairs that showed the complications of trying to twist gadgets in residence. Finally, there was a spinning bike thing that was closed but I could tell the kids really wanted to net in there. Too terrible not everything is running on Sunday!

Down on Level 2 we went on to the second half of the Space exhibit. It had a few videos to ogle but the main attraction here was a circular room surrounded by video screens where every so often a space show starts. By this time the kids were movied out so they finished up playing on the moon shaped chairs more than watching it! I’m not even sure what it was about. I guess you can watch too many learning movies in one day.

Fun For All: LEVEL 2
If you only want to pay for General Admission, there are a few fun things to do. The kids loved all the musical stuff, such as a harp without strings that works on lasers. The Jam room (I reckon that’s what it was called) was a huge hit where you could play the electric drums or two guitars and be on TV as well as make a fun light indicate. It’s a cool small room because a few people can sit in there with you to watch.

On DaimlerChrysler Science Stage we saw PAPA LUIGI’S PIZZA QUANDARY. We didn’t watch the whole thing because it wasn’t in our time limits, but the kids did seem intrigued by it. It is two actors with an entire pizza shop set up… then they work with fractions to try and choose what fraction of a pizza to make. The actors were entertaining and the kids sitting in the audience, as well as the kids we were with, really seemed to delight in it. Trick them into learning, that’s what I always say.

Finally part of level 3 and most of level 2 are full of interactive gadgets and items to learn science. Everything is set up with a brochure attached that says what you should do. Like “TRY turning on the light and see what happens” then “LEARN that the water moves as it heats up”. Each item has a Try, Learn and some additional info so your kids can learn something fresh, even if they don’t memorize it. I found that as an adult, I have a distinguished shorter attention span and didn’t feel like reading – I just wanted to figure it out for myself! The kids did read and they were more fervent in getting the help to see what was supposed to happen. My favorite toy in this place was the tornado which was a small tornado lawful in front of you. The problem was that kids would constantly place their hands in there which stopped the tornado and really ticked me off! We were trying to take pictures with it because it was so cool and some random slight brat would come up and stop it. At least I got one picture that was cool. The lesson is that we should have checked this out earlier because between 12-2 there were not many people on Level 2 but later in the afternoon it was packed. Get there early as you can!

There was more interactive lessons that we didn’t get involved in, like a butterfly coloring table and some science learning table on level 3. We honest didn’t have the patience to wait for these things – especially since we had all of the above that we really plotted to see. It looks like even with General Admission you can accept plenty to do to spend a few hours, but the Robots show is so prominent that your kids will want to go in there if that exhibit is still showing.

Stuff that wasn’t open
I don’t know if this stuff was closed because it was a Sunday or what, but we saw other areas that were closed. They had signs saying “Next Indicate in” but the time was blank and the doors were locked. These are some other things I wanted to see – so call them before going if you are interested too! These things are FREE with your general admission and do not require a separate cost.

-DTE Energy Sparks Theatre – From the website: “Our ‘spark-tacular’ performances demonstrate how electricity affects the world, and how electricity and magnetism interact with matter.” That sounds fun! I remember doing something like that at another Science Center when I was a kid and I know the kids would have loved this. Too terrible it wasn’t open!

There were a few other things we saw that were closed but I can’t buy what they were for.

Food and Drink
After the first 2 attractions, we were all a small hungry. The snack counter had enough choices to have lunch there, but instead we all had a soft pretzel or corn dog. I can’t comment on the prices since I didn’t pay for any of it so you may want to check that out before going. I bought a soda from the vending machine for $1.25 which is about the same as every soda machine around here. There is a cafeteria style area where your whole group can eat.

The unfamiliar thing is that even though they sell water, food and drinks, you aren’t allowed to bring any of these into the attractions. We were questioned to either throw away or plot down our water bottles when going into each thing. It made me wonder what would happen if you chose to bring a bagged lunch instead of buying. I contemplate if they are going to make you set aside your water and food, they should at least have an area set up for that outside of each attraction instead of asking you to achieve it on the ground. You may want to just carry a nice sized tote bag where you could screen the water and snacks and then you wouldn’t have to worry about it. They only pay attention to what is visible.

Pricing
We saw 4 exhibits as well as played around on floor 2 which is open to all. This is supposed to cost 18.95 per adult and 14.95 for children. But we went on a Sunday with 5 adults and 4 kids and they charged us less than 90$. We didn’t demand it but assumed there was discounted pricing perhaps because it was Sunday. If you are plotting a visit, give them a call and question about any discounted days!! You never know what kind of deals they are offering.

Prices are cheaper if you want to see fewer exhibits, but we figured if we were going all the way downtown that we should make the most of it. You can also do “general admission” but then you wouldn’t collect to see attractions 1-4 that I listed above…so what’s the point? For a full price chart, visit this link: http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/plotting/tickets.htm

For Who?
There are many places I would go as an adult even though they are meant for kids. This isn’t one of them. I had fun watching the kids learn and play, but I wouldn’t come here alone with just adults because it wouldn’t be as entertaining. I did play with a lot of the items, but I wouldn’t have felt as comfortable if we didn’t have kids in our group. I don’t contemplate this is for the very young (6 and under) but instead for school-aged children. There is a lot of reading and listening needed in order to learn anything. The kids I was with were 8-12 and although they may not reckon they were learning, I’m positive some of it stuck with them because they were having fun playing with all the different things. It’s a hands-on environment so make sure you only bring kids who are traditional enough to read and figure things out on their own.

Conclusion and Links
If you are going to be in the Detroit Area and are looking for something educational and fun for your kids, the Detroit Science Center is the place. The DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) is very nearby if you wanted to visit that also, but I speak from experience when I say the DIA is dull for kids. The Science Center is designed to expand your kids minds and teach them through fun demonstrations to trick them into learning! I usually don’t go to downtown Detroit unless I have a excellent reason and the Science Center turned out to be a fantastic reason. So grab a group of kids and an equal or greater number of adults and get there this summer!

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Play and Learn at the Detroit Science Center! – Educational Solar Energy Plans

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