The TECH x Three

Emily's 6th grade class went to the Tech Museum as their first field trip of the school year.

KHA's 6th grade class

In Science, they were learning about the earth and the Tech Museum had a lab about Earthquakes. They broke up into small groups to construct structures and foundations that would withstand an earthquake.

The students had to create a structure out of popsicle sticks and glue. The structures were then put on a belt that simulated an earthquake. The one that stayed on for 10 seconds won.

Emily's group's structure. Unfortunately it was not able to stay for it's required period of time. The base was not heavy enough.

Back in 2010: Emily had her 10th birthday party at the Tech museum in this very room. All her friends each squeezed themselves into these window slots. Emily is second from the right.

TODAY:  Two years later, many, including Emily (5th from the left),  could not fit into these slots! Yes she's had pretty much the same classmates since Kindergarten!

The Tech Museum had all kinds of great hands on experiments they could freely participate in. This one was to learn how to grow jellyfish protein in bacteria. You can label your petri dish with a computer scan and when you go home, you can take your electronic ticket and look up your petri dish to see how it's grown!

The four of us squeezed into a water pod that Japan used when a tsunami hit their islands. The space was cramp for the four of us but it had a port hole on the top for air and it was supposed to float on water until help arrived. Not sure about those who are claustrophobic but if it's either life or death.. I would choose life...especially since I don't know how to swim!

Astronaut Emily

The 5 girls that I drove to the museum: Stacy, Shaleen, Emily, Anissa & Shawna

Fast forward one month... Emily's class went to the Tech Museum for the 2nd time. This time they went with the whole Middle School to see the new MythBusters Exhibit. My husband (a big MythBuster fan) did parent volunteer duties this time around so I'll let him tell you how it went.

I love the show MythBusters. A bunch of regular guys (and gal) like you and me set out to disprove common assumptions or myths, based on scientific experiments. The MythBusters Exhibit is a traveling exhibit based on the TV show, with a bunch of different stations to test many of these myths. Have you ever wondered if you get more wet by running or by walking through the rain? Or if a dropped piece of toast always hits the ground with the butter side down? Or if you could change into a costume in a phone booth? Or if flatulence is actually flammable? All these myths and more were tested on the show, and set up as testing stations here at the MythBusters Exhibit.

Can a blind man drive if given instructions by his passenger? Definitely not if they are middle schoolers from KHA!

Can a person dodge a bullet? It depends on the distance and the velocity...

Can you really hang on to a building ledge like in the movies? I could only last 42 seconds on the novice (fat) ledge, and 0.5 seconds on the expert (skinny) ledge.

Besides the MythBusters Exhibit, we also explored the rest of the Tech Museum.

When placed on the table, each object creates a sound wave that you can both hear and see visually. It varies depending on its location, orientation, and proximity to other objects. By moving the objects around, you can see and hear how the objects interact with each other.

Emily with the other girls in our car: Victoria (7th grader), Caryn, and Lily (8th grader). This exhibit projected light onto the ground. The spot where you stood would create multi-color ripples, similar to throwing a rock into a pond. The girls were trying to combine all their ripples into one giant one.

Recently Hannah's third grade class also went to the Tech Museum.. I, again, got the privilege of accompanying her this time around. Yes.. it IS a popular place for field trips!

Hannah's 3rd grade class... they are littler than Emily's class .. and it was Friday so it was free dress (no uniforms)

Hannah and her friend Sabrina also enjoyed the Lab... growing jellyfish protein in bacteria

Hannah's class got to enjoy a IMAX movie, Hubble, which ties in with their space themed curriculum. I got a jumbo tub of popcorn (which included one free refill) and feed the whole class of 16 plus parents! Pretty good deal for $7.75 huh?

Another great experience, the Earthquake Encounter..

I think we got enough of the Tech Museum for this school year... until next year...