My ship is on fire and has dangerous cargo.

One of our favorite indoor places to play is in Baltimore at the Maryland Science Center. It’s got lots of fun stuff for all of us. Irresponsible science experiments, little motion exhibits, sensory exhibits, exhibits about the body. All sorts of good stuff.

I find this system bizarre. What drunken sailor decided

that these flag patterns would suggest anything
even remotely close to what they apparently
mean? Since when did blue and 

white stripes communicate imminent danger?

It was at the science center that I first learned the meaning of the word “synesthesia.”*

Here I first saw this nifty optical illusion with spinning spirals, and it was definitely funky (I experienced it while looking at my brother’s face. Whoa.). Here’s a link so you can do it online (although it’s better to have a huge one right in front of you in real life): 

http://dogfeathers.com/java/spirals.html

There’s also a kids’ room with things like a green screen, a skeleton and some x-rays, a water play area, and a Baltimore-themed section complete with a submarine, “fish” you can catch, and assorted sailing gear.

On our latest trip, Coriel particularly enjoyed being a sailor. She and a group of other children bounced around yelling things like, “Ahoy!” and “Watch out—danger!” Coriel was particularly insistent that the ship was on fire and she was going to save everyone.

Good times, baby. Good times.

*This is when one sensory experience causes a different sense to fire. For example, apparently the most common is people who experience numbers and letters as inherently having certain colors. One of the most rare is people who hear certain sounds or words and can actually taste them. Weird stuff, huh?

Hangin' with the underwater critters

Ahoy there, matey! (Har har har.)

There’s something that draws human beings to delight
in destruction, I think. Very few people watched for
more than a few seconds as this woman painstakingly
made a 12-foot tower of cups. But we gathered in droves to
see her knock it down. (And I must say it was pretty cool.)

The aftermath, cleaning up the spilled guts.

 

Addra playing the laser harp (pardon the length of the clip; I am not yet technologically literate enough to be able to edit my vids)

The Science Center is on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, so we often go 

out and eat afterward. Brice is so in love with Rita's custard, 

I think she may secretly be his second wife.