Science!
In order to break the weekend cycle of playing video games and watching movies, I took the kids to a museum on Japan's Founding Day. This is the day that the possibly-mythical first emperor of Japan, Jimmu, was enthroned. In honor of the day, I was all for going to a Japanese History museum, but having two small boys with short attention spans, I decided on, despite it's redundant name, the Japan Science Foundation Science Museum at Kitanomaru Koen. There's a lot of neat stuff in the area (Yasukuni Shrine, Crafts Gallery, Map Museum, Banknote & Postage Museum, Yamatane Museum of Art), but we had limited time and patience (at least he kids did), so we just went to the Science Museum.
The place, opened in the late 60s, looks really dated from the outside (and curiously Jewish)
but the inside had 5 floors of interactive high-tech exhibits on everything from the usual physics and chemistry stuff to electronics to audio to optics to gas to nuclear energy to ecology to optical illusions. It was all presented in an engaging way, despite most of it being in Japanese. The kids had a great time playing with all this, while I, camera in hand, was happily mesmerized by the aesthetics of the place.
Creepy robot chick. I think she actually responded to questions, but as it was in Japanese, I'm only guessing. All I know is, she was creepy. She blinked, and giggled, and lowered her eyes modestly, just like a real Japanese girl with a rubber face.
Seat in front of a computer. Clever, eh? I did as it said.
That's my older boy:
That's me:
You jump and get filmed doing it, so you can watch after.
Giant soap bubble!
Japan: land of sleeping people.
Lots more photos, cool ones, I swear! here. I know Jeff at least will go see them, as he wasn't there and wishes that he was. Especially when he sees the audio stuff (can you spot "reverb" in katakana?) and the nuclear reactor core.
I'm going to print this one out and actually start carrying a picture of my kids:
On the other hand, I could start carrying these around, taken by Martine:
Or not.
We have all our China stuff booked. Fly into Shanghai, overnight train to Beijing. Already booked a tour of the Great Wall (Simitai) and an acrobatic Kung-Fu show in Beijing. The kids and I are watching The Last Emperor, so they have a little historical background. I've always loved that movie. I'm getting excited.
The place, opened in the late 60s, looks really dated from the outside (and curiously Jewish)
but the inside had 5 floors of interactive high-tech exhibits on everything from the usual physics and chemistry stuff to electronics to audio to optics to gas to nuclear energy to ecology to optical illusions. It was all presented in an engaging way, despite most of it being in Japanese. The kids had a great time playing with all this, while I, camera in hand, was happily mesmerized by the aesthetics of the place.
Creepy robot chick. I think she actually responded to questions, but as it was in Japanese, I'm only guessing. All I know is, she was creepy. She blinked, and giggled, and lowered her eyes modestly, just like a real Japanese girl with a rubber face.
Seat in front of a computer. Clever, eh? I did as it said.
That's my older boy:
That's me:
You jump and get filmed doing it, so you can watch after.
Giant soap bubble!
Japan: land of sleeping people.
Lots more photos, cool ones, I swear! here. I know Jeff at least will go see them, as he wasn't there and wishes that he was. Especially when he sees the audio stuff (can you spot "reverb" in katakana?) and the nuclear reactor core.
I'm going to print this one out and actually start carrying a picture of my kids:
On the other hand, I could start carrying these around, taken by Martine:
Or not.
We have all our China stuff booked. Fly into Shanghai, overnight train to Beijing. Already booked a tour of the Great Wall (Simitai) and an acrobatic Kung-Fu show in Beijing. The kids and I are watching The Last Emperor, so they have a little historical background. I've always loved that movie. I'm getting excited.
posted by Sandi at 10:03 AM
2 Comments:
The best picture is the last one with their special teeth. You should carry that one in your wallet so you can show people your children.
Yo This is Tarran I thimk you should carry the ones of max and dex doing the wierd faces individually
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