(not so) Weird Science

Last weekend was a balmy 40 degrees in Boston. BB and I decided to venture out and hit up the science museum. My sister became a member back in November and I’ve been on B’s case to go. He finally agreed, mostly to keep his mind off the Patriots/Giants Super Bowl rematch (although when I was getting ready, he had SportsCenter on, and was soaking up all the analysts’ takes on the match-up ; contradictory much?) The main reason both of us were hesitant to go was because we knew it was going to be overrun with snot-nosed kids, jumping in front of the exhibits we’re looking at, and shoving ahead of us while we’re waiting to do all the cool shit (just b/c I’m an “adult” doesn’t mean I don’t want to spin on the mini-merry-go-round to learn about centrifugal force, or make a kick-ass design with the sand pendulum, so kindly keep your heathen child from barreling in front of me). Sadly, this is unavoidable, so we put our game faces on and headed out.

Being a member, I got us to bypass the HUGE line (suck on that, snot-nosed kiddies), and, armed w/ a museum map, we were on our way. I haven’t been to the museum in probably over a year, and I have to admit that not much has changed. Or maybe it has, I don’t know. It all seemed the same; the exhibit on optical illusions, and the tricks your eyes play on your mind. The taxidermy exhibit, with stuffed specimen native to our area (b/c I really need to go to a museum to see a common-ass deer and a beaver).

There was one cool gallery documenting the meals that people ate across the world. It showed a snapshot of various individuals, and all the food they might eat in a typical day, profiling the amount of calories in the meals, and the person’s typical daily routine. It was fascinating to see some of the calorie-laden meals these people ate, yet were able to maintain their svelte shape (like the employee at the Mall of America, who lived on fast food, yet was like, 130 pounds. Must be nice). Since I never get tired of food (eating it, reading about it, simply looking at it), I found this exhibit particularly interesting.

All in all, the trip was a success. We saw a possum (opossum? Maybe if we had gotten there when the presentation started, I’d know) at the live animal exhibit, learned about meerkat culture in another live animal gallery (a little guy was ostracized from his clan because he was injured and gone for too long, so they wouldn’t accept him back), and got a glimpse of an actual honeycomb and bee colony – maybe we should have just hit up the zoo, huh? And here’s a fun fact for you: the museum lies in both Boston and Cambridge, so they have a little area sectioned off if you’re Mandy Moore and want to be in two places at once.

Now B and I can both rest assured: me knowing the museum is the same as last time I went, and him knowing he has another year or so to go until he needs to make the trip with me. Seeing as how the animals were my favorite part, next time I feel like learning something on the weekend, maybe I’ll put my zoo membership to use instead.