I'm not sure what made me think that the last Saturday of spring break would be a good time to go to the Science Center.   Not to mention my anxiety level in crowds, fear of downtown Detroit and going anywhere with the three kids alone.  All in all, it was worth it

We arrived around noon and there were about 50 people in line.  Thankfully, I had researched their website and knew that the usual 70 dollar family year-long membership fee had been cut to 49 dollars for the weekend.  I zipped to the front of the "membership" line and was called within a minute. 

While over-crowded, noisy, and warm, we were able to experience some educational moments!  We got to see what 1,000,000 grains of sand looked like, how to use levers and pulleys to lift 1,000 pounds (THE BOY thought he was SO cool) and we were able to feel what it's like to lose your sense of touch and hearing through aging.

The highlight of the afternoon was our first visit to the Planetarium to see "Views of the Universe".  They showed what the starry night sky looks like over Detroit right now.  (If it was clear and wasn't polluted!)  Venus is very prominant right now and if you're lucky, you might even see Mercury.  They showed pictures of Saturn from the Cassini spacecraft which found new rings!

Finally, we went through the Steel Mill exhibit.  DH works in the Steel Mill that they emulated at the Science Center, so it was pretty exciting for the kids to see what he does at work!  It was even a little exciting for me to see videos of what he does inside the mill and view the work stations they have set up so you can try your hand at making steel!

I didn't get very many pictures, but here are the few that I was able to get.  Here is THE BOY moving a car door around the ceiling and Emme watching it up in the air.

Here is THE BOY running from the camera:

Here is Emme showing that crayons are an example of something that gets extruded:

And here is THE BOY and Sweet Pea using Play- Do to emulate extraction (A big hit w/ all three kids):

As we were leaving the Center, the line stretched out the front door and down the block!  I will remember this on our next visit and come on a weekday while everyone else is at work and in school!

Sherry