Tag Archives: science center

That Museum For Kids And Fun Adults

Posted on by
6

Saint Louis was never on top of my list of places to go visit. If I were to cross the pond, I’d visit New York, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Miami, Boston… Missouri was never in there. Before I went there, miss Missouri would tell me all the stuff one can do in Saint Louis. After the first point, seeing the Cardinals, there was a long pause. It seemed like my gut feeling was right. Turns out, things aren’t all that bad. There’s not a day I spent in Saint Louis without something to do. Escpecially Forest Park seems stuffed with entertainment, one of them being the Science Center.

Energizer Ball Machine. Like that’s even a thing. Picture happily stolen from Wikipedia.

The Science Center is a lot of fun for kids. You can build bridges of giant building blocks, find out how earthquakes work, pretend you’re a dinosaur and get epileptic from the biggest Energizer Ball Machine (official name) you’ll ever see. I still don’t know what it’s good for. When we went there, schools had just started, so miss Missouri and I took the liberty of actually building the bridge, find out how earthquakes work and half of us even pretented to be a dinosaur. The best part of the museum as a whole, was that it’s free. Not just because I like free stuff, but also because for kids, it’s a really fun way to get a grib on the world around them. Amsterdam has a museum just like that, but that one costs E13,50 per person. That’s quite a difference for two museums that are pretty comparible.

What’s the best museum ever?

I’m visiting Missouri again in August. You’re welcome to provide tips in these comments. 

All Good Things In Life Are Free

Posted on by
7

Some of the things I did while in Missouri, are similar to things I could have done at home. Of course, some differences always remain, but the list of possible dates has quite an overlap in whatever country you’re in. When in The Netherlands, I like to go to Rotterdam Zoo (E18,50), the Rijksmuseum (closed, but still a neat E12,50 for the limited exhibition) or for example Science Center NEMO (E12,50). These are great trips, but in the end, my budget only allows for so much fun.

Somehow, the American people have found a solution for this budget restriction problem. They just have the rich guys pay for me. The three examples above are no coincidence, but reflect three places I’ve gone to when I was visiting Missouri. The Saint Louis Zoo first of all did remind me of the Rotterdam one. The animal habitats are spacious, the park is beautifully decorated and it’s always fun to do some animal watching. The Saint Louis Museum of Art reminded me of the Rijksmuseum, with classical pieces of art and a great collection. I haven’t been to NEMO recently, but I know how it’s fun to see science at work in small-scale settings (especially when you’re not 14 years old yet). The Saint Louis Science Center did exactly that. The big differences between going to all three of those is that the Dutch ones will end up costing you E43,50, whereas the American versions are all free. That’s music to my Dutch ears.

Every part of the three places is sponsored. When I say every part, I mean that I have seen lampposts that had the name of a sponsor on them. It was fun for me to be able to ‘just’ visit a museum or a zoo, because it takes less of an effort to do so. It’s a different world, as in so many things, but I can do nothing but appreciate the free admission. Dear sponsors, if you ever feel like sponsoring more, I’d be happy to come visit Saint Louis more often. Contact me for more information.

Also, what animal habitat would you choose to sponsor?