Because Science

You know how, usually, when you wear your Oregon Trail "YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY" t-shirt, people look at you with a confused (and somewhat pitying) look in their eye? Every once in a great while, someone will look at the shirt and you can tell they appreciate the reference because the look at you as though they're greeting an old friend. You exchange a knowing smile because you share the geeky, fond remembrance of one of your first computer games. You both remember rushing through your 5th grade worksheets so that you could be the first one done and get computer time. You put your friends' and frenemies' names in the game and secretly hoped for THAT girl to get cholera. Ah, good times.

Today, when I wore my Oregon Trail t-shirt, I got so many knowing smiles that it was like attending a family reunion... but one where you actually have things in common with your family. Where, you may ask, was my DYSENTERY greeted with such fond familiarity?
At the Orlando Science Center... during their Star Wars exhibit.

This guy gets me.

We love a children's science museum. Our Atlanta science museum membership has paid for itself many times over in visits to the Atlanta and the Chattanooga museums... and it came through again today. Admission to OCS was free because they're reciprocal with Atlanta. We just had to pay a fee to get access to the Star Wars exhibit. Yay for nerdy kids who like science museums on vacation!

We're here!

We started with the Star Wars stuff. It. Was. Awesome. Ly. Geeky.

This thing was a wee model...

This thing was life-size.

There's something blatently metaphoric here. 

Hello, Mace Windu. Where's your light saber?

Boys are tall. Wookies are taller.

Look! Luke's hand! Hold your hand up!

Abominable!

Three pieces of Vader head.

The full Vader.

Say... isn't that the droid he's been looking for?

Look out!

Still creepy. 

Again with the obvious metaphor. 

I call it:  AT-ATtitide

Really? All the characters they could have displayed "naked" and they choose 3PO? 

Robot building

A la Honey Boo Boo pose

Yes. I tried to call him on that speaker too. It didn't work.

More robot building.

Who knew they came in so many styles?

*snort*

There was also this Milenium Falcon simulator... I couldn't get a good picture, but it was pretty neat.

After the Star Wars, it was on to the science museum proper. (Read: After the parents were through geeking out, it was the kids' turn to play.) We took the children to cavort with the other young in our geek tribe.

Do or do not. There is no triceratops.

There is, however, a T-Rex.

A storm maker.

This is a huge, illuminated, animated sphere.

Aren't all 4 year-olds excited about building a salt molecule out of toothpicks and marshmallows?

Digging up fossils.

This was cool, despite his suspicious look. It was an interactive exhibit for how orange juice gets made.
We spent over an hour moving the plastic oranges around this exhibit.

It's not a vacation without a stingray.

He likes big brains... corals...

Hello, alligators!

Looking at sounds!

Looking at more sounds.

Huge, I mean HUGE race car track.

Building a ball track.

Make your own clouds.

SCIENCE!

Oh, that orange factory.

Water factory

She makes friends with a social grace that I can not comprehend.

I would apologize for the length of this post except I think it's really stupid when people do that. Why are they apologizing for something on their own blog? If they were really sorry, they'd delete it. So I'll be honest and say I'm not sorry for the length of this post. We had a good time today, and I want to remember it.  And anyway, you didn't have to read it all. Nobody's forcing you to be here. Just sayin'...