If you’re looking for somewhere to spend an afternoon having some fun and beating the heat, pay a visit to the Great Lakes Science Center. Mike, Kristen and I went back in June to catch the “Tornado Alley” OMNIMAX movie. With paid admission comes access to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, with over 50 exhibits, shuttle and rocket models and much more.

Skylab 3

Moon rock

OMNIMAX film system

Running on their 6-story tall screen are the following movies: Hubble, Tornado Alley and Born to be Wild. (If you’re fascinated by violent storms, supercells and the like, you will LOVE Tornado Alley.)

After the movie, we ventured to the upper floor for the Science Phenomena Exhibits. Did we have a BLAST!!! All three of us were little kids again. Everything is hands-on, totally interactive, touch-me-play-with-me.

Fascinating displays with electricity (no physical contact possible)

A large plasma ball

Surface tension and soap

the “tornado generator”

experiments in motion and movement (really liked this because …?)

effects of wind erosion, the Bernoulli Blower, the Tornado Generator, and the Light Harp