Vitensenteret

On Monday afternoon, the kids and I went to Vitensenteret, the children's science center in Trondheim.  It was phenomenal.  It was completely accessible to all the kids, and the displays were so inviting to them.  It was an afternoon well spent.

Sam at the controls of a robot

Isaac (on the left) manipulating a Rube Goldberg machine.

This was the kids' favorite activity.  They dropped balls into the bowl and tried to predict which hole it would go down.  Since the drop is so steep near the holes, it is almost impossible to predict where the balls will end up going in.

Katie was most taken with this vortex machine, though you can't see the tornado in the photo and she doesn't look that excited.  

This is an intact 1936 Oldsmobile.  Isaac would have spent the night at the museum driving this thing.

This was my favorite.  A big ol' block of wood, an unending supply of nails, and a hammer.  Such a simple activity, but our kids don't get many opportunities for unfettered access to hand tools.  

Grace and Isaac were disassembling a skeleton. 

Sam lifting himself up with the help of a pulley.

Spinning Grace

Different kind of spinning 

There are some Norsk words that will never cease to make me chuckle.  The word for "and" is "og."  It makes me picture characters from the B.C. comic strip.  Of course, "og" is all over the place in the language, so I have lots of chances to smile.

This hallway was jam packed with fun stuff - about five different ways to build bridges, an infrared camera, and a Bernoulli blower to name a few.

Crossing the bridge they built

Making rainbow shadows 

Sam hasn't learned much Norwegian, but he has perfected his English with a Norwegian accent.  Here, he was saying "world peace, man" just like his Norwegian friends. 

We took a break in the matpakke rom (the lunch room) to have some ice cream.  The science center is in a historic bank building, and the lunch room is in the vault.

Competing with Sam in Mindball.  The goal is to move the ball to your competitor's side by using the brain waves that predominate when you relax your mind.  Sam seems to have the upper hand here, but shortly after, Isaac ripped off his headband, and I won by default. 

Back to the ball drop for some more good laughs