Chabot Space & Science Center--Inside the Planetarium

OK just to come clean right up front, I’m sort of cheating on this one because I did not personally visit Chabot’s Space & Science Center, however my wife Lisa, a 3^rd grade teacher, recently took her class to this amazing East Bay attraction. I figure I can’t get much closer to being there than my wife, so this post has been written kind of sort of by osmosis.

Let me also say that The Chabot Space & Science Center is more than can be written about in a simple blog post. If you check out their website you’ll understand what I mean.  The better part of a day is definitely required to check out all that Chabot has to offer.

“We saw “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket,” in the (Ask Jeeves) planetarium,” said Lisa. “It was a fantastic way to teach children about space and the planets; much better than a textbook.”

Projected across the entire planetarium; both the walls and the ceiling, Secret of the Cardboard Rocket is the story of two young boys, a refrigerator box and imagination. With their “guide,” Book, a backyard camp-out becomes a magical journey through our solar system as the two boys take a fantastic voyage to the sun and all nine planets, correction, eight planets, plus Pluto. Sorry Pluto, I didn’t make the call. Along the way, “Book” fills the boys (and us) in on tons of interesting facts about each planet and the wonders of space.

From my research, Sonic Vision appears to be another of the attractions that’s definitely worth your time.  “…a trip out of this world and into the minds of the universe’s most creative musical artists and digital animators, set to a soundtrack featuring today’s coolest music.” Featuring music by Radiohead, U2, Coldplay, and many others, Sonic Vision is “a mind-warping roller-coaster ride” which uses digital technology to create a cavalcade of colors and images on the Planetarium’s big dome.

Is it just me or does that sounds like a whole lot of awesome?

Between the planetarium and the Tein Megadome Theater, there are nearly twenty shows available for your viewing pleasure, including Dinosaurs Alive, Forces of Nature, Mysteries of Egypt, Living Sea and The Human Body, just to name a few.

What else do you want to do? Take a simulated Moon-walk? Crawl through a Black Hole? Check out the stars through a giant telescope?  You can do all that and more at Chabot’s Space & Science Center

The Observatory offers star gazing (weather permitting) with all general admission tickets (and free star gazing on Friday & Saturday during fall/winter from 7:30 – 10:30 pm; again weather permitting).  Chabot boasts two telescopes, “Nellie,” (named for the grandmother of a generous benefactor) a 36-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope, and “Rachel,” a slightly smaller 20-inch scope. Housed in Chabot’s rolling roof observatory, Nellie offers 360 degree views of the celestial sky.

Located at 10000 Skyline Blvd in Oakland, Chabot’s Space & Science Center is open the following days and hours:

• Wednesday & Thursday: 10 am – 5 pm
• Friday & Saturday: 10 am – 10 pm
• Sunday 11 am – 5 pm
• Closed Monday & Tuesday

The Celestial Café offers sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, various breakfast items and plenty of beverage offerings, so plan some time for lunch when you visit.

Cost of admission to Chabot is $14.95 for adults and $10.95 for children ages 3-12. Children under two are free.

Photo Coutesy of tomeppy.

Hiking for Fossils

Photo: Tricia Honea

Photo: World's Biggest Dinosaurs Website

Do you like Jesus and Dinosaurs?  Then do I have the place for you!

Most likely the only reason you would ever be in Cabazon, California is to drive through it on the I-10 corridor at 70mph.  Sure, there are some pretty decent outlet stores and it’s close to the Coachelle Festival and the resorts and golf of Palm Springs, but it isn’t exactly a destination, per se.

However, it is home to one of America’s more popular roadside attractions, which any parent worth their family truckster salt knows is a staple to a good road-trip vacation. It’s in-between destinations where the real memories are made. The fact that we’re talking about dinosaurs, namely The World’s Biggest Dinosaurs, makes stopping a must for anyone that has a kid (of any age) in the car.

This is the scared part...

Dinny the apatosaurus (the dino formerly known as brontosaurus) and Mr. Rex the obvious, respectively, are fantastic.  They’re huge and awesome and the kids will be awed, excited or scared shitless.  Sometimes all three.

Here’s the twist that will have you scratching your head.  The attraction is under (fairly) new ownership and in addition to letting you climb inside really cool dinosaurs for a $5.00 fee they’ll also throw their religious beliefs on you at no extra charge!  What a deal!

You see, the owners believe in Creationism and they want you to, too.  The gift shop plays videos preaching the belief and there are signs throughout the dinosaurs promoting their views and contradicting science- not to mention discrediting everything you just told your kid about dinosaurs.

These aren’t your Pee-Wee‘s dinosaurs.  Well, not anymore.

There is a restaurant adjacent to the property and easy access to Interstate 10 should you need to flee treacherous jaws or opposing viewpoints.  Please do so in an orderly fashion.

Taming the wild beast...

unless otherwise credited all photos property of Whit Honea

One of the best things about having a three-year-old is that their fascination with the world around them can, in turn, rekindle that same fascination in a 41-year-old codger like me. The fascination du jour? Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs. Isn’t it convenient then that we have near us one of the largest dinosaur tracks sites in the country?

Dinosaur State Park is located in Rocky Hill, Connecticut about 10 minutes south of Hartford. The Park officially opened in 1968—two years after more than 2,000 tracks were uncovered during a building excavation. The tracks are from the early Jurassic period and were made over 200 million years ago by a carnivorous dinosaur similar to Dilophosaurus.

Surrounding the geodesic dome that provides cover for 500 tracks (the remaining 1,500 have since been buried to preserve them) are a series of nature trails and the Dinosaur State Park Arboretum, home to conifers, katsuras and ginkgoes and others that would have been common when the great beasts roamed the earth.

In addition to the tracks, visitors will find under the dome life-sized dioramas depicting the Triassic and Jurassic periods complete with common plants and creatures including the aforementioned Dilophosaurus. There are also several interactive displays, a reconstruction of a geologic foundation, highlights of the tracks’ discovery, as well as a discovery room with several lizards, some Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dinosaur arts and crafts: emboss a bookmark with footprints or create a dinosaur-shaped ornament.

There is also an auditorium that shows educational films on the weekends. Most recently they were showing Dinosaurs with Bill Nye (the Science Guy), however the subjects do rotate. During warmer months, visitors can create their own track cast in the track casting area. If you’re so inclined, be sure to bring the necessary supplies.

The park grounds are open daily 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (trails close at 4:00 p.m.). The exhibit center is open 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday thru Sunday—closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The cost is $5 for adults and teens (13 and over); $2 for youths (ages 6-12); and Free for children five and under.

Related: Hands On Science Discovery in Hartford.