Larry Time!!!

We FINALLY got an opportunity to go to the Ontario Science Center with Larry and spend some fun time with him.

Larry, the little ones and I went last Friday to the Ontario Science Center for the afternoon.  We would have stayed longer but the Center closes early Fridays when it is not summer.  =(

The day started off weird because Larry had to go to work that morning, even though it was a day off for him. It sometimes happens, computers are after all, computers.  It was a cold and windy day and as we drove to the OSC the snow came down hard.  We arrived safe and sound, and the first thing we decided to do was to watch the OMNIMAX film, Hurricane on the Bayou .

The film was part documentary, part nature film.  We were taken to the Louisiana Bayou pre-Hurricane Katrina and shown a little of the eco-system that existed before the devastation caused by the storm.  The film also gave a little information about the natural importance of the Bayou as a storm diffuser, and how man’s encroachment and errors in managing the waterways and system have contributed to the erosion of the little amount of life sustaining soil that is so vital to the forests, and how salt water has encroached inland, killing huge areas of mangrove forests.

Watching the footage of Hurricane Katrina and it’s power on  the OMNIMAX screen was really something.  Watching it on the computer or T.V. is not quite the same as seeing it on the big screen.  The nicest parts of the film was watching the underwater scenes with alligators and turtles swimming gracefully in and around the dense and rich growth of bog’s underwater flora.

We had lunch after the movie, and that was not a pleasant experience since both children, but Samuel especially made a scene because their sandwiches had mustard and lettuce in them.  I had bought sandwiches for them to eat at the OSC for several reasons, and had forgotten that they may contain these offensive substances.  So, ugly story short, they decided to go hungry for the rest of the afternoon.

We explored the kid’s area which the children enjoy very much.  You can see the pictures here that Larry took an active role in the fun.

There was a peg board that would hold different sized gears which the children would place on the board in the correct manner in order to get a action to occur.  One one panel it was a door knocker to knock, on another panel it was to make a squirrel go up and down (I think).

There is a little house frame that the kids could fill in with foam bricks and tiles to form solid walls and a roof.  You can see Larry and the kids working on that a few pictures.

There were blocks that could be used to build archway which could then be tested for strength and endurance.  Larry kept pushing the limits of the arch he built so it would keep crashing down.

We visited the rainforest area and the live earth exhibit when we heard over the P.A. system that the Center was closing for the day, and it was only 5 in the afternoon!!!

We took a scenic route for part of the way home, and I got to see the Danforth and be reminded of souvlakis and days gone by when I was young.

It was a nice trip, but it felt short.  We’ll have to do it again another time.