Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Exploring at the World of Science

Caitlin and I decided to take a trip to Telus World of Science. We
had heard about the Body Works exibit, and I was quite intrigued to
find out about this place. Little did I know, there is an extra cost
to see the exibit. Another surprise was one of the IMAX films, which
I had to see: Wired to Win:Surviving the Tour de France. I was nearly
jumping out of my boots when I saw the poster. I'm a sucker for these
things, and Caitlin agreed. Again, that's an added expense, but it
was just the two of us, because Rini is less than four years of age.
She still had fun in the Exploration gallery. Her favourite was the
Water station. Second favourite was the area with the giant gears and
keyboard. Her least favourite was the construction area, because she
wound up on the wrong side of a wall, and was seperated from Mommy and
Daddy! Oh no! Her life was over! I don't really know what her
opinion of the magnifying glass area was, because we didn't spend a
lot of time there. She only went there because it was on the way to
the water works.

She didn't have the best time in body works though. She wasn't
scared, it's just that she couldn't run around, or crawl on top of the
displays, and she had to be quiet, and we couldn't eat anything in
there! It was a nightmare for her! At first things we cool with the
running around, but once she realized she couldn't touch anything, it
was pretty boring. Then again, she was really quiet and attentive in
the gestation area. They had fetuses from the beginning of the fourth
week, all the way to 9 months. They also had a pregnant woman as
well. The lady had a terminal illness, and knew that she may not
survive the pregnancy. She died, as did the fetus, at eight months.
You feel bad for her, but at the same time you marvel that she had the
courage to submit her body, and her baby's, for the plastinization
process. It was a beautiful thing to see, and it made me feel for
Caitlin when I saw how compressed the organs were.

I was also very impressed with the heart displays. There was one
display with the cornonary arteries (yes, there are two coming from
the aorta, another thing I learned) and the heart could not have been
larger than a decently sized apple. Still, there was a network of
arteries. Tiny, whispy little things that I am amazed that anything
can get through there, but blood does, everyday, and it circulates to
keep you alive. Looking at something like that, I was amazed that
people don't die sooner from clogged arteries. The body can certainly
put up with a lot of abuse, and it's able to heal itself at the same
time. It's a marvel and a wonder, yet some hold to the belief that we
were randomly put together through a series of comsic chance events.
Yeah, I'm going to say no on that!

In the gift shop, there was a corner where there was an assortment of
toys, and Rini immediately went for the weelinks, a very unique set of
blocks that can be stacked in a variety of ways. They're kind of a
mix of Lego and stacking cups. Really cool, and we were going to get
a set at Cap Ex a couple of years ago, but that didn't happen. I
didn't want that oppurtunity to pass by again. So, $20 later, Rini
was proudly carrying out the blocks, even though the box was almost as
big as her!

She's remarkably smart, that little girl, and she's starting to get
the hang of walking down stairs, instead of crawling down them. She
reaches out for our hands ever now and then too. We had a pause on
the lawn outside Telus World of Science, and Rini was very attentive
when we told her to look but not touch the flowers. She stayed on the
perimeter, and even walked on the sidewalks for the more part. Just
watch, she's going to turn 2 and turn into a demon. Or maybe it'll be
at 13. One of these days, she's not going to be our little girl
anymore. Just have to remember, "Teach up a child the way s/he should
go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it."

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