The first week after Christmas break seemed long for all of us. So, we all decided we needed a day of fun to help us make it through the coming week. Aunt Tiffany gave us a the great idea of heading into Halifax and going to the Discovery Centre. We got in touch with the Fields family and they were able to join us as well.
The Discovery Centre is a great place for kids of all ages, including all us “big kids”. Seeing as it is winter just being an indoor event is a big plus. But besides that there are a lot of great exhibits that are informative and fun. One of the usual favorites was the Bubble Room.
This weekend is also the start of a year long international event, theInternational Year of Astronomy 2009. To help celebrate the event there were two special displays setup. There was an informational booth with information about the celebration and souvenirs such as trading cards and star finders. On the trading cards there is a serial number in which you are able to register online at www.astronomy2009.ca. When you register your name will be sent into space aboard the NEOSat in 2010. This satellite will be launched by the Canadian Space Agency to look for asteroids and other near Earth objects.
They also had setup a dome where you could climb in. It was completely dark inside, so some of the kids were not real happy about going in and did not stay for the full show. But they had a projector that they used to display the stars and other night sky objects on the roof of the dome. They pointed out a few constellations, Polaris the north star, and talked about other interesting astronomy related topics. It was quite neat.
Even though there are lots of things to do in the Annapolis Valley in the winter, it was nice to get away to something different and be able to do it with good friends and family.
Sandy McFadden 