I feel so blessed to be able to work where I do - and to experience this great, big Texas town not just on my own, but with my favorite little people each semester.
One of the most amazing parts of the Perot is it's layout. The architecture, landscaping, and open floor plan heighten your senses upon arrival. You can ride a clear glass escalator on the east side of the building and feel like you are floating above Dallas (this teacher held her breath and looked up!), explore native Texas flora and fauna in the 360 degree landscaping, and ride an elevator that exposes it's wire cables while you get a preview of each floor. All of this is before you even BEGIN to experience any of the exhibits.
I felt like we did it all, and at the same time I could spend an entire weekend on each floor.
We tapped musical notes with our toes as we marched up and down a digital staircase,
watched lifecycles in fast forward on large monitors,
held our breath as we experienced an earthquake shake on an electronic platform,
touched a real, twisting tornado,
stared up at assembled dinosaur bones that were ALL discovered in the Lone Star State,
sat on benches covered in "Did you know...?" factoids while we waited our turn at the water fountain,
donned blue blazers and stood before a green screen with our biggest grins to take a shot at reading a rapid teleprompter - after all, one of us might want to be a meteorologist one day
stared up at geodes as big as an SUV with our jaws dropping,
pet a live cornsnake and also held a taxidermy armadillo and beaver while we learned about animal adaptations,
watched a 3D movie about a meerkat family struggling to survive in the African desert,
danced underneath water molecules suspended above us,
flapped our wings to move an interactive peregrine falcon over a mountainous valley,
raced against a digital cheetah, threw a pass at a digital Dallas Cowboys running back, and high jumped with a digital Olympic track athlete while we learned about kinesiology,
computer programmed robots to go through a maze,
and mixed a "fat beat" in a sound booth using drums, keyboards, and vocal percussion..
just to name a few. :)
To top it all off, I went back for more last night.
The building is even more beautiful when it's all lit up.
What an awesome addition to the Dallas skyline!
One of the celebrities of my childhood spoke to our families in the auditorium last night.
Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Wow.
He encouraged us to be aware of the changing climate we live in, how thin our atmosphere has become, and how we often take for granted the passing of time (on a calendar, with a sundial, on our cell phone clocks).
He reminded us of how easy it can be to think outside of the box, and how often we forget to try.
At the end of the lecture he closed by emphasizing how easily science can overwhelm us. After all, we "are just specks, living on a speck-of-a-planet" in the big picture of things. This museum alone can remind you of how little you know, how very small our understanding can be in terms of the universe.
But, he cautioned, negative thinking won't get you anywhere. "You can, dare I say it?, CHANGE THE WORLD." When we often feel teeny tiny, it's nice to remember that while there is so much else out there, it doesn't mean we don't matter, it means we have so much we can change and can learn. It means that we can leave a lasting impression.
My heart is so full. I felt my 5th grade science teacher Mr. M and my high school physics teachers (yes, this girl took physics twice in high school by choice!) smiling all the way from Austin. It was incredible to hear such an inspiring man talk about his passion for education and science literacy. He is the ultimate lifetime learner, which is what my job is all about. He certainly left his mark on any kiddo who was in school during the 1990s (myself included!) and I still find him fascinating and entertaining as a newer teacher of young kiddos. Bill Nye got me hooked on his hilarious sketches, rap songs about scientific vocabulary (my bff in college Reilly and I wrote our own wrap songs about classroom management for our senior thesis), and amazing experiments. I have him to thank for so many of the teachable moments I try to recreate in my own room.
I frantically texted my friends from graduate school, my siblings, and 5th grade best friend as soon as I left the parking lot. I don't mean to be cocky (as we Dallasites usually are) but this is definitely the best science museum I've ever been to, and Dallas is lucky to call this exciting location its own. I'll be curious to see what other recognition the Perot receives over the next few years and I can't wait to take my favorite other kiddos to see it - Everett and Caroline - when they get big!
Go forth, my friends. and CHANGE THE WORLD.
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