On April 1-2, 60 members of Pack 61 attended a most excellent adventure at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This was an action-packed overnight ... just a wonderful time. We crammed in so much ....
While scouts were able to roam the museum on Saturday before we gathered, our first official event was the Cool Chemistry show where Scouts got to play with liquid nitrogen, watch different chemical reactions and see other wonders of chemistry. It was a really neat show and we all got a kick out of it. I was really impressed that they used so many volunteers for the show.
Next up was a pizza dinner and a discovery scavenger hunt where the scouts had to answer certain questions based on the science displays in the basement.
Then we split into two groups ... the younger guys ran the simulator on a trip to the moon in the Challenger Center while the older guys played with indicator paper, made slime and other gross stuff. Then they switched.
I can't say enough about the flight simulation. The boys had to perform experiments and work their way flight emergencies, all communicating together and with Mission Control. It was amazing.
The classroom work was a lot of fun, too. I mean, what's better for an elementary kid than making slime! Oh, and did I mention they LEARN during all this!
And if that wasn't enough, we watched Earth's Wild Ride in the Burke Baker Planetarium and went on a flashlight and glowstick tour of the dinosaur hall.
And our sleeping accommodations? Golden! As in we slept in the light of the displays in the Gem and Minerals hall of the museum. Getting to sleep was no problem as we were all wiped. Staying asleep? ... Well, I personally thank Ken for the foresight to bring earplugs to help stem the snore fest.
The next morning we had coffee and donuts (Above and Beyond, Allison - Thank you!) and were able to again explore the museum at our leisure.
This really was a great trip ... more than one person said they thought it was better than the U.S.S. Lexington overnight that we did last year, which is a very good trip, too. I enjoyed them both, for sure, but I have to say that Allison and the HMNS crew put on one heck of a program, and we'll be back!
The photos:
