I’m Andy Pioch, Multimedia Producer at WSKG and this is my daughter Josie! When she isn’t getting ready for Kindergarten or playing on her tablet we like to explore new and interesting places together. Luckily, this area is filled with many locations where kids and adults can both have fun together (and maybe even learn a thing or two).
We recently visited the Sciencenter in Ithaca and it was loaded with activities throughout their two floors! One of the first displays we discovered taught us how the ear and brain work together for people to understand sounds. We also discovered the scream machine (this would come in handy at WSKG considering the recent funding cut) and Josie nearly reached 100 decibels with her shriek!
After dancing on a music making carpet (think the scene in ‘Big’ with Tom Hanks jumping on the giant floor keyboard) we made our way to the second floor and immediately smelled something fishy! It turned out to be a garden being fertilized entirely with fish poop! Science really is amazing! We also saw some cool reptiles on display, including a python that was shedding its skin.
Josie also enjoyed the 2nd floor section on weather and saw a mini tornado form right in front of her! We saw detailed displays on the sun and even “made it rain” in a really cool sand diagram.
Back down on the first floor we were able to have some water fun with hands-on activities ranging from creating a dam to floating a signature Sciencenter duck down some rapids!
The trip wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to the outdoor playground area and I am proud to report that Josie made it past her first suspension bridge with minimal fear! We also had fun making bubbles and banging gongs!
We both learned so much and we’ll have to return since we didn’t come close to completing all of the 250 interactive exhibits! The Sciencenter is open daily from 10-5 and is located at 601 First Street in Ithaca.