The Science Season

Quick. Name one place that’s guaranteed to appeal as much to a 12-year-old as a preschooler. Mom and Dad won’t get bored. Even grandparents will have a good time. It’s one destination that’s as good when the weather’s bad as when it’s good. And admission costs less than lunch.

If you think no such place could possibly exist, you haven’t dropped by a science museum lately. They’re all over the place: in major natural history museums and in regional children’s museums in Indianapolis and San Jose, Seattle and Norwich, Vt.

Large or small, all 290 science centers in the United States--the number has more than doubled in the last decade, according to the international Assn. of Science-Technology Centers--have two things in common: They’re hands-on and inquiry-based.

“That means you need to come prepared to roll up your sleeves and get involved playing with science as much as the kids,” said Greg DeFrancis, education coordinator of the respected Montshire Science Museum in Norwich, Vt., and a member of the Assn. of Science-Technology Centers’ (ASTC) education committee.

There are buttons to push, computers to use, mirrors to move and giant bubbles to make. There are bugs to watch and fossils to touch. Come March, children as young as 5 can learn how we can protect ourselves from AIDS as part of the new “What about AIDS?” exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium.

(For a list of science centers around the country write ASTC-Department KD, 1025 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20005.)

If they’re reluctant museum-goers, “Just drop in for an hour before lunch,” said Montshire Museum’s Greg DeFrancis, noting that parents traveling to Vermont on vacation tell him a visit to the science center offers a much-needed break from the road.

My family loved the Pacific Science Center in Seattle Center, down the path from the Space Needle. We played virtual basketball by putting on a special glove. When we moved our arms, an on-screen ball moved with them. Visitors can also try beating a 10-foot robot at tick-tack-toe (we lost) or shooting huge water cannons at targets in the fountains outside (we won).

The newest exhibit, opening Friday and running through May: Big Big Bugs. Giant robotic insects--some up to 12 feet tall--live in huge versions of their natural habitats. Don’t miss the Live Bug Zoo. (Call the Pacific Science Center at 206-443-2001.)

Those visiting New York shouldn’t overlook the spectacular 70,000-square foot Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from the World Trade Center and near the Statue of Liberty. Next month, a special exhibit will focus on “Black Achievers in Science.” (Call the LSC at 201-200-1000.)

If you’re in Montana this summer with dinosaur lovers in the back of the van, plan a stop at the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University in Bozeman. This is the place to learn how mountains were formed, try out an interactive space station and take a giant step back 80 million years when dinosaurs nested not far away. See the baby fossils that were discovered there, and learn more about how these creatures lived and their nests were discovered. (Call the museum at 406-994-2251.)

One last word: Let the kids lead the way. “Scientific breakthroughs start when somebody sees the world in a different way,” observed Ellen Griffee, director of the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

That could be your 4-year-old.

Taking the Kids appears weekly.