Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Nate's Special Post






On our vacation to Chicago we went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. At the science museum we saw the world’s biggest pinball machine called “The Swiss Jolly Ball”. The pinball machine was based on things in Switzerland and was made by a Jeweler, Charles Morgan, out of discarded materials he collected over the years. It had a metal ball about the size of a golf ball. The metal ball starts in a small hotel and also ends in that same hotel after going through a series of things including: a watch shop, a cruise liner, a wrecking ball (which it hit twice) a whole lot of cheese, a Ferris Wheel, and a chairlift leading back to the hotel. I think it was pretty cool and if you are ever at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry you should definitely check it out!

At the science museum we also saw the science storms exhibit which was all about the weather and I think it was pretty cool. It had a gigantic tornado made from swirling steam which you could control with several levers. It also had a tank partially filled with water in which you make tidal waves using a computer pad to control the wave making machine. There were a few small versions of the big steam tornado as well that you could touch.

On the far side of the museum was a BIG German submarine. The only one found on American soil and was captured by the navy during World War II. Though the submarine was big on the outside it was small on the inside and there were not a lot of places to sleep and the beds were shared in shifts and stuck anywhere they could find room even in the torpedo room. There also were only two toilets for 100 plus men to share (I thought we had it bad at my house with nine people and three toilets).

The museum also had a very authentic looking coal mine in the center of the main hall. In the coal mine we rode down a long elevator shaft into the mine. There we got in to a metal cage connected to a cart and it was very loud and it didn’t help that teddy started to cry loudly due to the noise. We then went into a testing room and the tour guide told us about methane gas and how it killed miners. All in all, it was a great experience.

Six out of six tickets since three of us were not there (five for the coal mine since Teddy cried a lot).

2 comments:

  1. Love your new blog site. Don't get on the internet as much as I like. Xavier Hogs it for home school and fun. The College has given Mychael a Laptop for school so I will check more often. Love you Millers! xoxox Deb

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