Boston's Museum of Science recently opened two new exhibits: Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly and K'nex: Thrill Rides. Both fall short of the museum's typically high quality exhibits.
Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly was not a terrible exhibit. It holds itself out as the world’s largest traveling reptile exhibition and was created by Peeling Productions at Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland. Beyond the wide range of reptiles, it's well designed for kids. The viewing windows were at kids' eye level. That means you don't need to pick up the little ones to see what is behind the glass. The reptiles are easy to see and easy to find in the tanks. I did need to get on my knees a few times to help spot the more elusive animals. (Yes, that included the chameleon.)
The problem with the exhibit was its subject matter. Being cold-blooded, reptiles are rarely interesting to watch. They generally lie motionless most of the time. A curled up boa constrictor is interesting for a minute, but my three-year old and six-year old grew quickly bored staring at the lump of scales. Even the alligator snapping turtle, with all of its dinosaur-like ferocity, just floated in the water waiting for a fish that never came.
K'nex: Thrill Rides was a blatantly commercial exhibit with little, if any, educational value for kids. There were two dozen interesting thrill rides made with K'nex. A six-foot tall Ferris wheel stood in the lobby, enticing visitors. The purpose of the exhibit is to allow visitors to explore the science, math, and technology behind amusement park thrill rides. Unfortunately, the models in the exhibit are poorly lit and fenced off from prying hands by panes of glass. That made them easy to ignore.
The kids just ran to the bins of K'nex parts in the exhibit. Bins and bins of the brightly colored pieces sat in assembly stations waiting for little hands to mash them together and cherish the end result. At least the museum knows a revenue stream. You won't have to force your kids to rip apart their creations when you leave and send them into tears. You can buy them on the way out. The sale price is based on weight. There is also a wide selection of K'nex kits available for purchase. Just try getting out of the K'nex exhibit without buying something.
I've started going to Museum of Science every six months since they started letting me participate in their Media Family Day. That means free admission and small gift for the kids (a small K'nex kit). For me, it's a great reason to spend a day with kids exploring their current interests in science.
After the Reptiles and K'nex, the kids went to some of their favorite exhibits. My three-year old has entered her dinosaur phase. My six-year old is currently fascinated with ships, so he was entranced by the nearby collection of model ships. The kinetic sculpture "Archimedean Excogitation" by George Rhoads is one of my kids' favorite exhibits and they ran to it when we first entered the museum.
Even if the temporary exhibits are underwhelming, there are plenty of great things to experience at the Museum of Science.
