Science Centered

FOCUSED: We enjoyed some sunshine and fresh air at Seattle Center this afternoon, splashing in the International Fountain and the wading pool by Key Arena. But first, the kids each took a short right on a very high bike outside Pacific Science Center.

It is actually kinda sketchy feeling when you're on it, you can't see the rail, all you see is the pool about 20 feet below you! The is the first summer Annabelle has been tall enough to ride. She was very pleased to climb on board and take a lap!

We headed inside the science center and set about finding the temporary astronaut statue that's part of the Museum of Flight's "Astronauts on the Town" program. We found him or her by the Gemini capsule replica.

This one's called Extravehicular Activity. By artist Matthew Dockrey, its design was inspired by the original Gemini spacewalks. 
This afternoon, we had our final focus group/feedback session at Pacific Science Center. We've been part of this project for two years now, and our point of contact person thanked us for never missing an appointment.

Today, we were giving feedback on "The Studio" part of the Professor Wellbody’s Academy of Health & Wellness inside PSC. The theme there at the present is "Meet Your Microbes!" The exhibit features info about microscopic organisms that help us digest food, process vitamins, protect us from infections - and sometimes make us sick. A lot of the content features local researchers and physicians, which is cool. For instance, we learned all about Fecal microbiota transplants thanks to a video featuring University of Washington 's Dr. Elizabeth Broussard. 

At this station, we could zoom in on microbes to see how big (or small) they really are.

I really liked one station demonstrating that correlation and causation are not one and the same. For instance, a lot of ice cream is sold at the same time a lot of people get sunburned. Does that mean ice cream causes sunburns? No!!

The exhibit features a number of videos. One we took the time (a bit over 5 minutes) to watch was "The Invisible Universe of the Human Microbiome," an animation by NPR.

I found the video on YouTube, so I can share it hear. Its summary reads, "The next time you look in a mirror, think about this: In many ways you're more microbe than human. There are 10 times more cells from microorganisms like bacteria and fungi in and on our bodies than there are human cells. But these tiny compatriots are invisible to the naked eye. So we asked artist Ben Arthur to give us a guided tour of the rich universe of the human microbiome."

https://youtu.be/5DTrENdWvvM

KIND OF A BIG DEAL: We started our day by tuning into a Livestream press conference from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The topic at hand? Earth 2.0! Well, kind of. Maybe. But it's exciting, really!

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has discovered what's believe to be a rocky planet orbiting a star that's just 4 percent more massive than our sun, and 10 percent brighter. In a 'habitable zone,' the rocky planet is about 1.6 times the size of Earth, making it a "super-Earth."  This planet, named Kepler 452b for now, is about the same distance from its sun as we are from ours. It's about 1,400 light years from us, however. 

                              
                    Shown is an artist's impression of Earth compared to Kepler 452b. NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle.

NASA is calling 452b "a bigger, older cousin to Earth." Our "cousin" has a 385-day orbit of its star. Interesting.

In case you're wondering, the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute has had 452b on their radar (so to speak) for awhile now, and have been watching for signs of life, using the Allen Telescope Array to check it for signals of artificial origin. To date, no such signals have been detected, per SETI.

LIME TIME: Today's produce picks included three cute little limes off our one and only lime tree!