Our Trip to the Imagination Station

We met up with some friends that live in Toledo who have kids around the same age as ours to enjoy a day at the city’s science center – the Imagination Station.  What’s great about the place is that you can combine education with entertainment equating to a whole bunch of family fun.  The Imagination Station is full of interactive experiments, science lessons, and play opportunities that make the experience interesting to kids, and kids at heart, of all ages.

As you first enter the building before you even reach the admission counter, guests are greeted by an extraordinary metal structured puzzle where people whiz balls through a maze that resembles a life-sized version of the board game “Mouse Trap”.  Our kids could have spent the whole just playing here without ever entering the science center itself.  After spending about twenty minutes juggling puzzles through this metallic maze, we moved on into the Imagination Station. Admission is affordable with adult entry (ages 13+) $9, children (3-12) $7, babies and toddlers are FREE, and grandparents get a senior discount (65 and older) $8.

The first thing we came upon was a team of wandering “scientists” demonstrating how to make “smoke hoops”.  The machine they were using created these puffs of smoke that turned into round hoops that drifted through the entry hall.  It was a fun welcome that amazed all the kids and gave all the adults in the crowd a chuckle.

The main atrium hosts a number of special exhibits that we all found pretty fun and interesting.  There is the BOYO which allows people to bungee themselves upward into the air when they pull down on the device; a tennis ball shooter where you launch balls high into the air with the hope of having them land in a target; a roller coaster simulation that bounces you around; and LIVE REPORT which allows you to record an ESPN style sportscast in front of a green screen that is displayed on various TV screens for everyone to witness and enjoy.  There is also the HIGH WIRE CYCLE where you ride a bike across a tight rope 20 feet above the floor.  I have to admit I politely declined a ride … sorry I wimped out!

Branching off from the atrium are several themed areas to explore.  Each has a multitude of experiences to investigate and play with.  We went with a group of kids ranging from 3 to 5 and I have to admit some areas are more suited for older ages than others.  For example, there was a really interesting traveling exhibit on display called Mindbender Mansion that was full of challenging puzzles I would have really enjoyed to work out, but which was just too difficult to do with young children.  Also there is a learning area themed for Engineering where people can design and build airplanes, boats, buildings and bridges.  This would be great for tweens and teens but a little advanced for our merry band of mischief makers.

Other areas where more adaptable for enjoyment by families with children of any age.  For example, the MIND ZONE is full of illusions showing how the mind interprets information.  I was amazed by one demonstration where you touch a COLD pipe a get the feeling it is red HOT … wow!  All the kids in our group enjoyed the distorted gravity room where you run through a mock up house that is angled so steep you can hardly keep your balance.  The ENERGY FACTORY has exhibits that use magnetism in a variety of puzzles, games using sunlight to accomplish tasks, and robotic arms you can tinker around with. You may want to bring a change of clothes for WATER WORLD because our kids got soaked!  This area includes a water vortex table (watch out for the bowling ball!), play tables where kids can divert water flow,  learn about erosion and race toy sail boats, and a chamber where you can experience standing in hurricane force winds.

Our kids favorite area was the LITTLE KIDSPACE which is a play area for children kindergarten age and younger.  This is where we spent the bulk of our time at the Imagination Station.  My son loved the fire truck with working siren and lights.  My daughter’s focus was racing around the tree house themed playscape.  Both of them enjoyed shopping at the pretend grocery store and being doctors at the miniature hospital located in this play area.  If you have children in preschool or kindergarten, going just to play at the LITTLE KIDSPACE would be a worthwhile trip in itself.  If you live in the Toledo area, an annual family membership is $70 and would be a good investment if you want to bring your little tots more than once to enjoy the LITTLE KIDSPACE.

We had lunch at their  cafeteria, the ATOMIC CAFÉ, which had a very kid-friendly menu and also a Panini menu for adult tastes.  I was impressed that the menu was priced at about the same rate as going to a fast food restaurant versus the high-prices you often see when eating at a museum, theme park, or movie theater.  That was a very nice surprise for this budget conscious dad!

We arrived right when the science center opened 10 am on a Saturday morning and were pleased that it wasn’t very crowded and we could really enjoy all the displays. Unfortunately, it became very crowded in the afternoon and larger crowds at this facility can really damper the experience.  I highly recommend a morning trip where you plan on wrapping up your stay by around 1 pm.  Parking is also an issue with no nearby parking and you’re being required to find a deck, lot, or street parking a few blocks away.  We were easily able to find street parking nearby but found that several of the parking decks and lots were closed on the weekend when we went.  Also if you go on a weekday you will have to deal with all the people who work downtown when finding a spot.  The Imagination Station does offer valet parking for $7 and that actually probably is a very good deal that you may want to take up if you make a trip to downtown Toledo.

As a geek dad who enjoys having fun with science, constantly learning new things, and combing education with entertainment, I highly recommend a trip to the Imagination Station if you have the opportunity.  Hey, if you go on Father’s Day, the geek dad in your house gets in FREE with a paid child’s admission.  Not to forget the geek moms out there – moms get in FREE on Mother’s Day with a paid child’s admission too!

For more information on the IMAGINATION STATION, visit www.imaginationstation.org





Who Is John Carter?

2012 has witnessed one of the worst busts in movie history with Disney’s release of “JOHN CARTER” which has resulted in a predicted $200 million loss to the studio and the resignation of its Chairman Rich Ross. (BBC: Disney film bossRich Ross resigns after John Carter flop).  This year also marks the 100^th anniversary of writer Edgar Rice Burroughs most acclaimed works, TARZAN and PRINCESS OF MARS which were both originally published in 1912.  John Carter is the hero in PRINCESS OF MARSand the ten books that follow in Burroughs’ series of Mars adventurestories.  I wonder how the “JOHN CARTER” movie would have fared at the box office if Disney had marketed it as “a science fiction classic from the writer of Tarzan.”  That would have caught my interest?  Instead I remember seeing trailers for this movie that I thought looked like a rehash of scenes from Star Wars, Flash Gordon,Buck Rodgers, and Dune.  I hate to admit but I saw these trailers and didn’t know who John Carter was until I did a little looking into it. Well in reality, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ PRINCESS OF MARSand its sequels were some of the earliest science fiction that inspired people like Philip Nowlan, Alex Raymond, Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, James Cameronand Stephen Spielberg.

Some Edgar Rice Burroughs fans created this trailer that gives a more interesting portrayal of the movie than the Disney trailers:

In PRINCESS OF MARS, John Carter is a Confederate veteran who goes prospecting in Arizona after the conclusion of the Civil War.  While searching for gold, he has a conflict with the local Apaches and ends up hiding in a sacred cave while the tribe searches for him.  While in the cave, Carter stumbles across an ancient artifact that mysteriously transports him to the planet Mars.  On Mars, he finds himself with superhuman strength and agility due to the lesser gravity of the red planet.  From there the adventures begin and continue through ten more novels:  The Gods of Mars (1918), The Warlord of Mars (1919), Thuvia – Maid of Mars (1920), The Chessmen of Mars (1922), The Master Mind of Mars (1928), Fighting Man of Mars(1931), Sword of Mars (1936), Synthetic Men of Mars (1940), Llana of Gathol (1940), and John Carter of Mars (1964).  If you would like to enjoy reading these novels, Amazon.com has them available for FREE to download to a kindle or kindle app for iPad/iPhone.  CLICK HERE to download these free e-books.

I’ve never thought much about the marketing of a movie figuring that if it was good people would hear from word-of-mouth or critic reviews and go see it.  Disney’s JOHN CARTER fiasco shows that the value of having a good advertising/marketing/public relations plan and team in place to ensure the profitability of a production. If Disney had marketed the movie more on its sci-fi history it probably would have done much better at the box office.  I haven’t seen JOHN CARTER yet (probably will add it to my Netflix list when it comes out on DVD) but I have friends who have seen the move and said it was pretty good.  In fact, it has received some good reviews from critics too with Bonnie Fuller of HollywoodLife writing “if you want to escape and be totally entertained by a far better sci-fi action film than Captain America orThor —definitely get your 3D glasses on and get to John Carter!” and RogerEbert giving it a positive thumbs up as well in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times noting that the John Carter stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs played a part in inspiring him to be a writer and critic himself. 

Now that we know who John Carter is, this flick definitely is worth checking out.  Interestingly, Disney spent more money to film/produce JOHN CARTER than James Cameron spent creating the blockbuster hit AVATAR; yet Cameron said in an interview with the NEW YORKER magazine in 2009 “With Avatar I thought, do something in the Edgar Rice Burroughs mould, like John Carter of Mars.” Oh the irony!

For more on Edgar Rice Burroughs visit his official website: www.edgarriceburroughs.com 

LUKE - I AM YOUR FATHER!

I’m a huge fan of “The Far Side” comics by Gary Larson and have to admit there is still a little bit of a void in my life since he stopped publishing new material in 1995.  Larson’s work is a hilarious  anthropomorphic portrayal of our world featuring improbable events and logical fallacies.  Yes, friends and family often provide me with gifts of new books and calendars featuring his comics but these are all rehashes of his previous work being republished in new compilations.  So I became really excited when some publicity for a new novel that reminds me somewhat of Larson’s work caught my eye … and to make it even better these comics’ content focus on the Star Wars universe and the adventures involved with being a Dad; which I can really relate to at this stage in my life.

Cartoonist Jeffrey Brown has created a fun book full of illustrations portraying Darth Vader as a doting dad in CHRONICLE BOOKS “Darth Vader & Son.”  Brown looks at the special bond between father and son through a humorous perspective and fresh take on the Dark Lord of the Sith.  This book features 64 pages of artwork with a fresh mind’s eye of a galaxy far, far away.  Readers can get a laugh at the joys of parenting through Brown’s full color sketches on topics such as Light Saber Batting Practice, Space Ship Rides, Trick-or-Treating, Take Your Child to Work Day, and A Visit to the Zoo.

In an interview with GMA NEWS, Brown says of the book "it was fun to have Darth Vader as a powerful man who is powerless against a four-year-old." He notes that the project was initially created for use as Google Doodles on the search engine for a Fathers Day promotion but that panned out and the opportunity for this book emerged with CHRONICLE BOOKS. To read the full GMA NEWS article, click here.

Father’s Day is coming up in a few weeks and this would be an awesome gift for the Geek Daddy in your house.  I’ve only seen the preview cartoons online so far (HINT, HINT to my wife and kids) but from what I’ve seen so far this looks like a must have for any Dad who is a Star Wars’ fan.

CLICK HERE for more information or to order “Darth Vader & Son” from CHRONICLE BOOKS