Our Carnegie Museums membership allows us to go to the Carnegie Science Center (situated along the Ohio River and across from Heinz Field) for free. Yesterday we took advantage of that by going to see what there is to do and see there. The drive down and back is an easy one and took about a half hour each way. It's a real hands-on kinda place with four floors with lots to see and do. Kids love it. One kid was maneuvering a giant robot that could shoot a basketball into the hoop. Unbelievable!
The miniature model railroad was fun to see. (I remember going to see it when the building was in a different location.) The guide said the display measured 30' by 83', had 1,300 feet of track, 200 buildings and 100 miniature mechanical action figures. (Old friends Jack Herriott and Art McCauley would have loved it.) The design theme was based on southwestern Pennsylvania history and parts of it change every few months. Yesterday's themes included Forbes Field baseball stadium, a steel making plant, an amusement park called Luna Park that used to be in Oakland where Pitt is today, and other areas. As the overhead lights dimmed, the lights inside the houses began to come on. Neat stuff. I remembered seeing their displays as a child, but this was about twice the size now.
We also went into the Buhl Planetarium and heard and saw a presentation on the night skies above Pittsburgh. They even had a little interactive quiz at the beginning where the presenter asked a couple of multiple choice questions and you could press a selection button on your chair. You could see the tally of people's responses, then he'd tell you the correct answer. It got you involved right from the start. A good technique to focus your attention. Something for preachers to consider on Sunday mornings. The presentation was about 30 minutes long and very informative. Much of it was a review for me from my astronomy class at California Unviersity (PA) many years ago, but it was very enjoyable. I noticed from the brochure that they have many different themes presented each hour through the day as well as a laser light show in the evenings on weekends. We didn't do the omnimax theater, nor the WWII submarine tour, nor the hands-on sports building where you can do Wall climbing this time. We saved those for another day. It was nice that all those things were included in our general admission passes. We learned a lot, saw a lot and did a lot. It was nice to do that together. We plan to return again soon and see some of what we didn't see this time around.
I continue to wear the pedometer every day, and the last couple of days I got over my goal of 10,000 steps. Cool. We've been faithful to our exercise regimen. Dee selected the photos from the wedding album that we plan to scan and put on CDs. Both Walgreens and Target have great deals for doing that.
One of the things I'm noticing about retirement is that it's important to have places to go and things to do. Previously, when we worked full-time we always had to be somewhere whether it was work, meetings etc. Someone else pretty much decided our schedules and we just did those things as a matter of our routine. Now, when we really don't have to be anywhere, it's up to us to have to begin developing a routine or schedule that gives us a focus or goal for the day. A fascinating process and a challenge to be sure. And once the weather gets warmer we'll have other options to consider and include.
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