Slashdot Mirror
Seeking Interesting Sites When Travelling the World?
An anonymous reader asks: "Is there anyone besides me who likes to travel and look at engineering projects? When I first read Neal Stephenson's Wired article on his trip around the world to watch an intercontinental fiber cable being built from England to Japan (still available at HotWired) I knew this was what I wanted to do with my vacation days. Space launch sites, high-speed rail lines, container ports, technology museums - I've tried them all. Does Slashdot have suggestions for destinations, or for web sites where people share their experiences."
sPh
I'd vote for teh Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (see the everything2 node). It's cool, they have a WW2 U-Boat you can tour, the first desil-electric bullet train in the U.S., some cool airplanes, an engine from a V2 rocket, some cool old cars, a complete scale model of all the railroad connections in Chicago, and much much more...
In general, it rules, and it's only $9 to get in for the day.
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Play Six Pack Man. I
Canada Science and Technology Museum
I went twice this year, and it has everything from trains, to boats, to satelites.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
I know somebody who travelled all the way from Washington State to Europe just to ride a Talgo train. He wasn't amused when I pointed out Amtrack runs Talgos on the route from Eugene OR, through Portland and Seattle to Vancouver, BC. Had he done five minutes of research he would have already taken his trip to Japan for their high speed train. Or he could have skipped Spain and rode the Chunnel train.
People tend to look all over the world for what they want to see or experience without looking in their own city.
Don't just look at it walk across it. Walk over it! The tour guides know their stuff, they'll tell you lots of intresting things about its contruction: why it hasn't rusted away, how it supports itself, and how many rivets were used.
Some of the best money I have spent.
"Go into the hall of mirrors and have a bloody hard look at yourself" - HG Nelson
A group of us used to do the same thing you mentioned, and we've been to their conferences and tours. One of our friends subscribed to all their newsletters and journals, and passed them around. The ads in there alone will point you to other organizations just like it. It's amazing.
I smiled while reading your description of awe-inspiring marvels of the world. I must say that being able to run a 5K race on the Great Wall of China was most amazing experience I've ever had.
1) It is a huge, huge dam. Supposed to supply something like 10% of China's electricity.
2) Unfortunately, the Three Gorges were an artistic inspiration for centuries of Chinese artists. They will be flooded, and their beauty lost. You can still see them pretty well now, but that won't be true for long.
So that trip is a twofer.
Just a thought; why not get involved with a project you're interested in and make it your job. You might not get it, but there might be some positions that involve travel that you're qualified for.
I don't know your personal situation, perhaps you have kids or something, maybe it is entirely out of the question. But if I had a nickel for every time someone suggested something "obvious" to me that I hadn't considered before...
My
Limekiller
Three Gorges Damn - before they close it up. Until then, it will be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Trans-Siberian railroad. Just because.
Lewis and Clark Bridge, St. Charles, MO / Alton, IL. See the Nova special, Superbridge, first. And close to the Gateway Arch, too.
WTC site. Damn, that thing took hits from two jetliners and it stayed up long enough to get most (not all, alas) of the people out?
Sears Tower, Chicago.
Assembly building at KSC.
The list goes on and on.
In August of 1999 I travelled from the US to Turkey to watch a total solar eclipse. The eclipse was fantastic, as was the subsequent travel around Turkey.
It's science, not engineering, but I recommend it just the same. Find a good one here or here
I am a techno geek but i have been to Machu Picchu and it was spectacular. Egpyt is next on my list as well as Japan.
But it is good to see things that were built so well with so little technology that survive today. Attesting to human intelligence and cunning. Give you a real good perspective on the world we live in now.
Much prettier than an IMAX movie, plus you are outside.
I love technology museums but the Great Wall of China would be a good thing to stroll down with my lady(plus you geeks could get some choice hentai).
I guess my point is check out something other than the electronic.
Puto
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
I've done both the bridge walk and the tunnel crawl (twice for the tunnel), and I have to admit that it's just about the coolest damn thing :)
And I'm going to get to drive on it in a month. ENVY ME!
> My comment can be quoted whenever, wherever, so long as you bloody well provide attribution! >
The Boeing Everett Factory (where they build the 747, 767, and 777) is absolutely awe-inspiring.
The Hoover Dam is deceptively MASSIVE.
The Eiffel Tower is a whole lot of iron!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was actually quite terrifying before they put up the railings!! (Think about walking, 10 meters up, on wet, smooth-as-glass marble at like a 15 degree angle)
The Pyramids are one hell of an engineering feat!
And, although not human engineering, my favorite has to be Uluru. Yeah, it looks like just a big hunk 'o rock, but when you walk all the way around it, it's quite amazing how the hues change with literally every footstep.
The Titan Missile museum is the only one like it in the world -- A cold-war nuclear silo open for public tours. Setting foot on the premises before 1983 would have meant you would be shot on sight.
The rocket is still in the silo, but its been drained of fuel and the warhead disarmed. Its connected to the control room by an enormous underground corridor build out of massively reinforced steel with giant springs the size of Volkswagons to absorb the shock of a nuclear strike.
Back during the cold war, Tucson was #6 on the Soviet Union's list of strike targets due to the fact we have a major air base, and a rather large number of defense contractors. They built the silo like a couple hundred feet underground, anticipating that it would get hit by a nuke, and still function. The operator's chair in the control room is even mounted on springs and rails, to allow the guy to do his job in the event the facility got hit. You can even sit in the chair.
The tour includes the actual control room where launch codes were recieved, and the infamous red button & code book are kept. You can even push it..Doing so before 1983 would have meant a couple million people would die..
The tour also requires you to wear a hard-hat. You'll need it. I hit my head on a friggin support girder.
Cheers,
Bowie
Bowie J. Poag
I designed my honeymoon around a trip to the east coast of Canada so that I could see the Confederation Bridge up close, take pictures for the engineers in my family, and drive over it.
Of course I didn't tell my wife that. She saw it as an opportunity to visit the Anne of Green Gables tourist traps and see several historical sites in the area.
I'd call that a win-win situation.
However, I would like to visit the sites of some engineering failures. I would love to go and scuba dive on the old Tacoma Narrows Bridge (high currents and all).
In my trips to Arizona I've visited a number of fantastic places:
The Titan Missile Museum (an old missile silo):
http://www.pimaair.org/titan_01.htm
I would love to buy the place and move in, userfriendly.org-style.
It's companion, the Pima Air Museum, has tons of old aircraft including an SR-71 and JFK's Air Force 1. Be sure to hit the hangers:
http://www.pimaair.org/
They're both around Tucson.
The Champlin Fighter Museum has lots of great WWII and WWI stuff:
http://www.champlinfighter.com/ It's east of Phoenix, I think.
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To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.
Having been born there has nothing to do with my enthusiasm for the place ;-)
beauty is only a light switch away
When I was out at Cape Cod I was driving with my father and we passed a sign that said "Marconi..." and we went back to read the sign. We ended up getting to go to the tower where the first trans-atlantic transmission occured. The place was almost completely destroyed. There were a couple of pieces of concrete, and that was it, except for a couple of plaques and a little model. We need to take more care of our technological history, or we may eventually lose it.
Unfortunately, these aren't highly technical places, but they are unique and fascinating.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) has a list of 730 sites around the world that they qualify as "World Heritage Sites" - sites that are one of a kind culturally significant locations. Things ranging from The Statue of Liberty to Ancient Thebes, and lots of others. I'm sure many of the items listed in this slashdot discussion will also show up on the list. (The Great Wall of China is there too)
I try to visit at least one UNESCO World Heritage site on every trip I take. Many of the sites are fascinating for their architecture as well as their cultural significance.
Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but copyright will always protect me.
Sex - Find It
There are a number of fascinating museums and sites in the UK that chronical the industrial revolution. Start at Ironbridge which is literally where it all started - the first industrial scale ironworks were here. Also take in the National Railway Museum in York which details the rise and development of the railways. The Science Museum in London is a more general review of science and industry, but includes some fascinating exhibits on (mainly British) science of that time. Finally - representing an earlier pivotal period - is the Greenwich Royal Observatory also in London that tells the story of the development of accurate clocks that allowed global navigation and exploration.
The UK is full of historical sites of that era, when Britain lead the world in science and industry. A historically-inclined geek's paradise.
Sailing over the event horizon
If you want to see some spectacular engineering, I suggest visiting the Delta Works in the Netherlands.
The Delta Works are basically a series of projects, culminating in the flood control barrier in the Eastern Scheldt (Oosterscheldedam), to protect the lower areas of the Netherlands against flooding.
The impetus to build them was the great storm of 1953, where a combination of storm and high tides flooded most of the coastal regions, claiming some 1800 lives. A decision was made to improve our already impressive flood defences.
One problem turned up however: the Eastern Scheldt. This arm of the Scheldt delta was unique in terms of its environmental value, and also home to a very lucrative arm of the fishing industry (mussels and oysters). In order to protect both the environment and business, a decision was made to put in a flood barrier instead of a regular dam.
At its time, the Eastern Scheldt flood barrier was the most technologically advanced piece of hydrological engineering in the world, and you'll still be hard pressed to find its equal now.
The official URL returns an error from where I'm sitting, but a Google search on "Delta Works" returns enough English-language sites to give you an idea.
Bonus: most Dutchmen have a fair command of the English language, so getting around should be easy. I am also a native of the area that was hit hardest, so if you need a personal guide, just drop me an e-mail.
Mart"I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
For big engineering, there is Mauna Kea. Several of the world's largest telescopes, sprouting like mushrooms from the top of an extinct volcano. Cough up a hundred and fifty bucks or so and you get a guided tour of the summit, as well as a ride up from the coast. And parkas--even in August it's bloody cold up there. The sunset from the top is to die for, and you're almost always above the clouds. It's like the surface of the moon--no vegetation, just dust. The guided tours also usually stop on the way down at around 10,000' and set up a smaller scope for some observing and general stargazing. Very cool.
This is science, not engineering, but you really should go snorkelling, or SCUBA diving if you have your papers. There's a lot of interesting life just about anywhere you get into the water.
More biology: the smallest, least settled island at the end of the chain (Kaui) is mostly rain forest. See the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and hike through the forests. The Bali Ha'i scenes from the movie version of South Pacific were shot here. Very much worth the trip, since Aloha Airlines runs very inexpensive flights between the islands. (Don't forget to take pictures of Hickam AFB when you're flying into or out of Honolulu.)
~Idarubicin
Find something/person you're interested in and do some research on them. Then maybe visit their old stomping grounds. There's a lot of interesting things in the world.
If anyone else has interest in World War 2 and cryptography, take a trip to London and take the train an hour out to Bletchley Park for the day. It was well worth it for me. VERY cool stuff. `8r) (Oh, and don't point out you're american to the tour guide, or all he'll talk about how great those american chaps are. heh)
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
The Deutsches Museum in Munchin, Germany was hands down the best museum I've ever been in. They have the perfect assortment of hands on exhibits and traditional exhibts. They range from computers (peices of ENIAC), to sound (rooms explaining sound and a gallery full of musical instruments) to trains, ships, and mining. When I was in the ship gallery they had a full size canal tug (I think, yes I'm a Naval Architect but everything gets fuzzy after awhile.) It had an opening to see the inside structure and engine. While I was looking at it an employee came and started the engine! This was in the middle of a museum. I could have spent the rest of the year in there but unfourtunatly I only had a day.
http://www.deutsches-museum.de/e_index.htm
A geniune mine shaft dug underneath the museum, that cronicals the modernisation of mining as you progress.
Other highlights: technical toys, a BWM robot, and the the first jet aircraft to be produced in quantity the Messerschmitt Me 262
1) Big Brutus, in West Mineral, Kansas - the second largest electric shovel in the world, and (IIRC) the only one still in (more or less) one piece. If you are in Branson, MO you are a couple of hours out.
2) The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas. See where Apollo 13 and Liberty Bell were restored, and (in a couple of months) watch them restore a V2 rocket (and even help them do it!). (While here, if it isn't Sunday, get directions to The Carrage Crossing restaurant).
3) EBR-1 the world's first breeder reactor, and the first reactor to make electric power, just outside Arco, Idaho (first city to be powered by nuclear power) (while here, you can go through Craters of the Moon National Park, one of the places that the Apollo astronauts trained. Stay in the DK inn, and you have a good chance of staying in one of the rooms they stayed in).
4) The Very Large Array, outside Socorro, New Mexico. While here, you could also go through White Sands National Park.
5) The London Bridge V2.1 in Lake Havasu, Nevada, where the entire London Bridge was relocated to.
6) The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial a.k.a. The Saint Lewis Arch - there is quite a museum below the arch, and I found it mind-blowing to realize that Saint Lewis is an ocean port.
7) Mount Rushmore National Park - go through the Rushmore Borglum Story for how they carved it and the tricks Borglum used to make the faces look more alive. While there, stop by....
8) Crazy Horse Memorial to see such a work being created.
9) Mesa Verde National Park, near Cortez, Colorado, and Walnut Canyon National Monument, near Flagstaff, AZ, are great examples of how people can eake out a living and build a city where you wouldn't think anybody could survive.
Of course, just look at The National Parks Service website for all sorts of cool places to go.
www.eFax.com are spammers
There are lots of great European geek sights, but labels are almost all in local languages. Some good ones:
Making trouble today for a better tomorrow...
One way to select vacation destinations is to become an eclipse chaser. I've seen three total solar eclipses so far. Over the last several years, there have been eclipses over the Taj Mahal, the Galapagos, Hawaii, Africa, Australia, and Madagascar, for instance. The coolest one I saw was in the middle of a rainforest in Guatemala surrounded by scared sh1tless birds, monkeys, and Mayans. I hear one's going to be over Scotland next year (I think). Sounds good to me.
I'm surpirsed nobody mentioned CERN yet, a huge kick-ass particle accelerator among many things and the birthplace of the WWW by the way.
A must-see for any self-respected geek!
Idempotent operation: Like MS software, wether you run it once or often, that doesn't make it any better.
I'm from Europe + when I was hitchhiking through the US I did the usual touresty stuff around the White House etc.
I hardly heard a single American accent in DC!
People will trael the world but not look at what is on there own doorstep. (I'm sure I could say the same for most cities in the world)
Incidently, the Musiums in DC are some of the best I've ever visited....
Anyone quoted by a reporter knows how little they understand
Don't believe what you read is the truth.