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Science, Technology, Natural History Museums?

Posted by timothy on from the your-neck-of-the-woods dept.

beadfulthings writes "An unexpected windfall has enabled my husband and me to plan a road trip next year. He's expressed a wish to visit some good science, technology, and natural history museums along the way. Of course it's easy to obtain a long list of them via Google, but I'd like some insight and input. What does your area or city in the US or Canada have in the way of science museums? Are they worth traveling to visit? Do you have any particular favorite exhibits or 'must see' recommendations? This man was brought up in Philadelphia and apparently spent most of his boyhood and adolescence at the Franklin Institute and its Fels Planetarium, so I guess that would be his 'gold standard.' I grew up going to the Smithsonian. Any area of science, math, technology, natural history, or even industrial stuff would be fair game. I think we'll probably want to miss out on the 'creation science' stuff."

9 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. The Henry Ford by plnb · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan has a large variety of automobile, historical, and industrial/manufacturing exhibits. http://www.thehenryford.org/

    1. Re:The Henry Ford by bfields · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan

      Yep, agreed on that recommendation. It's a bit old-fashioned in places: some of it's just big collections of stuff without much explanation. But that can be fun too (and it's not all that way.)

      And the adjoining Greenfield Village has tons of technological history. Last time I was there I got a kick out of seeing a Jacquard Loom they were in the process of renovating. (And the guy there with it was knowledgeable and interesting.)

      Sounds like you probably already know the Smithsonian, but: I always take people to the National Building Museum. Neat, fun place, and easy for tourists to overlook.

  2. Chicago. by SEWilco · · Score: 4, Informative

    Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

  3. The Geek Atlas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Check out The Geek Atlas by John Graham-Cumming.

  4. Best museums to see by ForexCoder · · Score: 4, Informative

    Exploratorium in San Francisco
    Balboa Park in San Diego
    Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
    Kennedy Space Center in Florida

  5. The Computer History Museum (USA) by bezenek · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Computer History Museum is free and has an unbelievable collection of computer artifacts. It is in the Bay Area, so there are lots of other things you can see in San Francisco, San Jose, etc. I will leave recommendation of those up to others who will certainly chime in.

    Here is a link to the museum: http://www.computerhistory.org/

    Enjoy your trip!

    Todd

    --
    Omne ignotum pro magnifico.
  6. Chicago Museum of Science and Industry by ZipK · · Score: 5, Informative

    +1 The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has several one-of-a-kind exhibits, including a German submarine, a simulated coal mine, and an incredible art-deco streamline modern train.

  7. Computers, nukes, and pinball! by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Informative
    (These are a few of my favorite things :)

    I second the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California.

    Everything from a working Difference Engine to the Crays and Connection Machines that we kids dreamed about in the 80s. A fully-functional PDP-1; it still plays Slug Russel's "Space War". Within an hour's drive of anywhere in the Bay Area.

    I'll see your computers and raise you some nukes. Next time you're in Vegas for some trade show or conference, take a day and see the Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Thankfully, there's nothing fully-functional here, but there lots of fascinating artifacts nonetheless. Everything from Einstein's letter to Roosevelt, to bits and pieces of a NERVA nuclear rocket prototype, to engineers' notebooks filled with humorous mementos of projects they'd worked on, to Doc Edgerton's impossibly-fast cameras. Within a 10 minute cab ride from the Strip.

    Although both museums have material suitable for laypeople and/or children, they're targeted primarily at adults with engineering backgrounds. Expect to spend at least 3 hours at each of 'em.

    Nukes are pretty cool, but you can have a lot more fun with a bunch of used pinball machine parts. And everything is fully functional in the Pinball Hall of Fame. Hey, you're already in Vegas -- flashing lights and wacky sounds are what it's all about. You won't need a DeLorean to go back in time, and it'll cost a lot less per hour than the blackjack tables.

  8. If you are going to San Fransisco by funwithBSD · · Score: 3, Informative

    wear flowers in your hair, and visit:

    Exploratorium. This is the original hands on museum.
    The Golden Gate Park: Strybing Arboretum, Beautiful, stunning diversity, reminder of what that giant ball in the sky is for... oh and, ummm.... Biological Studies.
    California Academy of Science is nice too, as is the DeYoung.

    Over the bridge in Berkley is the Lawrence Hall of Science. I remember spending a little time with Liza there on a Pdp-11!
    Chabot Space and Science Observatory is a great little place to study the stars.
    Shockly's Semiconductor Labratory is also nearby: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shockley_Semiconductor_Laboratory. Not much to see, but Palo Alto is a mecca of technology.

    and of course, the Computer History Museum.

    http://www.computerhistory.org/about/

    --
    Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra