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Ask Slashdot: Science Sights To See?
First time accepted submitter steevven1 writes "My girlfriend and I are planning a long trip across the United States for this summer, and we'd like to see the usual sights, but we both have a bit of a geeky side, and we were trying to think of science-related marvels to see along the way. So far, we have thought of places like the Very Large Array in New Mexico and Fermilab in Illinois. Any suggestions?"
Hayden Planetarium på American Museum of Natural History in New York
I have heard good things about the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA:
http://www.computerhistory.org/
Sadly, the place was closed for renovations when I happened to be in town...
.: Max Romantschuk
When I was in California with my wife, we went to The Tech (http://www.thetech.org/) and the Intel museum (http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/company-overview/intel-museum.html)
We found the Tech interesting and wish we had more time to see it (we got there a couple hours before closing), the Intel museum wasn't anything special and could probably be skipped unless you really like looking at old silicon wafers or can't miss the opportunity to wear one of those bunny suits for a photo op.
If you don't mind driving up long, windy roads and turning off your cell phone, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory has a visitor center at Kitt Peak -- they have a bunch of telescopes there, including a solar telescope, so it's possible that they might be observing if it's not too windy. (it was too windy when I went there).
http://www.noao.edu/outreach/kpoutreach.html
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
Near Arco, Idaho, is the site of Experimental Breeder Reactor 1.
"At 1:50 pm on December 20, 1951 it became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it produced sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs."
It's decommissioned now, but the building and much of the original equipment is still there, along with good museum exhibits.
You haven't said what route you're taking across the States, but Arco is along the "Oregon Trail" as documented in the guidebook "Road Trip USA" (which I thoroughly recommend, having driven four of its cross-country routes)
Vast number of options here : http://www.nerdydaytrips.com/
I'm from Belgium but in Arizona I can recommend:
- Pima Air and Space museum near Tucson
- Titan Missile Museam near Tucson as well
- Biosphere II in Oracle, Arizona
- Meteor Crater near Winslow
The Barringer Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona is a must-visit if you're passing within, ooh, two hours drive from it.
If it was in any other state, it would be the biggest hole in the ground in the state. But it's in Arizona.
The Grand Canyon has to be seen too. You could call that nerdy if you're into geology.
Seconded. Started by Ben Goldacre, with plenty of destinations in the UK and the US, and if you know of any more just add them:
Nerdy Day Trips
Smithsonian Air and Space museum, Smithsonian History museum, Spy museum, Washington DC
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Einstein's House, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Princeton, New Jersey
Edison Labs, West Orange, New Jersey
Dinosaur State Park, Connecticut
Falling Water, Pennsylvania
If you hit Washington, DC, then you should definitely check out the Smithsonian along the Mall. The National Air and Space Museum is especially good, although crowded in the summer. Make sure to check out the kid's section, which has a bunch of wind tunnels and other fun things that adults will get a kick out of. They also have a really great annex full of cool aircraft next to Dulles airport about an hour west of the city. It would also be a terrible shame if you didn't visit one or more of our national parks while you're in the US. Our varied landscape and remote stretches of wilderness define the character of our nation perhaps more than any other single thing. Just make sure to pack plenty of water and basic survival gear, as some of the parks can be quite remote and wild. Wherever you end up visiting, you'll want to keep a sense of scale in mind. The US is rather large, in ways that many of our visitors aren't really mentally prepared for. Consider limiting yourself to one or two regions, so that you get more time actually seeing things instead of racing from place to place. I hope you enjoy your visit!
As a video game geek, a few recommendations:
This summer (2012) the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., will be hosting "The Art of Video Games".
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/games/
In New Hampshire, there is one of the largest (if not the largest) arcade of classic video games: "Fun Spot"
http://www.funspotnh.com/
If thirsty and heading through NJ, there is always the semi-famous "Barcade":
http://barcadejerseycity.com/directions/
Depending on when you go, you can also go to the Trinity site on White Sands where the first atomic bomb was tested. They open it up only twice a year on the first Saturday in April and October. If you are already down in New Mexico for the VLA there is the National Solar Observatory near Alamogordo.
When I was there in 2008 they had a 30min tour and a 4hr comprehensive tour.
Both are well worth it.
http://www.cosmo.org/ I went here this summer, it's in Hutchison, KS, and has a wide range of actual flight hardware from various space missions - including the Apollo 13 CM. There's also an actual SR-71 Blackbird and genuine V-1 and V-2 rockets from WWII. Worth a trip if you're passing through!
Seconded. And the VLA has more comprehensive tours on the Trinity Site weekends.
But there's more to it than that, there's the Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, some stuff in Los Alamos, and if your into such things, Roswell.
Sorry to sound like an ad for New Mexico. There's a lot of lousy parts of the state, too.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
On the west coast, the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Then drive down I-280 and see the SLAC – don't know if they have a visitors center. Over to Berkeley to see UCB. Moffett Field and 1 Infinite Loop Drive in the Sili Valley. Carry on south to L.A. and visit JPL – call to find out about seeing the museum in the visitor center – and Caltech; both in Pasadena.
On the east coast Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, NC. The MIT museum and MIT, including the Infinite Corridor, in Cambridge.
You said you'd be in New Mexico. There are lots of geek places to visit. Geologically, Carlsbad Caverns is incredible. By far the most impressive public-access cave I've ever been in. In addition to the VLA, there's Los Alamos (several museums dedicated to nuclear stuff), Cloudcroft (the solar observatory near there in Sunspot), Alamogordo's Museum of Space History, White Sands (largest gypsum-sand desert in the world. Nothing but blinding white as far as you can see), Valley of Fires - a huge ancient lava flow that you can walk around in/on. There's Bandelier outside of Santa Fe - the 10,000+ year old human cliff dweller settlement. Check their website before you go though - they've had issues with wildfires and flash floods, so what's open at any given day is in flux right now.
If you want different geek fun, Roswell is always amusing with all their UFO stuff. Even the McDonalds is shaped like a flying saucer.
There's more in the state too, like the lightning field, etc, but those suggestions should keep you busy for awhile.
"I disagree with you" does not equal "flamebait."
At Lawrence Livermore Labs in California.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/101277-inside-californias-star-power-fusion-facility
It would be on my list.
I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
When I am petrol, I will have a host of other problems.