Where should I take my kids this winter break?

If you are a parent of 2nd grader, you probably also looked around to decide where to take kids this winter break. I decided to say NO to theme parks this time. We had visited a couple of times to local science museum so I was looking for something refreshing and interesting for whole family. Our schools emphasize on Language and Arts until 3rd grade, giving parents more responsibility of introducing math and science to kids through participatory play. I am having hard time motivating my 7 yr old to the innovative and creative sciences so we drove to Lawrence Hall of Science museum at Berkeley last week. I must say that this place is a must go if you like to stimulate your thought and sharpen your science trivia skills. Take a look at these.

• what could go wrong on a Mars mission?
• how do you spot a microfossil?
• how well can you read a face in space?
• how does food taste in space?
• how is water recycled from toilet?

and many more... you will be able to watch interactive videos that answer these questions. The museum has plenty of science games for both pre schoolers and older kids. In fact, museum offers classes and workshops on weekdays and weekends for all ages 2 and above. These classes and workshops appear to be designed to introduce different aspects of science through play. My favorite is the interactive planetarium

where audience is encouraged to participate in questions and answers. The planetarium shows are priced at $4 each and if you are short on time, you should decide which one is best for your family. Since we had more adults than kids in our team, museum folks suggested that we choose "Red Planet Mars" show. If you have more kids in your party, you might choose "A sky full of stars".

We were simply amazed, how much we learnt about Mars and other exploratory scientific experiments that are going on in space and biology area. Please do not forget to visit their website before you decide to visit with your kids.

Finally, I would like to mention about the opportunity to visit Tech Museum at San Jose with your family FREE on second Sunday of every months.  Wish you all a very happy new year and happy exploring Maths and science !!