This was quite the adventure. I’ve driven past the Museum of Science & Industry many times. I decided it was time to check it out. I imagined thought-provoking exhibits that would dazzle me about how the universe works.
What I didn’t anticipate was my feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The museum seemed tailored for kids or at least adults with kids. I felt distinctly out of place. I wasn’t quite sure what was making me uncomfortable, but I elected to read about the exhibits and move on, rather than try them out or watch someone else try them. And there were several that interested me.
Take, for example, the bed of nails. You could lie down, push a button and the nails ascended through their shafts and lifted you up. The explanation said the secret is the number of nails and the distribution. Because there are thousands of nails, each one only has to carry a tiny fraction of a person’s weight. The pressure is so evenly distributed that they won’t hurt you.
Another exhibit, called “Mindball,” is designed for two people. Each wraps a sensor band around the head. The sensor measures Alpha and Theta waves emitted from the neural electrical activity in the brain. These are transmitted through the sensor band to the main screen. The object is to see who can move the trace line on the screen with their “thoughts.” The signage said this is a proven method of learning to relax and is better known as “biofeedback.”
I eventually arrived at an exhibit of optical illusions called “Mind Mysteries Mansion.” These were great. I love the illusions where you’re challenged to see two very different images.
The first one was easy.
The Church by the Sea, built between 1945-47, accidentally created this illusion. Located in Madeira Beach, Florida, it has become a world-famous illusion.
What do you see first? Do you see the church or do you see a chicken?
And then there’s this one.
Scientists say this ring cannot physically exist and wonder why our minds are not disturbed by that.
Walt Disney is quoted as saying that if you can dream it, you can do it. Apparently not always, or at least not when it comes to creating an object from something you’ve imagined.
The museum’s vast indoor space includes a climbing wall, a dinosaur skeleton and a planetarium. I couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to the things that were included and how they were set up.
If you’re there with children and they need to blow off steam, there’s also a large outdoor space with lots of things to keep them occupied.
I think this would be a great place to bring your kids or grandkids but for me, it wasn’t worth my $14.
- 4801 E. Fowler, Tampa, Florida
- 813-987-6000
- $14
- http://www.mosi.org
Lisa Browder 
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