Twice this fall, the 5-Year-Old visited “Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience,” which is on view at Boston’s Museum of Science through Jan. 1, 2019. It offers informational exhibits, games and interactive components that introduce you to the challenges and wonders of life aboard the International Space Station. The 5-Year-Old was particularly engaged by the hands-on activities—from trying on a space suit glove to sitting in a space restroom to building a model rocket propelled by air toward a model Mars. Here are the highlights according to the 5-Year-Old:
• “Make a rocket. Put only one little thing on because then it will get to Saturn. Then test it. If it doesn’t work, do it again.”
• “Try the space potty. Break the rules and poop in it if you have to go to the bathroom. And then they’re like, ‘Who pooped in this thing?’ Or you get arrested by the police.” That’s a terrible idea. “Yeah, I know.”
• “Try the space ride,” a rotating, life-sized model that you can enter that depicts a corridor in the International Space Station. “It seems like you’re spinning and it’s creaking and sometimes you get a little dizzy.” Does it feel like you’re in space? “Not really.”
• “Play with dolls in a space dollhouse,” a doll-sized model of the International Space Station. “You get to go to the central part. There’s this part that seems like you’re in the Millennium Falcon.”
• “I like testing the [space] glove. You have to pick up a block.”
What did you learn?
“I learned if you’re going to go to Mars, you can not bring a lot of stuff. You need a very lot of fuel and I would not like that much fuel because it’s bad for the earth.”
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