The Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, TX

aka Dallas for Kids Part 3
Our final stop last Sunday in Dallas was the Museum of Nature and Science at Fair Park, the Texas State Fairgrounds. This turned out to be much better than I expected, and I wish we had allocated more than 2 hours for the visit.


They've combined two neighboring museums, The Museum of Natural History and The Science Place, both opened more than 60 years ago.

The Science Place has been renovated so extensively that it feels light, airy, and very modern; and more importantly the exhibits are highly interactive and engaging. In contrast, while Natural History may have been state-of-the-art in 1936, today it feels dated and kind of sad, though the second floor appears to be under extensive construction.

If you only have time for one museum, skip Natural History. It also will feel disappointing if you visit after seeing The Science Place, except for maybe the fossil exhibits.


About The Museum Of Nature And Science
The boards of the two museums decided to merge in 2006, and have announced plans to build a new 200,000 sq. ft. facility in downtown Dallas a few miles away in Victory Park. Today the museums are part of a complex built for the Texas Centennial in 1936 that includes the Cotton Bowl and hosts the Texas State Fair each year in the late-September to October timeframe (including the Texas-Oklahoma football game).

I hadn't been to Fair Park in many years, and though the surrounding neighborhood is still somewhat seedy they seem to have expended some effort in sprucing up the grounds. But we were accosted by a couple of panhandlers when we stopped at the McDonald's across the street.

There are 7 museums on the fairgrounds, with Natural History (1936), The Science Place (1946), and The Planetarium all part of the science group, though the Planetarium and the IMAX theater in The Science Place charge separate admission.

Admission to the exhibits for both museums was $5.50 (total) for the kids and my $8.75 adult admission was waived because Bank of America customers get in free on the first weekend of each month. (I didn't know this beforehand; I only found out because I was using my BoA credit card.)

Parking is usually free except for during the State Fair.

The Museum of Natural History
We went to Natural History first because it was closer to where we parked the car. The museum is frankly creaky and rundown, with static exhibits that mostly consist of stuffed animals and obscure rock exhibits on the first floor.


The second floor is a little more interesting, with dinosaur fossils (many of them found in the area), but again the exhibits are static and not interactive. One half of the floor was mostly closed off for construction, where it appears they're doing some major renovation.


Natural History wouldn't be worth paying for admission on its own, but is of minor interest since it's essentially free with The Science Place admission.

The Science Place
By the time we got to The Science Place we were all tired and hungry, so we stopped in the small cafeteria first (we had also visited the Dallas World Aquarium that day). Unfortunately this left us with just 45 minutes to tour the museum, which is not nearly enough.

The first gallery was devoted to optical illusions, which we'd mostly already seen elsewhere. But just past the gallery a volunteer was conducting a kitchen chemistry experiment that my nieces loved. The kids were given the opportunity to participate in making super balls from Elmer's glue, food coloring, and borax. (Corn starch may have been part of the mix too.)


The kids really liked being able to participate and when I called the next day after returning home to Maryland, my nieces were in the kitchen recreating the experiment from memory.

I had trouble tearing my nieces away from the next exhibit, despite my desire to make a quick run through the museum before it closed. This was a giant sandbox where the kids could play paleontologist and look for fossils. I didn't get a picture because I was trying to scout ahead so here's an image from their web site.

The next gallery seemed to be focused on mechanical things and physics, with some giant soap bubble makers and a Rube Goldberg-esque machine demonstrating the effect of gravity.



They had a large exhibit devoted to the human body that included this thermal imaging camera. There was a hand pump in front that you could work in order to see your image change color as your temperature increased with exertion.


The other exhibits I remembered were one that showed if you rub your hands with chicken wire between them, you get an odd silky feeling, and the vomit diorama. (You push a button and it spews forth liquid from the "person's" stomach. Both of my nieces simultaneously said, "Eewww!!")

Otherwise the only exhibit we had a chance to tour in detail was a traveling exhibit about building materials and construction, which was very interactive in showing you the principles involved.

We weren't able to get to the network exhibits or to the exhibits downstairs, which appear to be oriented toward younger kids but which I think my nieces would still have enjoyed. These included a dental exhibit and a "Little Urban Farm" where, among other things, they can simulate milking a cow.

Other Attractions and Summer Camp
Outside, they've created an attractive lagoon with swan-prowed paddle boats. My nieces really wanted to ride them but they closed at 5:30 and no boats were available by the time we walked out. The cost was $10 per boat and there are two pedaling positions and a middle seat.

On such a beautiful day (80 degrees with a light breeze) I think we should have spent about 4 hours at Fair Park. The other museums sound like they're too specialized to be of general interest, but the science museum and lagoon would easily make for a productive afternoon.

There are also two dishes in front of the science museum to demonstrate that a parabola can collect and focus sound at the focal point, so a whisper into one dish can be heard at the other dish about 15 yards away. From YouTube:



They're also offering some science camps at Spring Break and during the summer. They sound like they're fun but it wouldn't necessarily be easy to bring the kids into downtown Dallas every day.

Other Activities For Kids In Dallas
We also considered going to the Dallas Zoo, but with limited time and funds, I decided on the aquarium and museums instead. One of my nieces was very disappointed because she wanted to go to the petting zoo.

However, I had read decidedly mixed reviews that left me with the impression that the Dallas Zoo is an old-fashioned zoo (similar to Baltimore's) with very small habitats for the animals, which can be a little disconcerting (in contrast to the Fort Worth Zoo, where we've gone a few times and which is very large and modern). I decided not to risk it, especially since the aquarium was almost like a zoo anyway.

More Links
Some links that I found useful when researching these museums:

• MuseumSpot.com - a consolidated listing of museums in various cities around the US, including Dallas
• 10Best.com - a site that gives you an editor's opinion of the best attractions in a city
• TripAdvisor.com - user-generated ratings of almost everything a traveler needs. I find it most useful for evaluating hotels, and to a lesser extent restaurants and attractions. Quite often the reviews are contradictory.
• Yelp.com - Yelp has a large enough base that you often get useful reviews, though of course you have to filter out the biases of the writers.

Previous:

• Dallas For Kids Part 1 (Amazing Jake's Food & Fun)
• The Dallas World Aquarium (Dallas For Kids Part 2)

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The Dallas World Aquarium

aka Dallas For Kids Part 2
My nieces wanted to go to the aquarium, the zoo, and some museums while I was visiting Dallas last weekend. At 10 years of age, they're actively interested in learning things now, but on this trip I only had one day free for these activities.

So on Sunday we went to the Dallas World Aquarium (DWA) as well as two combined museums in Fair Park (the Texas State Fairgrounds), The Museum of Nature and Science.


The aquarium was very nice if a little pricey, but the the newly-renovated, very interactive science museum was a real bargain and the girls enjoyed it a great deal.

Dallas World Aquarium
The aquarium we went to is one of several in the area, hence the odd name. The Dallas World Aquarium has done a good job of packing a lot of exhibitions into their space, and the highlight of the tour is the glass tunnel through the open-air shark tank. I also liked the way it felt like you were immersed in a tropical rain forest as you descended through the three levels toward the basement.


DWA was also almost like a cross between an aquarium and a zoo, with birds (some of them flying around freely), insects, monkeys, and jaguars in addition to the aquatic animals. It's a little pricey for its size at $19 for adults and $11 for kids, but everything is beautifully done.


We rushed through a bit because the girls were eager to go to multiple places. I only saw the river otters from a distance, because by the time we got down there they'd swum off. I was surprised by how large they were.

A quick run through DWA takes about an hour, especially if you don't take in the performances, talks, and feedings. We were there a little over 90 minutes.

DWA In Pictures
I think DWA is best described in pictures and the official web site is somewhat sparse, so here are a few. Once you enter, they suggest you climb the stairs to the 3rd floor and wend your way down. On the way up is a little trough with running water where the very cute miniature penguins swim:



This toucan was flying around free:


This tank had turtles, some rays, and a spoonbill:




Because it was the weekend we "leaped forward" for Daylight Savings, they had brought out a bunch of frogs and this poisonous giant toad:


This tunnel was near the gift shop:


Here's the glass tunnel in the shark pond as the Mayan performers walk through. Because the tank is open-air, it sometimes looks like the sharks and stingrays are flying overhead:



Here you can see the manatees and the giant catfish:



The jellyfish were glowing:


And finally, even the trash cans have been built with a rain forest theme:


Next: The Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas For Kids Part 3)
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Dallas For Kids - Part One

I was in Dallas last weekend for a surprise birthday party for my sister, but it was also one of the regular trips I make there to see my nieces, who just turned 10. I usually try to do some fun things with them and on this trip the list included:

• Amazing Jake's (a family entertainment mega-complex)
  
• Want To Be A Rock Star? (a singing competition they were entered in)
  
• Riding scooters
  
• Dallas World Aquarium
  
• Museum of Nature and Science

Overall it was an action-packed weekend but I outlasted the twin terrors, which is not an easy thing to do. But it was a lot of fun, and here's a recap of the activities:

Amazing Jake's Food & Fun in Plano, TX
Amazing Jake's is a gigantic 90,000 sq. ft. entertainment complex in the Collin Creek Mall in Plano, TX, in the northern suburbs of Dallas. It looks like they gutted a department store anchor and filled it with a go-cart track, miniature golf course, climbing wall, laser tag, kiddie rides, and video games.




The $10 buffet is mandatory but we got the passes ($22/adult, $19/kids) which include the buffet and unlimited rides. While this isn't cheap, it was worth it.

We arrived late and only spent 3 hours there before they closed, but one advantage is that the long lines started to thin out toward the end of the evening. Since we were starving we ate at the buffet first (the food was better than I expected) and then stood in line for 30 minutes to go up the climbing wall.




I had never gone up a climbing wall and I didn't make it. About two-thirds the way up the hardest wall I was struggling to hold on with my fingers and I fell back. It's a lot harder than it looks and I was also tired after running to keep up with my niece on her bike that afternoon.

We next went to the laser tag attraction -- and never left. My nieces were having so much fun that we just kept cycling to the end of the line after each 5-minute game. We never had to sit out more than one or two games, and the larger crowd was actually good because it meant we always had full 6-on-6 teams.


The vests had reflective patches that would glow red or green (depending on your team), or go dark if you were shot. The guns had a red targeting light.

After a slow start I actually got fairly decent at the game, at least compared to everyone else (who were usually first-timers). I found that I seemed to have much better results when I pumped the trigger, as it seemed to increase the rate of fire. In one game I scored over half of my team's 9,000 points.

Amazing Jake's is just one of at least 4 or 5 such complexes in the North Dallas suburbs (I've also been to Adventure Landing and thought about going to The Main Event), while I only know of one such facility in Maryland, Adventure Park USA in New Market, MD (near Frederick).

Singing Competition
One of my nieces is taking singing lessons and both of them were entered in a local singing competition that aired on local cable TV. Neither of my nieces made it into the finals, though I think one of them sang well but picked a song that was too hard for her (it had a really wide range), while the other undercut herself because she decided to sing over the vocal track.


I used my new Pano ($2.99) iPhone app to take a panoramic time lapse picture of one of the finalists:


The picture shows the same girl as she performs on camera, exits off-stage, and then poses for the glamour shots. My sister said she's the daughter of a local newscaster.

Both of my nieces had fun and didn't seem to mind not making the finals. What they actually seemed to enjoy the most was going through the fire department's exhibit. The Dallas fire department set up a trailer to simulate a bedroom on fire.


My niece knew all of the answers when the fireman quizzed her: If a fire starts while you're sleeping, roll to the floor to avoid inhaling the smoke, crawl to the door, check it with the back of your hand to see if there is fire on the other side, and if it's hot escape via another route such as a window.

Then he had her lie down on the bed while he started the fake smoke generator. As "smoke" filled the room and the alarm sounded, my niece jumped up, ran straight to the window, and jumped out onto the mat outside.

I guess there's a difference between theory and practice.

Riding Scooters
On Saturday I went scooter riding with one of the twins. This was also a lot of fun though it can be a lot of work, as you balance on one leg and use the other to propel yourself.


We roamed around the neighborhood and my niece claimed that she was trying to get lost but was somehow unable to. Of course, every time we came to an intersection she would stop and consider which way to go.

Next: Dallas World Aquarium (Dallas For Kids Part 2)
Also: Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas For Kids Part 3)
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New-Design Jawbone Bluetooth Headset Earbuds

I lost the large-size earbud on my Aliph Jawbone Noise Assassin ($130) bluetooth headset that I use with my iPhone, so I went to the Jawbone web site to order some replacements.

(As noted before, the fit is critical to the performance of the Noise Assassin. When it works, it's the best headset for clarity and noise suppression.

But if the voice sensor isn't touching your face, it sounds like you're speaking into a tin can to the other end; and the earbud is the most important factor in getting a good fit.)

New Earbud Design
To my surprise Jawbone was offering a new design of earbuds that allows you to wear the earpiece without the over-the-ear hook, if so desired. A new secondary loop rests inside of the folds of your outer ear, and holds the earpiece snugly in your ear and pressed against your face, even if you move or tilt your head.


The catch is that while they only charge for shipping, you could only order one package of three assorted-size earbuds. But since I needed an earbud that fit I put in an order for one pack and chose expedited shipping at $5.

Testing The New Earbuds
So far I like the new earbud design better. The fit is a little more comfortable, and I also no longer have to worry about bending the flimsy earhook (which I no longer use) where its spindle goes into the hole on the earpiece.

I had hopes that I could use it with the medium size earbud because it pressures my outer ear less, but the headpiece was unstable and fell out so I reverted to the large earbud.


Assassin In A Bottle
The only real remaining drawback? When I began testing it after exchanging the earbuds, it was already turned on. Somewhere in the process I must have pressed it enough to turn it on without noticing it (or else I turned it on the last time I stowed it away).

This happens pretty frequently to me and my big concern is that since my use is sporadic, one day I'll go to use it and find the charge will be drained.

So I came up with a decidedly low-tech solution. I cleaned out an old prescription bottle and without the hook, the Noise Assassin slips into it comfortably. So far it's prevented any accidental activations at all, even when rattling around in my pocket.


The Verdict
To me great design incorporates usability as well as style. With the Jawbone Noise Assassin, Aliph has sacrificed practical usage for looks, though this design tweak is a nice improvement.

The terrific noise suppression performance makes up for the flaw but I'm holding out hope that they'll redesign the control buttons on their next model.

Changes I'd Like To See

Ideally, they would offer a more rugged version of the headset. This is the kind of device that gets pitched into my pocket or jacket when I'm not using it, and my priorities are performance, usability, reliability, and durability. Styling is a factor but it can't come at the expense of the other criteria.

Even with the sensitivity of this device to accidental hang-ups and activation I'm keeping the Noise Assassin because it simply works far better than any other headset I've tried, and my prescription bottle workaround has helped a lot. As a bonus, putting it in a bottle also keeps me from losing the earbud, which tends to slip off if I just stuff the Noise Assassin in my pocket.

Related: Jawbone Noise Assassin Bluetooth Headset (1/3/09)

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Amazon Releases Kindle for iPhone

Amazon made the Kindle for iPhone (free) reader available on the iTunes App Store today. While the app itself is still rudimentary, it has a clever method of automatically tracking bookmarks across devices and marks a sea-change in the electronic books market.

With the release of the first of what Amazon promises will be many Kindle readers for smartphones (and in a way that is complementary to the Kindle wireless hardware device), the first step toward a complete remaking of the publishing industry has been completed.

Content Is King
The Kindle reader on the iPhone isn't really that special by itself. What makes it a game-changer is that iPhone and iPod Touch owners now have easy, one-click buying access to Amazon's vast catalog of 240,000 current titles, most at prices far below their hardcover and paperback cousins.

Most popular books are available for $10, with brand-new releases generally about $15 and older paperbacks a little over $6. (Rumor is that Amazon presently subsidizes the cost below its royalty payments to publishers.)

Competitors such as Fictionwise's eReader simply cannot match either the number of titles offered nor the prices, which are as much as 50% off the price at the eReader store (if you can even find them there).

[Update (3/5/09): Fictionwise, which owns eReader, announced that they have been bought out by Barnes & Noble, which is the strongest of the remaining traditional bookstores. So it's possible this will give them the leverage they need to improve pricing and availability.]

There will be some readers who will never make the shift from a physical, paper book to an electronic reader, but most will find the tactile experience outweighed by the convenience of instant availability in the buying process, and being able to carry your library with you at all times.

Using The Kindle Reader for iPhone App
Like all iPhone apps, getting the Kindle reader is a drop-dead simple exercise that takes only a couple of minutes. From the iTunes App Store, you choose the Kindle reader and with a single touch download and install it.


Upon opening the Kindle reader app, you're asked to log in with your Amazon account and password. This registers the iPhone with Amazon, and if you already have Kindle books allows you to wirelessly download them to the iPhone without being charged again.

The reader itself is minimal, especially compared to eReader and Stanza, which offer numerous small ways to customize the font and page display, as well as adding notes to the text (a feature on the Kindle that is not replicated here).


I also prefer to tap to turn a page, and the Kindle reader only supports a swiping motion. It's also bizarre that you can't read in landscape (horizontal) mode as only portrait mode is supported.

Buying Kindle Books
Buying content is also a little awkward, as you can't do it directly from the Kindle app. You're pushed out to the amazon.com web page, which you can access from either Safari on the iPhone or the browser on your Mac or PC.

But after that Amazon has done some clever things to enhance the buying experience.

Once you've logged in, the Amazon web site will automatically recognize all of your registered Kindle devices and give you the option of downloading the material to that device with a single click.

After you've completed your shopping via the web browser, the next time you open the Kindle reader on the iPhone, it will automatically find and download all of your purchases.


Other Amazon Improvements
The most unusual innovation from Amazon is WhisperSync, which automatically tracks the last page read on any Kindle-compatible device and returns you to that point. You can sync up to six devices that way, so if you start reading a book on a Kindle, then read a few more pages while at the store, and then return home to the Kindle, each time the next device will pick up where you left off.


It's also nice to be able to download free samples of books (generally the first two chapters), as this is often how I discover new authors in a physical bookstore.


Otherwise, the main advantage of the Kindle iPhone app over the Kindle app is that it offers the capability of full-color graphics, which is a little hit-or-miss at this time. Some publishers only provide black-and-white text or illustrations, or poor quality color images, but a few have added high-quality graphics (though unfortunately you can't zoom in yet).

The graphics will only improve, and it's my understanding that while the reflective (gray-scale only) eInk display technology used in the Kindle hardware device is easier on the eyes and closer to the traditional book-reading experience, its slow response time makes it impractical for rapid surfing or thumbing through the Internet or other reading material.

Shortcomings
Beyond minor interface improvements, the Kindle reader still has some room for improvement.

Notably, it doesn't support buying or reading Kindle newspapers and magazines. This is an odd omission as the iPhone would seem a natural vehicle for the latter due to its superior graphics capability and its supreme portability.

I'm also not how to load books from the large trove of free third-party electronic books in the public domain (mostly books from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries), offered via initiatives such as Project Gutenberg, even though the books are available in Kindle (.azw) format. But Amazon offers quite a good number of free books but they're hard to browse through, so it's easiest to search in the Kindle store by author.

It's also very strange not to know how many pages are in a book (the Kindle reader doesn't tell you). While Amazon uses its own weird "locations" method of tracking the progress of a book, it's a close enough analog to a page that knowing your relative position by location would serve the same purpose.

The Verdict
I was almost shocked by how quickly I converted to electronic books a couple of months after getting my iPhone. Increased eyestrain was quickly counterbalanced by the tremendous convenience of always having my entire library with me, especially when traveling.

Within a short period I had converged on eReader as my favored application because of its simple, refined interface and the availability of both new books for purchase as well as free books in the public domain.

But in a single stroke Amazon has swept all of that away. I had become frustrated by the lack of available titles, or by the calculation of spending over $20 for a book that costs the site and publisher virtually nothing (in incremental costs) to deliver to me electronically even as paperback versions were offered for $7.


I downloaded four books today:

• The Great Decision by Cliff Sloan and David McKean (Kindle: $14.82; Amazon hardcover: $17.79 plus shipping; not available on ereader)
• Angel Isle by Peter Dickinson (Kindle: $9.99; Amazon paperback: $9.99 plus shipping; ereader: $17.09)
• Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher (Kindle: $9.99; Amazon hardcover: $17.13 plus shipping; ereader: $23.36)
• Angelica by Sharon Shinn (Kindle: free sample of 2 chapters, full price $6.39; Amazon paperback: $7.99 plus shipping; ereader: $7.99)

These numbers are just brutal. Like much of the electronic reading experience, the Kindle for iPhone reader is just good enough to make it worth using, and having a wealth of content available at your fingertips -- and at reasonable prices-- makes it a transformational experience.

The Future
This is only the beginning. From these crude and humble origins, the publishing industry will be reborn if, like Amazon, they have a vision for the future that sees opportunity in the new electronic technologies that are finally maturing. But the industry is trapped in both traditional thinking and business relationships, as electronic distribution poses a mortal threat to traditional bookstores.

Amazon asserts that the Kindle for iPhone reader is a complement to their hardware device, and with their clever autosyncing WhisperSync they're partially right. But I'll never buy a dedicated Kindle device, especially not at $350. I'll either use my iPhone or, I expect, some successor to it that bridges the gap toward a laptop.

Electronic books and their associated reading devices are still a little crude today. But both electronic displays and processors are moving rapidly up the low-energy consumption, high-capability curve, and it's only a matter of time before the shift is complete.
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