Dinosaur Robots and Brains

Nah...he really wasn't scared. After a while...

The Detroit Science Center has a great dinosaur exhibit for a few more weeks. But, to try and explain how these now-extinct creatures are massive moving display, we told the kids that they were dinosaur robots. Marie, of course, wanted the more technical explanation (someone dug up the dino bones, put them back together and figured out what the body looked like. From that, they made a robot that looks like what they think the dinosaur may have looked like). Ty was gloriously happy with just the phrase "dinosaur robots." Until the triceratops next to the oh-so-long ticket line started snorting, moving and acting all predator on us. Then, he clung to me and lost some of his enthusiasm. "Dinosaur robots are scary," he proclaimed. So we explored the rest of the science center while that churned around in his toddler brain for a while.

Fortuntately, there were lots of other things to see! Some Wayne State University med students were doing a nice presentation on the nervous system. Marie made a spinal column and a neuron out of beads and pipecleaners; Momma got a brain tattoo on her face. But then...the most exciting part...BRAINS!!!! We donned the gloves and I promise I didn't push any kids out of the way to play with the brains. Yes, actual brains. Again, Marie wanted to know how they got there so out came the sanitized explanation: sometimes when people die they agree to let others learn about human bodies by studying their body. The brains came from someone who wanted to do that. "So they cut open their head and took the brain out?" "Pretty much." After messing around with other's heads, we checked out the many other exhibits. Robots, space ships, gears, a pretend factory line and steel plant and a scale Mackinac Bridge to walk over...we did it all. We had the company of Nana Whall and her friend Mr. Sullivan to help keep us going. A great first day of Spring Break as we hung out in the D!