My family takes road trips to California frequently and we always notice the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana from the car on the freeway. The large cube shaped building catches my daughter’s attention as we drive by and we have talked about visiting for a couple of years. Earlier this month when we drove to Anaheim to spend the Fourth of July in Disneyland, we made plans to spend our last day in California at the science center. The center is filled with many permanent and featured traveling exhibits. We are a hockey loving family and were very excited to learn about the Science of Hockey exhibit when we planned our visit. Learning about the science of hockey at the Discovery Science Center was a great way to spend our last day of vacation.
My husband grew up loving hockey and is a huge New York Rangers fan. He has passed that on to our daughter and she has been watching hockey with him from the time she was just a few months old. Now, at four, she gets so excited each time my husband tells her the Rangers are playing. I have really enjoyed seeing them create this special bond over a sport my husband enjoys so much.
My family attending a Rangers game, January 2010
Along with the Anaheim Ducks, the National Hockey League, and USA Hockey, the science center has created an amazing learning opportunity for children. We spent hours at the hands on exhibits and had a great family day learning about the science of hockey.
The You Be the Shooter exhibit let us have a little family competition while practicing our shooting skills.
The Friction Table taught us why ice is the best surface for playing hockey. My daughter really enjoyed getting to compare how the pucks moved on different surfaces.
If you’ve never suited up in a full hockey uniform, you probably don’t realize just how much added weight the players are carrying. My daughter had fun learning about how the weight of the uniform can affect speed and performance.
The Penalty Box was a great place to use our math skills and hockey knowledge to complete a short quiz.
We also learned about the different types of injuries that can happen while playing hockey.
My daughter enjoyed using her creativity to design a hockey uniform for herself. After completing the design and posing for a quick photo, she was able to see herself wearing the uniform.
Our visit to the Discovery Science Center was a great day full of learning and family fun. We will definitely plan another visit soon.
We are members of the Arizona Science Center and through the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) Travel Passport Program, we were able to visit the Discovery Science Center with free admission. With over 300 participating museums, you might already have a membership that will waive your admission to great science centers when you travel all over the world.
If you are planning to visit the Discovery Science Center be sure to allow plenty of time for a day full of fun. We were at the museum for several hours and easily could have spent the entire day there. The museum is located right off the 5 freeway and was very easy to find following the directions from the website. Parking is onsite and costs $4 per vehicle (cash only) unless you are a Discovery Science Center Member. The Travel Passport Program does not cover the parking expense.
Do you have someone in your family that would love learning about the science of hockey too?