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The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is housed in a re-purposed power plant in Portland.

I visited it on a Sunday afternoon when inexpensive ($2.00 plus $5.00 parking) tickets were available on the web. As you can see from the photos, most of the exhibits were aimed at young people. I really enjoyed watching them learn scientific principles hands-on.

When I was growing up too many years ago I visited the Museum of Science in Boston. It was one of the first museums to move away from the "look but do not touch" display of science and natural history into active exhibits, which are much more likely to involve young people. At that point, most of their exhibits were of the "push the button and watch what happens behind the glass" variety. Here in Oregon (and at other similar contemporary museums) exhibits have progressed to "here, play with the pieces and explain why they do what they do."

This is very important because times have changed since I was young. I had a chemistry set (now considered far too dangerous for young people), and an Erector set (I can't tell you how many times I stabbed myself accidentally with the cruddy screwdriver that came with it or pinched myself between two of the pieces building something.) I also had Lincoln Logs, (long gone, I think) and American Bricks, wooden precursors to Legos. Only the Legos survive. I also had an inexpensive model railroad and was given any number of old fashioned radios to take apart and eventually a supply of electronics parts to play with.

Nowadays, young people don't have most of these things, modern electronics is unrepairable and often un-disassembleable, electronics and small mechanical parts are not easily obtained, and the curiosity of young people gets driven to other subjects. That's why hands-on museums like OMSI are so important for young people.

To view these photographs as a slideshow on a desktop/laptop (the best way to see all the pictures full sized), click on the small logo which looks like an old-fashioned movie camera with tripod legs above this text.