April 29 - California Science Centre

We managed to pick a day where the finalists of the secondary school students for the State are being assessed for their science projects - anything from how much music affects horses to which marinades change the amount of carcinogens in grilled chicken (lemon is the answer!) so the place was absolutely buzzing.We saw the Endeavour, what the Centre is particularly known for and we learnt heaps about the various space missions ... but of course we also found the answers to the question most people want answered:  How do the astronauts go to the toilet in space?"

Space potty (toilet)

We were all fascinated with the answer:  "Via a 4" hole in the toilet seat (ours are 12-18"), that connects to some suction, and a hose for wee (using a funnel attachment on to the hose).  See Claire for more information!!!

There were many opportunities at the Centre to experiment with interactive displays.  Here Claire is in a wind tunnel, testing the aero dynamics of wings.

Have wings ... !

We had a ride in the simulator and had a few encounters with the leopard sharks in the aquarium tanks.

The space shuttle "Endeavour"

The space shuttle Endeavour had an amazing trip from LAX to its final destination at the CSC - and they thankfully captured the whole process on film which was truly fascinating:  power lines along the highways being disconnected and dropped in order for the shuttle to pass, trees being trimmed, traffic of course stopped, all while an army of people manoeuvred the shuttle along kilometre after kilometre of road.  In all, it took approximately 78 hours.

We drove quite a distance down to Carlsbad to be near the San Diego Safari Park - nothing like getting prepared for an early start tomorrow!

All in all another great day.