Identity Crisis

With less than 15 weekends left (18 weeks left of work - 2-3 weekends in Indy - 1 weekend in Washington D.C. for work - the weekend I move home), I decided that I have got to step up my exploration efforts. There are still a number of things I want to see and/or do in the area before I leave, and I'm running out of time. On top of that, some of the places are best appreciated during warmer weather- Cape Cod and Block Island. (I was updating my travel binder the other day, and Block Island was on Real Simple's list of the 10 Best Hidden Gems in the U.S.)

Today I tackled the Boston Museum of Science (BMOS). I became a member of the North Smithfield Public Library about a month ago (I know, it took me a good 6 months to get a membership- their hours aren't the greatest, and I used to sleep in most Saturdays past noon), and they have passes to several local museums and attractions that let you get in for free or at a very reduced price. I woke up around 10:00 AM and decided that if they had any passes left for today, I was going. Instead of paying $20 for adult admission, I got into the regular exhibit halls for $5! I did have to pay extra to see an IMAX movie, but the total was still less than I would have paid for my total admission.

Like most museums, the BMOS has both regular and special exhibits (with the special exhibits being extra, of course). They were featuring a Harry Potter exhibit that was filled with costumes and props from the Harry Potter movies. Since I have not read any of the books or seen any of the movies, I did not have any interest in this matter. However, thousands of other people did (it felt like that many!) and were rushing to see the exhibit before it closes tomorrow. The BMOS is very kid-friendly, so I had to remember not to be such an uptight adult. (Ill-behaved children drive me up the wall.)

I started with the exhibit "Identity," which discusses the environmental, genetic, and social factors that make us individuals. I examined my fingerprint patterns, found people across the globe with the same skin tone as me, and tried to match pictures of children with their parents (much harder than you think!). Part of the exhibit looked at the range of five basic traits that some psychologists use to categorize individuals- organized vs. impulsive, wired vs. relaxed, traditional vs. something, . You could then find out what type of music and smell fit your personality based on where you selected your trait to be in a continuum. My music was a mix of classical and a bright beat. (I decided not to do the smell portion- people were saying that they couldn't get the smells off of their hands.) Another part of the Identity exhibit explained the differences between male and female brains, which apparently are different even in the womb. (Even though I did not know the difference started so early, I am not surprised.)

Two of my favorite parts of the exhibit were even more interactive. The first exercise allowed you to change your face into a different gender, race, or both. You first took a picture of your face lined up with marks on the screen. Then, you moved shapes to fit your mouth, eyes, nose, eyebrows, etc. Thirty seconds later- voila! A new you.

Here is my face before the transformation...

This is me as a black male. (I think the hair just throws everything off.)

The second exercise used similar technology to the previous tool I described, but this would show the effects of healthy aging or poor choices- smoking, not using sunscreen, or unhealthy eating. Even though I regularly wear sunscreen on my face, I thought a refresher of what *could* happen would make me even more faithful to sunscreen. The results speak for themselves.

My face after healthy aging... (Someone please tell me that this is not in the near future.)

Wow- so thankful that science has showed us how UV rays can be dangerous. This is awful!

While at the museum I also learned about wind and solar power, saw a woman give birth underwater (don't get excited, it was just a video), witnessed a chick hatch, and attempted to solve visual puzzles. I really enjoyed the visual puzzles. Most of you may have seen the black and white picture that shows both an old woman and a beautiful young girl- one of the two jumps out at you depending on your personality.

A view of the Charles River from the museum

Nothing like being in two places at once!

I had really wanted to see the planetarium, but it is closed for renovation until 2011. Instead, I decided to learn about "The Greatest Places." The Greatest Places is an IMAX film that featured six of the most amazing landscapes on Earth- Madagascar, Tibet, the Amazon River, Iguazu Falls, Greenland, the Namib desert, and the Okavango River Basin in Botswana. I love learning about the landscape of the other parts of the world and have always wanted to do lots of traveling (I have two life to-do lists, one of which features places I want to see before I die), and this movie definitely spurred the little travel bug I've been experiencing lately. I can't go anywhere abroad until this fall/winter, so for now I will set my sights on exploring New England.

In an effort to save money (and avoid a multi-car crash), I decided to take the commuter rail into Boston. There's a line that takes you straight into the city, and it's only $7.75 each way. I parked my car at the Providence Place Mall parking garage, which ended up costing me $20 (I just missed the 10 hour mark- I think it would have been $8-10 instead.) However, parking alone for 8 hours in Boston would have *easily* cost me over $35 (If I had to bet, I would say it would have been even more than $40). Plus, the gas alone would have cost $11. (Triple A has a calculator that takes the make, model, and year of your car into account.) It was nice not to have to worry about driving in the city, especially on my way home- I was exhausted!

After I finished at the museum, I went to Copley Plaza and did a little shopping. Lord and Taylor was having an *amazing* sale on winter coats, but I was strong and was able to convince myself that I could wait until next year. I did, however, find something I couldn't pass up- Footzy Rolls. Footzy Rolls are rollable shoes designed to be small enough to fit inside your purse. This allows you to wear the slippers/shoes while you are on your way to go out and have to walk, change into your heels when you arrive at your destination, and change back into your slippers for the walk home. I am going to Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks, and these will be perfect!

The how-to's of wearing the Footzy-Rolls...

The newest edition to my footwear wardrobe

Who knows where I will go next! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!