Visting Grandkids in Texas - Part 1

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Last week I flew to Texas for a visit with the grandkids. They had Friday and Monday off from school so we were able to fill several days with activities.

Girl throwing softball to adult in a field.

Katie spent some time each day practicing softball skills with Kirby because practice starts this week.

Boy standing on the fender of an old yellow truck.

Kasen entertained himself part of the time Katie and Kirby were practicing.

Later that day we drove to Johnson City to the Science Mill. The description below is taken from their website. It is located in an old grain mill, refurbished for this purpose. I highly recommend a visit even if you aren’t accompanied by kids.

A World Of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in the Texas Hill Country.

The Science Mill is a family destination offering a fun, interactive learning environment for all ages. Through cutting-edge technology-based exhibits, games, and programs, the Science Mill expands students' understanding and appreciation of science in their everyday lives. By igniting their curiosity and inspiring them to pursue post-secondary education, the Science Mill experience starts students on the path to a life-long career in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Science Mill exterior is 6 old silos on the backside.

This is the backside of the Science Mill. Those old silos are attached to the main building and are opened up with activities inside each. This disc shape is one of the outside activities. There is another one facing this one 300 feet away. Each disc has a small hole in the center and the idea is that the shape directs sound waves. A conversation in front of one can be heard at the other.

This is inside one of the silos. It is a sand box set up to “create virtual reality in real time”.

Boy and girl pulling on rope attached to a metal upright that demonstrates leverage.

Outside again. The Voicer Over sign describers the activity I told about above. The kids are pulling on a rope while Katie pulls on another that is attached lower, demonstrating the principle of leverage. See photo below for the sign about this.

Signage about a Giant Lever at the Science Mill.
 

Inside again, there is a BioLab room with the focus of biological systems. There are zebrafish, a frog so well camouflaged it is very difficult to find on the mossy rock, a chameleon, and poison dart frogs and much more. I liked this sign with the description of the inspiration for Velcro and “nano tape”, a product inspired by gecko feet that I may have to look for.

Jellyfish showing that one person’s trash could be another’s artwork.

Woman and girl sitting at opposite ends of a table with electrodes attached to their foreheads and a monitor above indicating brain waves.

I sure got a kick out of this activity, Mindball. Biosensors read the electrical activity of each person’s brain and the ball in the center strip moves towards the person with more activity. The goal is to relax. Kirby triumphed over this one several times. This is Kirby and Katie at the table.

Two children sitting at opposite ends of a table with electrodes on their foreheads and a screen above showing brain waves.

After we did a lot of the outside activities we came back in and Kirby saw some other people at this table. She showed them what to do and then took her place at the table.

Each time she “won”, if you consider this a competition.

I wondered if she would fall off the stool. This isn’t exactly a spectator sport, but we joked that maybe this skill is something that she could show off at her school’s talent show.

Girl brushing sand away from a dinosaur skull buried in sand.

Back outside, there is a dinosaur dig.

Girl playing in sand beneath a pendulum with metal balls attached to a frame with cables.

This pendulum is above the dinosaur dig. There is a magnetic strip to pull the balls up together and release them at the same time. They are on cables of different lengths and as they swing they create a wave pattern.

This is another exterior view of the mill showing the Lever and Voice Over activities.

Brown and white goats at the fencer with a longhorn cow behind.

Back home, the goats were waiting. Three of the goats are ones that we delivered in 2021 (Blog Post) and the others are the 2022 offspring. Katie and Kurtis now have a longhorn cow and her calf. They are in the background.

Three sable antelope with two wildebeest and other antelope in a Texas field .

Across the road there is a totally different look. The neighbor here raised exotic animals. The three in the center are sable antelope. There are two wildebeest behind and I’m not sure which antelope the others are. They have had addax and springbok as well as zebras.

Katie doesn’t know why, but this bongo is in an enclosure by himself and seems to like attention at the fence although you can’t reach him through the double fence.