Science Centre

It was a journey into the unknown. A group of youngsters and their leaders, with bright, eager faces and minds determined to learn new things walked down the pathway towards discovery.  Ok, it wasn’t a quest; it was just a trip to the Ontario Science Centre.  But what a trip it was! We had a great time adding new information (mostly about how the brain works, and understanding structures) to our hard drives.

Look at that; a metaphor for the mind! The mind might be seen as a computer with storage areas that can fit large amounts of information that can be retrieved when we want it.  If the mind is like a computer, what would a mental illness be? A Computer virus maybe?  Coincidentally, we are learning about metaphors in class so it was interesting that one of the first exhibits we saw listed several metaphors that illustrate how the mind works. The metaphor of the mind as a computer wasn’t the only one; the exhibit also showed us how we might compare the mind to a hydraulic system, a container, a room, a mystery box, a loom, a sheet of paper. It turned out that this exhibit (Trying Out Metaphors of the Mind) was just a teaser for the huge exhibit on the sixth level called Brain: The Inside Story. 

Unfortunately, since the bell went as we co-wrote this piece, this is where the prose ends. We'll finish documenting our learning by writing captions for the photos below.

These wires represent the pathways in our brains. Messages are constantly being sent along these pathways.

In this experiment, we learned that triangles make a bridge stronger and that it helps the bridge support more weight onto itself. This is because of the way the triangle bridge is shaped, upside-down or rightside up there will always be a way for the triangles to support the bridge. But even if one side of the triangles is taken out then the bridge will snap from which ever side is taken out. In conclusion, triangles are a very strong shape that can support a lot of weight. (M.S)

In this experiment we learned that a dome structure can be a very elastic structure that can withstand a lot of compression and tension. In the photo it shows that the dome can be compressed inwards very far and it can bounce right back into the same shape that it already was in the first place.We learned that an elastic material is one that goes back to its original shape after some kind of force had deformed it. Bythat understanding, the metallic dome is elastic! Even the pieceof board they stood on earlier is elastic.  

    This picture shows a girl about to lie down on a bed of nails whilst being helped by a man. well, if you don’t know anything about this science trick, you most likely have a bunch of questions running through your hard drive. Opening up files and trying to find answers. This term  bed of nails, may make you think of it being painful, but when in reality, it doesn’t hurt at all.

Let me explain.

Let’s say it was only one nail, the nail would add pressure and pierce through your skin making you pound in pain. But a bed of nails, is a bunch of nails close together, that you’re laying on, your body is covering. All the needles support your body which results to no pain, whilst one needle results to pain. To add on - the needles are at the same level, not one taller than the other. If a needle was really taller than the other, it would result in pain. (S.D)

Learn more about why the nails don't poke into her flesh.
In this picture, the little girl is laying on the bed of nails with a foam atop of her, and a board laying on top of the soft foam. As you can see in the picture, the man is holding a hammer, and yes, he hit the board. But it didn’t hurt. Nor will it, if you hit so hard with a baseball bat. And this is because the force of the baseball bat and hammer goes on the board, the soft foam underneath protecting her from being pushed down, softly just going against her. and even if she felt the force, it wouldn’t have hurt because the weight of her body is spread out over many nails at the same level of length supporting her weight. The force of the weight of her whole body on only one nail would that one nail to puncture her body. (S.D)