Museum of Science and Industry

To wrap up day 6, I invited over 8,000 of my closest police chief friends from around the world for some dinner and drinks. Okay- more accurately, MSI hosted an event for the International Association of Chiefs of Police and I just happened to be hanging out in a plexiglass cube. I had a chance to meet a number of the attendees and they were all really great - curious as to why I was living in a museum - but great. I got many of the typical questions ("where do you eat?", "do they let you out of there?", etc.) but BY FAR the most common question was "where do you go to the bathroom?" It cracked me up how this was the chief (no pun intended) concern. Maybe police chiefs are more practical than the average person and concerned about logistics. More than a few people offered me food and drink, we took a bunch of pictures together and I shook a bunch of hands. People seemed happy that I was crashing their party.

While offers of food and drink were great, I was most appreciative for something else altogether. Typically, once the guests leave in the evening, the museum closes down very quickly. Lights are turned off, music is silenced and video screens go dark. And while this is unique and interesting in it's own right, I don't always get the full impact of an exhibit when it's not turned on. But tonight was amazing. The guests cleared out at 4pm and the party guests didn't arrive until 7pm. That meant: 3 hours, all exhibis, all mine. And I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. Don't get me wrong, the museum has an energy when people are here, but this way I can take my time, focus and soak it all in. And I don't have to share with anyone. Hamster wheel: mine. Tennis ball launcher (showing a parabolic flight pattern): mine. Tornado: all 16 joysticks (to control the speed and shape): mine. Everything just for me. Seriously amazing.

I spent most of my time in Science Storms. Alright, I know I live here so I might be biased, but seriously, this exhibit is phenomenal. Every piece is interactive. And not just in a "lift this flap to reveal the answer" sort of way. From magnetically levitating cars to a wind tunnel you can stand in, this place is really cool. One of my favorite exhibits was the interactive periodic table of the elements. Sounds dorky, right? Well, maybe a touch, but if you had this in high school you wouldn't have dreaded chem class. Not that I personally dreaded chemistry (Mrs. Sibert, if you're reading this, I loved your class) but this makes it so much easier to understand.

With all of the amazing stuff to see and do, I think my favorite part was on Ferrofluids, tiny solid magnetic particles suspended in a liquid. At rest, the tank looks like it's filled with a dark oil but as soon as the magnets are turned on, the fluid springs to life. If I had to explain what it looked like, I'd have you imagine the liquid metal guy from "Terminator 2" plus Mystique from "X-Men" with Lisa Simpson's hair. And since that would leave you completely confused, I decided to post a video instead.

 Here are a few other photos I snapped. Enjoy!

The sand is the same but the liquids have different densities

Plasma ball: not just for hands anymore (coincidentally, this is the exact moment I contracted a skin infection on my nose. Kidding!)

I evidently really like putting my face on things. This time a fiber optics display.

Let there be (rainbow) light!