Discovery Times Square has two interesting exhibits that will make the STEM disciplines more fun than fraught. One will appeal to the family’s future internist (or coroner), the other to your intergalactic superhero.
Launched in January, Kid M.D. riffs off of the permanent exhibit “Body Worlds: Pulse.” Wearing stethoscopes (they get to keep) and lab coats (that they give back), kids wander through the exhibit during this one-hour program, filling out their kid-friendly guidebooks on the different body systems and parts. A neuroscientist leads the workshop, prompting questions like why humans need a spine and pointing out the different sections of the brain. She shows how the nervous system works, how stress kills, and why exercise changes one’s heart rate. On rounds, the “interns” blow up a balloon to learn how the lungs inflate. In case they need encouragement not to smoke, they see a smoker’s leathery lungs, as well as a leg where the arteries have been completely clogged from peripheral arterial occlusive disease caused by cigarettes.
A great section on nutrition shows different diets around the world. (Thank goodness for the Australians. Were it not for our friends Down Under, Americans would have the worst diet in the world.) It shows why humans need a varied diet (no one food provides all 40 nutrients we need). Should your children need outside guidance on what to eat, in this portion of the exhibit they can learn about the importance of whole grains, legumes and fish, fruit and vegetables.
“Body Worlds” has more than 100 plasticized bodies and body parts on display to shed light on some of the human body’s mysteries. (It even helps explain why skin sags as we age—bone mass shrinks the older we get, but skin doesn’t. As such, we’ve got the same amount of skin covering less bone.)
The kids’ tour trails off before the reproductive area, complete with a pregnant woman and actual fetuses at various stages of gestation. Families who wish can take a quick look around before heading to the classroom where students each receive a graduation certificate.
While Body Worlds is a permanent exhibit at Discovery, Kid M.D. runs only on designated Saturdays through the end of March (February 7 and 21, March 14 and 28) at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM. It’s free with museum entry ($20 for kids and $27.50 for adults). Reservations are recommended.
While Kid M.D. is probably best suited to 1st to 3rd graders, Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. has something for cool nerds young and old. You need not have seen “The Avengers” to appreciate the immersive displays—though it helps, especially with the huge Chitauri chariot and costumes from the first Marvels movie. (Could Scarlett Johansson’s waist be any smaller?)
Before entering the high-tech Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network, probationary agents (“probies”) get a plastic ID card to use in the interactive activities. Training to be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the S.T.A.T.I.O.N., they go through the paces in Iron Man’s workshop, Bruce Banner’s lab, Captain America’s Ready Room and Thor’s Observatory.
Probies test their strength against Captain America. They compare their cognition, measure how their pulse changes when they see something stressful (like the Red Skull or a Chitauri Warrior from “The Avengers”) and something cuddly–say, a puppy. They test their reflexes as they try to shoot an enemy/ not shoot a friendly.
In Bruce Banner’s bio lab, agents see where gamma rays are concentrated (what exactly is going on in Durham, NC?) and examine the Hulk’s blood under a microscope. In Thor’s observatory, probies see the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard and search for Earth-like planets in other solar systems.
The coolest part might be Iron Man’s workshop, where recruits can see a reflection of themselves wearing the red and gold suit. They practice flying like Iron Man by swooping and tilting their bodies in different directions and blinking to scan the horizon and fire on enemy activity.
If Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. rings authentic, it’s probably because it was organized with help from NASA, the Science and Entertainment Exchange program of the National Academy of Sciences and the neurotechnology company Neuroverse.
The Avengers’ run has been extended through March. It costs $19.50 for children and $27 for adults, though you can find online coupon codes as well as from people handing out discount flyers in Times Square.
Discovery Times Square is at 226 West 44th Street between 7th and 8th avenues.
For more information on Discovery Times Square, visit discoverytsx.com.
Hillary Chura writes the Le$$er Parenting blog for New York Family. For money-saving tips on rearing children for less money in New York City, follow her on Twitter @hillarychura.
