Science Museum

Last Saturday our family went to the Richmond Science Museum. When we first walked in we saw a giant hanging pendulum rotating around knocking down pegs. The Mindbender Manshion was a new attraction going around figuring out different mindbenders in order to find 4 different passwords. There was also a new shark exhibit where you could pet little sharks and look at different sand sculptures. Victoria and Andy also pet a corn snake.

Maymont Park

Today our family went to Maymont Park. We first walked around the Children Farm. We continued walking down a big hill noticing that most of the exhibits were empty and being cleaned out. After we went past some more empty cages into the Japanese Garden. As we were leaving we passed the Italian garden with a lot of pretty flowers.

"Blast" from the Past

On July 21, we went to the Citie of Henricus Historical Park. They have many exhibits that show life in the Colony of Virginia around the time 1611 when the Citie of Henricus was established.

We learned from re-enactors about

wars between the colonists and natives, the weapons used by both sides, and armor used by the colonists. Here, you can see a re-enactor firing a matchlock musket. We all took a turn holding the musket (that's Matthew).

In the Native hut, we saw many pelts that were curing. Victoria took the chance petting a skunk (she swears it didn't smell). Also, onsite, they had a trades/blacksmith building. The guides described the trades and how much training one had to have in order to perform a certain trade and earn a living. We also learned about tobacco: how to farm it and how to process it. Tobacco is still one of the largest cash crops coming out of Virginia, today. Last, we saw the colonial hospital and where colonists brewed medicines from herbs and plants. Victoria even tried her hand at using the mortar and pestle that were made from tree trunks.

Capitalism and Chicken

The object of Capitalism is to get rid of all your cards as fast as possible. Depending upon the number of players, there are up to 5 ranks: President, VP, Citizen, Hobo, and Scum. Victoria was repeatedly Scum, Matthew didn't break above a Hobo, Brady was the most mobile of all, going from Hobo to President and back a few times, and Andy reached President and VP...even Dad was Pres a few times.

The President starts by discarding his lowest card or pair of lowest cards. Play continues in this way down the ranks. The person who gets rid of their cards first is the new President. If only Democracy were so simple.

After a rousing game of Capitalism, we all had dinner with Mim and Pap...one of Mim's world-renown recipes (but Mom makes it better), Jan's Chicken. Mom made a new twist: Pete's Chicken, which is Jan's Chicken with Texas Pete's and Cayenne. Only Andy, Dad, and Mom DARED to try it. Once the holes in their tongues healed, they were able to say it was pretty good.

Harry Potter 6

We went to see HP6 today at Movieland Theatre, Bow Tie Cinemas in downtown Richmond. The theater was really nice, the seats were comfortable, and the food was good. In fact, it was the cleanest and best kept we have ever been to, say MAB & V.

Matthew felt the movie wasn't as good as the book, unfortunately. They had to leave too much out of the movie to fit it into 2 hours. Victoria did figure out that RAB was Sirius Black's brother and that we'll be seeing him in the Deathly Hallows in a couple of years.

According to Brady, the movie could have gone into more detail but was pretty great anyway. Maybe they should hire back the Director who put together Azkban, that one was the best of the series.

Jaws of Fury

Today was my last day of science camp. I saw another I-Max movie which was Sharks. It talked about the different types of sharks including whale sharks, and great whites. Most sharks don't hurt humans which can allow you to swim with untamed sharks. We also learned about clouds.

Rain Rain Go Away

Today I had my second to last day of camp. I did a lot today. I did an ocean habitat. It has sand, hair gel, grass, plastic seashells and sea animals. You will also need a rectangular container. You put in half of the lid of sand. Put it in the bottom of the container. Then you get the hair gel and fill up the container leaving the sand where it is. Then you bang the hair gel down leaving half a quart of the container empty. Then get the grass and put 2 pieces of it in. Shut the lid and tape it.

We also learned about weather a little bit. I made a wind meter. Here's how you make it. You need 4 small Dixie cups. One of them different, 1 Styrofoam ball, a hot glue gun, 3 kaebob sticks, and lastly a straw. Gel 2 of the kaebob sticks and brake them in half. Poke all 4 pieces into the Styrofoam ball evenly. Then poke the sticks in the middle of the cup. Glue them securely in. Then get the big stick and poke it in on the bottom or top. Then glue it. Then put the straw on the long stick. Once your done with that its finished. Then go outside and measure the wind. Count the times the different cup passes you. 15x=1 mph, 30x=2 mph, 35x=3 mph, and 40x=4mph