In my last post I mentioned that museum memberships have great value and can save you money. I would like to expand on that by using as an example the Family Membership at The MOST in Syracuse, NY (where I work). This article doesn't address the importance of visiting science museums, or why supporting museums is important; it's purpose is to explain why science museum memberships are such a good deal.
A Family Membership at the MOST costs $79.00. It includes 2 adults and all dependent children living at home. This membership lasts a year and has several major selling points:
- Free Admissions to the MOST
- Free planetarium shows at the MOST
- Free Admissions to over 300 science centers worldwide
- 10% discount at the gift shop
- Discounts on IMAX tickets and birthday parties
- Free subscription to the MOST newsletter
- Special invitations to members only preview events
Let's talk about "Free admissions to the MOST." Sure $79 might seem like a lot to spend on one visit to the MOST, but let's imagine that we are a family of four (2 adults/2 children). One trip to the museum, if we buy only general admission, will cost us $30. That means that within the year if our family visits only three times, we will already have paid for the membership and started saving money. And if our family visits every other month, than we save $101. In addition, if we had seen a planetarium show during all 6 visits, we would have saved another $48.
Museum Prices as of 12/21/2011
(click to enlarge)
I think the greatest value of the membership is the free admissions you get to all the other science centers in the ASTC Membership Passport Program. ASTC is the Association of Science & Technology Centers. It is an international group of more than 300 science centers that offer reciprocal memberships. You can check out their website to learn which centers participate.
Please click on the table to the right to enlarge the image and read the prices for some participating science centers. I chose all these centers because they are within a day's drive from Syracuse. With my membership I can visit any of these places and not have to worry about paying to get in. If you do have a membership to the MOST or any of these places, I recommend checking some of the others out. Every science center offers a different experience. If you check the prices, you may be surprised to see that two of the places, the Boston Museum of Science and NYC's Intrepid both cost more for a family of four than the MOST's family membership itself. Let me repeat that: A Family Membership for a family of four costs less than the price of one visit to some of the other science museums that are within a days drive, and can be visited for free with the membership.
If you value visiting science centers enough to visit yours a few times a year or check one out while on vacation, than a membership may be a great deal for you. Or maybe a great present for someone you know.
If you work at a science center, please remember to talk to your visitors about memberships. You are helping your visitors to save money, while they also support the museum.
I couldn't let the Holiday season pass by without going on Channel 9's Bridge Street morning show and doing something fun. Last year I brought liquid nitrogen and used it to make ice cream for the hosts (check earlier blog post). That was a great demonstration for the season, but what could I bring this time? Well, my fellow science educators at the MOST and I thought about it and came up with a few ideas. Our favorite was the burning money demonstration we found at Steve Spangler's website. This is a potentially dangerous demonstration, so I recommend that children do not try this. If you are an adult, and you want to try this activity, make sure you read through the instructions carefully on Steve Spangler's website.
Burning money? On live TV? What? Isn't that illegal?
Defacing a dollar bill certainly is a crime (see link), but the fun thing about this demonstration is that the dollar bill doesn't get damaged at all by the flame it's engulfed in.
So why doesn't the dollar bill burn? The dollar bill never gets hot enough to light on fire. Sure, the rubbing alcohol is burning up all around it, but because the bill is soaked with water, the water absorbs the heat and not the bill itself. The trick to keeping the bill from lighting is to make sure you have the right amount of water in the solution.
In the Bridge Street segment I mentioned how memberships can be a great way to save money. I am going to write a separate post about the value of museum memberships, but I want to briefly explain what I mean by this. A museum membership may cost you double or more than a single museum visit, but even without the discounts that come with them, a membership can soon pay for itself. For example, with a Family+ membership at the MOST, a family that travels to the MOST and other ASTC science museums could expect to reasonable save $100 or more a year.
Cyclops tells the press about the importance of
the pace elevator in Marvel's X-Club #1
Imagine the possibilities of an elevator that could bring people and supplies all the way up to an orbiting space station. A space elevator has long since been a dream of science fiction, and more recently with the discovery of carbon nanotubes, is making its way into real science. As scientists use nanotechnology to create stronger and thinner materials, we become closer to achieving this dream. This week, in the pages of Marvel Comics, the X-Men's science team figured it out.
NASA depiction of a space elevator.
Artist: Pat Rawling
The science geek in me loves all the science talk in comic books. It doesn't always make a lot of sense, but it often lines up with some of the big science ideas that make their way into pop culture. For example, the Fantastic Four got their super powers in 1961 from cosmic radiation while traveling into outer space. This was the same year that Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Throughout the 1960's the word "atomic" was associated with just about everything in comics, and now in the new millennium its "nano" that keeps popping up.
I'm a member of the NISE Network, a community of scientists and educators that teach about nano-technology. Nanotechnology is already changing our lives, and may end up having a bigger impact than the invention of personal computers or the internet. Nano refers to a nanometer, which is one billion times smaller than a meter. It is the same ratio as the size of the Earth compared to the size of a marble. By studying and working with materials at the nano scale scientists can make things we never could before. They are producing better sports equipment, clear sunblock, anti-stick substances, medicine, artificial flavors for our food, and spray-on coatings for our produce. Nano-technology may even hold the key to fighting cancer, defeating AIDS, and to creating better photo-voltaic cells in solar panels. If you've never hear of nanotechnology, check out the site and prepare to be amazed.
The cover of Marvel's X-Club #1
shows the four members of the
X-Men's Science team.
Okay, so back to that space elevator in the comic book. For those who keep up with the fictional world of Marvel comic books, you may know that the super-hero group, the X-Men, have founded a sanctuary and sovereign nation for mutants off the cost of San Francisco. Utopia houses around 200 mutants. On the island, the X-Men have a group of scientists called the "X-Club," which consists of two male mutant scientists, a female human scientist (Go Dr. Kavita Rao!), and a self-aware female robot (don't ask). The X-Club characters are normally supporting roles, but their new mini-series puts them in the spotlight. And since the mutant nation is trying to convince the world not to fear and hate them, building a space elevator for humankind seemed like a good idea for public relations.
In the comic book, the leader of the X-Men tells the press that this project is part of a new era of privatized space exploration, and that it may benefit humankind by helping to monitor the ecological health of the earth, and harvest electricity for those communities that need it. Is Cyclops just trying to gain credibility for his nation, or would a space elevator really do all of that? I mean, in real life.
X-Club's Dr. Nemesis explains his process.
Of course we won't know until it finally happens, but a space elevator would be a big deal. NASA and the US Military think so, and are researching the details. Google thinks so, too. They are trying to learn to build one in their secret research lab.
A space elevator would cut down dramatically on the costs of sending people and supplies into space. Using rockets is very expensive, and a space elevator or elevators would cut down the need for them. The space station on the other end of the elevator could conduct all kinds of science experiments. A big part of what NASA does now is monitor the Earth. I think we can assume that a space elevator would do some of this as well. The station could also possibly be used to assemble and launch other space vehicles or satellites. In this way the station could help launch, assemble, and repair solar energy-collecting satellites. These could harness solar energy in space and beam it back down for us to use as electricity. We are really just at the beginning of privatized space exploration. With advances in nanotechnology it is a real possibility that space elevators may become a part of our lives in the coming decades.
I could keep writing about the comic book and about space elevators, but I think this post is just long enough. Please, send me your comments, and if you're interested in this topic I've posted some links and a video below.
It is always fun making an appearance on Bridge Street, Channel 9's morning show. I've been going on the show for a year or so now, usually bringing on a science demonstration to do with the hosts. Since it is the Christmas season, I thought it would be fun to post the segment from last December when I made ice cream using liquid nitrogen. The producer, Holly, has recently sent me the links to my old appearances, so I will probably be adding some others on future posts.
