CuriOdyssey

Sunday, September 24th, Frank, Alex, and I visited CuriOdyssey. CuriOdyssey is at Coyote Point which is 37 miles, ~45 minutes, from Alex's home in San Ramon, and juts out into San Francisco Bay. Per Wikipedia

CuriOdyssey is a science museum and zoo containing animals and interactive science exhibits. CuriOdyssey is home to nearly 100 rescued animals, most native to California, that cannot survive in the wild. CuriOdyssey's exhibits include a science playground where kids play with scientific phenomena.

The location was scenic, at the tip of a peninsula, near a marina with sailboats. As soon as we stepped out of the car we saw all the masts from scores of sailboats jutting up from a beautiful blue tranquil sea. The weather was absolutely perfect, lots of bright sunshine and gentle breezes.

Coyote Point was also close enough to San Francisco Airport that we could see close up the underbelly of airplanes as they landed. We ate lunch outdoors watching planes, boats, and critters.

As soon as we entered, we saw a map orienting us to where the science area was, where the animals were, and where the playground was. Alex really enjoyed the hands on science displays, which were geared toward a young age group and not so wordy as to distract from the fun of just experiencing and playing.

Alex liked manipulating the translucent shapes on a light table. He spent a fair amount of time there enjoying the colors and moving polygons around. Frank played with the nearby cascade display/demonstration.

CuriOdyssey is also a haven for animals as one of its missions. Animal integral involvement could not be denied, observing the signs scattered at the doorways.

Alex loved the wind tubes; there were several of them in varied diameters and heights stationed in two separate buildings.

Science demonstrations in the outdoor lobby area were also a curiosity for Alex. Dancing rings and falling rain were big hits.

As we made our way over to the animal section, Alex gave a passing nod to a tortoise, ignored the raccoons even though they were out and active, and watched a turkey vulture for a few minutes as it was being fed. Then he did his good citizen's task of seeing to the proper composting of the leaves scattered about.

 

An oddity that was worth exploring was a wavy mirror along a path. Ugh. I wish it had been one that made me thinner. We did not visit the playground since a lot of its structures were for younger children, neither suitable nor interesting for Alex. Science, Animals, Playground... two out of three ain't bad. We did buy Alex a puzzle in the gift shop. We have since assembled it with him and he liked that aspect of "play".

Since it was the start of fall during our visit, CuriOdyssey had begun deploying it autumn decorations. The afternoon at CuriOdyssey made for a fun outing. The weather, the scenery, and the activities were all great!