In article <[log in to unmask]>,
Jennifer S Smyth <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

:Diane wrote:
:>     We will be driving from Chapel Hill, NC to Lansing MI by way of W Va
:> and Ohio the first two weeks of August.
[deletions]
:>                                                                     I'm
:> looking for stuff you can't do in Alaska
:>      Diane Brenner, Anchorage Museum

:We have a nice hands on science museum in Lansing, its called Impressions Five
:and is located at 200 Museum Dr.  It is very popular around here, so it should
:be good.  I've never gone because I don't have any children.

Jennifer! Such prejudice! And from a museum person too. Children
aren't the only ones who learn better and more with their "hands
on."

:                                                 Seems to me that we tend to
:get asteroid showers a lot in August too.

An asteroid shower... that would hurt a lot!

The Perseid meteor shower will be visible the 11th and 12th of
August from now until further notice. (The earth passes through
a band of cometary debris at this time of year.) This year's
display will be dimmed due to a bright moon. Nonetheless, it's
pretty cool. Look to the northeast after full darkness. You'd
see this better (perhaps you already have) from Alaska. In a
dark field you will see 20-30 meteors per hour. (It should still
be worth watching even from a city.)

We usually play counting games. (Not drinking games; alcohol
reduces night-vision acuity.)

:                                       The northern lights can be seen in a
:dark field during the summers too (but it's hard, and that may be during  June
:or July)

I imagine people from Alaska know more about aurora than we poor
Southrons. Eh?

Have a great trip, Diane. Do catch the Perseids if you or your 9
YO haven't seen them.

                              regards,
                                tai

   i am not permitted to tell you about the ontario science centre

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------\
|     Tai Viinikka       | "I don't think it was a gas bomb at all,"    |
|     ------------       | Eddie said, gazing out the window.           |
|  Dwarven Productions   | "I think it was just a big chunk of dry ice. |
|     [log in to unmask]       | You Europeans are completely paranoid."      |
\--------------------------------/Bruce Sterling, Deep Eddy/------------/