Passover is a time for family outings, and the whole country is on vacation, so it's no surprise that we weren't exactly the only ones who thought of visiting Madatech, the Israeli National Museum of Science, Technology and Space, in Haifa. I'm happy to report that the place was packed with families interested in nurturing their children's understanding of the world around them through science.
The museum is housed in an impressive example of Israeli architecture, a building designed by the German Jewish architect Alexander Baerwald, and built around 1912, though due to a number of circumstances the Israeli Technion, the first Israeli institution for higher education, did not start accepting students until around 1925. You can read more about the history here.
The historic building houses many interesting exhibits that can be enjoyed at all levels, with many many hands on type displays to engage children. This room with a very tall ceiling was the perfect space for an aeronautics exhibit.
We also enjoyed the room of mirrors and this print of an optical painting. This boy (not mine) happened to be wearing a crocheted yarmulke that was such a great compliment to the painting that I had him pose for me!
I loved the exhibit room where concepts that required darkness were explained.
One of the very special features of the museum is the outdoor "science park" built in a large courtyard space between two of the museum buildings. Through well designed and large interactive exhibits, the park's goal is to explain the scientific principles underlying the discoveries of a number of giants whose breakthroughs shaped the course of science. I'll admit, we didn't even have time to explore these concepts, but my kids loved the exhibits!
Climb into the world...........
........sit inside the sun and turn the steering wheel to control the earth's orbit.........
......peddle on a gyroscope helicopter of sorts! And then, after you've stretched your legs a bit and enjoyed the outdoors, head back inside into the space exhibit in the new building just beyond the science park.
All in all, I'd say this museum is certainly a great place to visit, though one should go well rested and with the idea that it will take many many hours to actually go through all the exhibits and explain the concepts to your kids. (All the exhibits are in hebrew, english and arabic.) I'll admit though that due to time constraints, the main concept that I tried to explain to my kids is that at a museum one must read the signs to understand what one is looking at! Better luck next time.....they were more interested in pushing buttons and grabbing levers than reading the explanations, alack alas.
This is the kind of place one could visit many many times and little by little learn many of the scientific concepts by supplementing with some reading at home. Hmmmm, since this museum is not exactly around the corner, but rather an hour's drive away, I guess I'm gonna have to start doing quite a bit of supplementing at home to fill my little ones in on the wonder's of the world! (And hey, a little review certainly won't hurt me either!)
