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• OMSI
  The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, or more commonly known as OMSI, is a museum that sits on the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The two story building houses many hands-on displays for many topics that include; human development, the sciences, lifestyle issues and technology. The Oregon Museum Foundation was started in 1944 to start a museum that focused on the history, industry and science of the region with its first exhibits containing natural history items that were shown at the Portland Hotel. In 1949, the museum was given a house in northeast Portland and in a year's time, it had given the state its first planetarium. The attendance had risen to over 25,000 by 1955, and the need for a larger venue to house the growing collection and a new site was built at Washington Park, with the dreams of a hands-on type of museum being realized. The building is now the home of the Portland Children's Museum and by mid 1980s, the museum was enjoying crowds of 600,000 that had been built for only 100,000; necessitating the construction of its present home, on land that was donated by Portland General Electric and the building constructed with funds that were obtained by a large fundraising project. This new building also included a new 330 seat OMNIMAX theater, which was the first one of its kind in the Pacific northwest. It also contains a 200 seat planetarium with Digistar 3 technology. The museum has 5 specialized halls for exhibition, the planetarium and a submarine display. That sub, the USS Blueblack was bought by the museum in 1994, which had been shown in the film, "The Hunt for Red October", and now sits right outside the museum on the river. This ship opened for tours in 1994, with the propeller taken off, it has become a National Submarine Memorial. The featured exhibit hall is where the temporary exhibits are shown, either created by the museum or brought here from other museums around the globe. The Turbine hall is named this because of the huge steam turbine that sits on the majority of the floor showing information about the fascinating subjects of chemistry, space travel, physics and engineering. The hall sits on two floors, with the main floor housing the bigger exhibits and what is called the enrichment area. The mezzanine contains small displays that emphasize the properties of physics. In the Innovation Station, there are numerous displays about technology and invention that uses hands-on displays so that you can gain a better understanding and feel for the unique exhibits. Their marvelous chemistry laboratory is the first hands-on exhibit that uses a wet chemistry lab in the country, with six stations that offer visitors a chance to learn of various chemical interactions by actually helping in the experiments sharing a common thread. These themes change weekly and include; biochemistry, industrial chemistry, everyday chemistry, the chemistry of toys, nature of matter, environmental chemistry, chemical reactions and crime scene chemistry. Every day, the museum gives chemical reaction demos that relate to the themes. The physics lab displays include a Van de Gaff generator, Morse code, magnets, circuits, motion detectors, computers simulating the basic properties of physics and musical instruments. Inside this lab, the Laser/Holography lab is opened for an hour each day to allow a 30 minute demonstration by the staff creating a hologram. The Vernier Technology Laboratory investigates the impact that the subject of technology has had on our society today, with fantastic exhibits that allow you to see various tech topics that include robotics, biomedical technology, security technology, computers, household technology and communications technology. The Life Sciences Hall, Science Playground and planetarium also offer exceptional activities and exhibits that will entice you into trying them out and learning more than you thought you would when coming here. It is all for your benefit, knowledge and growth, presented in a very delightful way and allowing you to explore all kinds of interactive exhibits that will enlarge your view of the world around you, not to mention create a wild explosion of thoughts in your children. It is a wonderful place to spend the day with your children and other family members.

Portland Apt Alamo Car Rentals - 10947 Ne Holman St.

• Oregon Zoo
  The Oregon Zoo was called the Washington Park Zoo, and is found in Portland, Oregon with a narrow gauge excursion train connecting the Washington Park area with the International Rose Test Garden, within the park. It opened in 1887, when a private collector donated his collection of animals to the city. Sitting on 64 acres, the zoo is owned by the regional government Metro and is accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Their exceptional programs of breeding for the California condor and Asian elephants are well known, as well as being one of the most successful in the world and the zoo's marvelous expansive plant collection throughout the exhibits and specialized gardens is excellent. In the summers, they hold concerts and in the winter months there is a beautiful light show that is seen on the train. It is the state's biggest paid attraction with over 1.6 million visitors coming there in 2008 and 2009. It is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River, with Richard Knight, a local pharmacist and avid collector of animals starting out the zoo's animal base that had outgrown its small space beside the pharmacy. Growing quickly, the zoo had more than 300 animals by 1894; and was forced to move in 1925 and finally to its present site in 1959. The zoo became world renown in 1962, when the first Asian elephant, Packy was born, becoming the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years and the tallest as of 2010, in the United States. 28 calves have been born and raised here, seven by Packy, which has made the zoo the most successful breeder in the world. Exhibits include; the African Rainforest, Asian Elephants, African Savanna, Amazon Flooded Forest, Predators of the Serengeti, Bears, the Great Northwest and smaller exhibits that house all kinds of animals, insects and birds.

January 11, 2011