Disney World Pics Of The Day--Day 3

We were totally geekin' out today, and it was SO MUCH FUN!! We got to explore all the cool sciency hands-on learning type stuff that Disney does so well. We got to learn about carbon nanotubes, and nanomagnets, and solar energy, and atom assemblers, and how plastic bottles are basically made of polyester, and how, after we drink their contents, they are often turned into fabric, including that polar fleece that the fashion-and-comfort-conscious are wearing so much in Oregon right now. (As I've noted in my previous Disney posts, that's what we've been needing to wear in Florida too, but today, the weather took a turn for the better. It actually got up to 68 and we had to break out the sunglasses. Whoo-hoo!) If you'd been here with us, you'd have gotten to design your own robot, learn the history of silly-putty, learn how excitons are going to triple the capacity of solar cells, and how carbon nanotubes coated in folic acid will bond with folic acid receptors in cancer cells so that doctors can KILL the little mutants. Doesn't that sound like fun?

So, here are our pics of the day. If you think there are too many of me, that's Kedley's fault. He controlled the picture selection, which is why there are so many of me and all the ones of him are "hammy." It is also why there's a picture of fire, and another of food.

Carbon nanotubes? Wheeeeee!!

Hangin' with Jimminy.

How do you like Ked's new "Do?"

We got to play with fun, expensive toys. Again, need I say, wheeeee!?!

First, they let us design our own robots, which was cool. Then, they let us race the robots we designed, in a computer simulation. Ked kicked butt! Then, things got a little tricky. They actually wanted us to build the thing. You can see how well that went. We decided our luggage was already too full anyway.

After the robot-building came the "Mission To Mars." Like the intrepid, but cautious, explorers that we are, we opted for the less intense "green" level mission training. That went pretty well. We both survived, and didn't crash or throw up on anything. Then, Ked got a little cocky. He decided to up the "thrill level" and move on to the more advanced "orange level" training, where they throw in G-forces and spinning. The photo tells you how well that set with him. We had fast passes to move on from there to the Test Track for some more high-speed action, but after Kedley calculated the odds of revisiting his lunch, we decided to take on something tamer.

One of the tamer, but interesting things we did was the Circle-Vision movie about China. Really neat. There are continuous screens all the way around the room, showing film from cameras mounted on the exteriors of helicopters and airplanes, providing a panoramic view of Chinese landscapes and city scenes. It made us want to go there. Outside the theater, they had a display of replicas of the terra cotta soldiers that stand guard in the tombs of dead emperors. Lucky soldiers-- not only do they get to stand guard forever--they even get terra cotta horsies to play with.

We were both getting pretty tired by the end of the day. So what did I do? I found a comfy bench, and I made it mine.

We went to a fancy restaurant for dinner and requested a seat at the counter, so we could watch the chefs at work. This was one of the highlights of the day, especially for Ked. It combined two of his favorite things: fire and food.

Doesn't this pretty much speak for itself?

We ended the evening with a lovely stroll down the Boardwalk, followed by fireworks. Ked got to see fire; I got to see fireworks. So far, the vacation's going great. See ya tomorrow.

Update: Weirdness alert. Blogger apparently eliminated one of the photos, so it looked like I was all excited to get to play with mannequins. There are a number of things wrong with that. Fixed now.