Sid the Science Kid

We had the most lovely morning.

K met me at the gym at 6 this morning, and we discussed the general humdrum-ness of Tuesdays. So we arranged an early playdate. She also invited us to the chemistry/physics show on campus at lunchtime. Apparently there was going to be a laser show, colored fire, and maybe that hair-raising thing. Oh, and free pizza. I thought, oh my goodness. My kids would love this.

So, George raced home to get the car to us, and we raced back to campus. Nora was so excited. They got their pizza, ate like angels, and the show started. The first demonstration was this student who had a huge plexiglass box filled with mousetraps set with tiny rubber balls. He threw another one in (to demonstrate what happens in nuclear fission), and it set off a chain reaction that sent probably a hundred bouncy balls ricocheting off the plexiglass walls. Nora shouted and clapped her hands. William was even giggling. I thought to myself, what a perfect event for these guys!

Well, then there was the next demonstration. It was a fire extinguisher hooked up to a skateboard (and probably some other things). But anyway, it was supposed to move this student across the room. When he set it off, the hiss wasn't just a hiss. It was like this deafening

PSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!

And it scared the absolute bejesus out of both my kids. When the applause died down, all you could hear was a new deafening sound--Nora and William screeching in pure, honest, wide-eyed terror.

The whole place erupted. They thought it was hilarious. K's husband even yelled, "Hey, way to go, Physics!" More laughter. Including from me.

The kids, though--not laughing. They refused to settle down until we were out the door. And when I say out the door, I mean out the door to the whole building, not just the classroom. They would not be appeased until we were as far away as possible. (I wanna go home! I wanna *sob* go hooooome! I wanna go home! Maaamaaa!)

Alas. Maybe we'll hold off on science experiments for another, um, fifteen years. Till then, I'll just...try not to laugh.