Yesterday I attended the celebration for what will be the future space for Children’s Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa (next to the Schulz Museum). In founder Collette Michaud’s speech, she cited the statistic that today a child’s area of exploration in his or her neighborhood has been reduced to 1/9 of what it was in the 1970s. (10-1) In order to underline the importance of having a place for children to explore, each of the 40 tables had a name of someone who had wondered about what would happen, whether something was possible, or how something could be improved upon, and then made something wonderful happen.
George W. FERRIS designed the Ferris Wheel – about 264 feet tall (10+2) - for the Chicago’s World Fair to try to rival the Eiffel Tower.
Stephanie KWOLEK created lightweight Kevlar – now most frequently used in bullet proof vests. Speed of a bullet is about 1200 – 1500 meters per second. (10+3)
Frank EPPERSON (Epsicle – now known as a Popsicle), Mary ANDERSON (first windshield wipers), Frank Oppenheimer (Exploratorium), Margaret KNIGHT (flat-bottom paper bags), Earl DICKSON (Band-Aids), Joe McVICKER (Play-Doh), Leo GERSTENZANG (Q-Tips), and Arthur GRANJEAN (Etch A Sketch).
A great reminder for all ages to take a minute (100) to stop, observe and wonder!