Charlotte’s Best On Us! Discovery Place “Hands on Science”

January 29th, 2010 categories: Charlotte Living

Discovery Place is uniquely Charlotte ~ it’s one of those treasures that both young and old can enjoy and appreciate  years after your first visit. Whether you’re there to visit the mind blowing Lost Worlds at the IMAX theater, to watch a tornado appear before your very eyes or of course to watch mice play basketball ~ Discovery Place in Uptown Charlotte is THE PLACE! Discovery Place has been a part of my Charlotte Life since 1979 when I first moved to Charlotte and met my good friend Miller Nicholson (a darned good architect if you need one btw) for years Miller’s mom Freda was (and remains) along with CEO John Mackay the heart and soul of Discovery Place.

Recently TalkCharlotte partnered with Discovery Place to offer a free admission to Odyssey’s Shipwreck – sorry you missed that one but drop us a note here receive our current offering it’s delicious ~ and get on the list for monthly treats to Charlotte’s Best On Us!

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: Your Comments Please »

Friday Fly Fun or How to swat one!

August 29th, 2008 categories: Charlotte Living

On my way to grab some coffee today I heard this story on NPR radio about why its so darn hard to swat flies. (I hate flies, spiders and snakes BTW) How do they know the swatter is coming? How do they move so fast ? Do they think it through, or is it instinct? Well low and behold Michael Dickinson and Gwyneth Card have been working pretty hard to find the answers and what they found (Insect Flight, Michael Dickinson: Current Biology 8/28/08) is pretty darned interesting.

There is a good reason flies escape…they dance!  “They perform an elegant little ballet with their legs,” says Dickinson. “They move their legs around to reposition their bodies so that when they do jump, they will push themselves away from the looming threat.” Who knew? So there you have it, read Joe Palca’s NPR article here and watch the amazing stop action videos (click on the fly over there>)
…so next time you might just outwit that fly! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: Your Comments Please »