Emilia attended her second field trip of the year by visiting the Clark Planetarium and the Wasatch Community Gardens.
The community gardens located near downtown Salt Lake City offer neighboring residents an opportunity to grow their own fruits and vegetables, as well as expert advice and education for those seeking to learn more about organic gardening.
The staff there was great! They read the kids the book Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, discussed the different parts of a plant (root, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits), and them taught them what is required to grow a garden (water, soil, seeds, sun, etc.).
Even I learn something new. Did you know that Broccoli is a flower?
The kids got to plant their own seeds and water them with sponges soaked in water. One of the kids who was riding in my car accidentally fell into the shallow pond while attempting to soak his sponge and ended up getting soaked from the knees down himself. Poor kid!
We also visited the Clark Planetarium and got to learn more about our solar system, the atmosphere, astronauts, solar energy, light and lenses, tornadoes, and much more.
The activity Emilia enjoyed the most was watching the movie "Perfect Little Planet" inside the dome theater. She was very apprehensive about watching the show. To give you some prospective, she thinks Tinker Bell movies are scary.
Finally, she agreed to watch it as long as she was sitting on my lap. The video is about a family of aliens stressed out by city life, looking for a vacation destination. The travel agents takes them on a tour of the solar system's planets, moons and the Sun. In the end, they decide to vacation on planet Earth and really enjoy it.
The dome shape of the theater screen makes you feel like you're inside their spaceship as they travel and explore different environments. Sometimes you get the sensation you're in a rollercoaster climbing steep hills, making quick sharp turns or fast steep descents. I had to close my eyes for some of those parts. I just couldn't handle it. Emilia on the other hand, thought they were the most fun!
