Sunday, April 28, 2013

Griffith Observatory and Santa Monica Beach

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On our last day in LA, we stopped by the Griffith Observatory.  The views from the hilltop were amazing, and we had a fantastic view of the Hollywood sign.

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Ethan is a science nut and loved spending time inside the observatory, looking at the different earth models, the working pendulum and touching moon rocks!  There is no entrance fee to the Griffith Observatory, but even if there was, I would highly recommend it.  There are also a lot of hiking trails and picnic spots in the surrounding park area so it would make a fun weekend outing.

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It used to be Jupiter, but Saturn is now E's favorite planet.  

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The Foucault Pendulum which helps demonstrate Earth's rotation, the vaulted ceilings covered with the Hugo Balin Murals, Ethan being entranced by the pendulum which knocks down a peg every 7 minutes.



There were several exhibits demonstrating the interaction of the Sun, Earth and Moon.  This particular one was showing seasonal changes due to Earth's rotation around the Sun.


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Analyzing different samples from outer space.


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Peek-a-boo!


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Seeing how much he weights on Mercury.


Racing around with Katie.

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Hmmm...not exactly like the real thing.


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Posing with Einstein.  


Tesla Coil demonstration.  

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Saying goodbye to the Chiu's and then it was off for a brief stop at the beach before heading back home!


Santa Monica State Beach Park:
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The sky was super unclear the day we went, but we still had fun playing in the sand.

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Building a castle for some sand crabs we found.


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Have to do some sand writing!

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It was a great beach day!







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