| |
Heureka Science center attraction in the Helsinki-Vantaa area of southern Finland.
Tourism around Helsinki of the scientific nature.
 Overview of the Heureka science center on a clear sky in the summer.
We
decided to go to here with our friends from the Helsinki area. They
also have two kids, boys, 8- and 10- years old. We thought it
would be interesting to spend a fun and educational day at
the center.
I had been at the science center ten years earlier with a pre-school group of 1st and 2nd graders.
Getting there
and parking
We followed the signs
from Kehä 3 in Tikkurila, Vantaa. The signs guide us to the parking
lot,
which is free of charge. If you are driving, use a navigational device
to get to the parking lot. Type in Kuninkaalantie 7, Vantaa.
Once at the parking place, there is a five minute walk to the entrance of the center. Just follow the walking path under
the train
tracks and you'll arrive at the right place. If you are traveling by
train,
the center is right next to the Tikkurila train station in Vantaa.
A photograph of the science center "a bird's eye view" near the train
station in Tikkurila. For those interested in layout of building
structures in big cities. This picture is for you.  Parking -Shown on the top left of this picture. (see the cars)
On our way to the main building...we come across some rock art.
 Attractions for kids.  Depending on the season, there are outside activities and attractions for children. It's easy to...  ...get this heavy ball to budge. Here, you try!
Inside the main building...
...there
is the cafe Einstein, which is next
to the entrance of the Heureka science center going in on the left.
Snack on a croissants, a drink, or a cup of coffee.
At cafe Einstein
it is possible to have a lunch meal or just enjoy a drink with
salad,
sandwich or something sweet for at a reasonable price.
Lunch
buffet with one warm course is 8 euros. Of course, if you want to get
eat cheap, take a snack or lunch bag with you from home. Eat lunch
while sitting on the benches in the large
foyer.
When I was there
with my students, we had lunch at the cafe Einstein and ate our snack
taken from home later in the afternoon.
Buying the
tickets for the Heureka science center.
Time to enter the Heureka Science Center. As we got there it was
early afternoon, (1 pm). Our entrance ticket also included
a film showing at the planetarium.
There are several
options in ticket purchase: you can attend only the Heureka
Science Center planetarium film or get a ticket for everything--
exhibitions and three shows at the planetarium or something between
these two options.
The planetarium.  Rosa 6 years old said this is scary!
How much time
does one need to spend at the Heureka Science Center?
The
minimum time recommended is 2.5 to 3 hours. Granted, you attend the exhibition
and one other activity, like the planetarium, laboratory, science theater
show or workshop.
We were there for four hours and checked out the
exhibitions, went to see a movie at the planetarium and attended a 30
minutes show at the Minerva science theater.
To do see and do at the Heureka Science Center?
After buying the tickets you get information about the program of the
day in you hand. Ask for information from anyone who is wearing a special
Heureka Science Center jacket. They are there ready and able to assist you.
Exhibitions: Ongoing exhibitions and small ones which vary from time to time.
The
main exhibition themes include: "Environment-friendly consumption",
"intelligent traffic", "languages and cultures and the
structure-of-life."
Kids get to experience the combination of science and technology, and educate themselves by 'hands-on', learning.
Our kids liked the
earthquake the most, then they also enjoyed pulling the intestines out
of a person. :)
The earthquake simulator. 
Unfortunately we missed the basketball game
played by the rats. We just missed the time while having fun somewhere
else. I have seen it before and it is cool. You don't want to miss the
show. In fact...
...it's a rat of a show.  One rat around the neck...  ...the other...safe as a baby!
Science on the sphere, It's a sphere projector, miniature globe of earth as seen from space--entertaining for adults too.
 It is interesting to see how the winds are formed, how the seas look like
at any particular hour of the day. The pictures on the sphere
come from a
satellite. There was a guided presentation we attended also.
I got to
see hurricane Katrina as well!
Other exhibitions in were the classics and move and play. The classics was a selection
of the favorites taken from the past exhibitions from the Heureka Science Center and other science centers like...
...Magic smoke projection.  Or...  Compete with yourself or a friend. See how hard you can hit a ball. Move on to the next activity...see how hard you can kick a ball.
Popular classicsA rope jumping machine. Hey, these guys are rockin'! 
At the classics, we tried and experienced moonwalking and among other things, tried to lift a car up!
Move
and play was the ultimate hit for the boys. There was a huge hall full
of Nintendo games and other activities centered around movement.
Like...
...where kids and adults play tricks on each other, or walking the tight-rope.
...some real dare-devil kids got mom and dad to let them try this ride. Look how high Mom!!
There were wii -games as well and it was cool to play in front of the
huge screen.
Laboratories.
The professionals who work at the
Heureka Science Center lead kids through various activities in workshops
and laboratories. If you want to attend a laboratory, where you get to
do science in a real lab, you should sign up by the laboratory door
right away when you enter the center.
Lab consists of 35 minute programs.  Children wearing white lab coats at a workshop. And...  Have your children get educated by building a robot. Idea: Compete with other groups of children in a class to make 'building-a-robot' more exiting!
Rosa remembers the buried bones in this red box.  See what a real Finnish metal band members looks like.
Other workshops are about geometry. Sign up for these
at the door. They take 24 kids at a time.
Kids get to use their imagination work for them at the Bestiarum Construendum. A place where everyone could
construct their own beast-like animal.
 A boy constructing his weird
creature. The beast-pieces are quite large and
there are 36 of them. Families share in the fun of creating their own mystical
fairytale creature.
The Planetarium. Both educational, plus entertaining at the same time.
Outside construction of the planetarium...
...inside
they have three different films. Pick and choose the one that interests
you most. Time permitting---watch all three.
The
planetarium has a globe form screen and the sound radiates from all
directions. We watched the animation about 'Life on a reef' and felt as
if we were actually there, under water, looking around. Cool!
Minerva Science Theater.
The day we visited,they had a show about gases. We sat on a small
rising seats katsomo. As the lights went down and then up, we got a
show about three different gases and what they are like: oxygen,
nitrogen, hydrogen-dioxide.
Did you know, that you can fill a
long balloon(no, not baboon) by blowing on top of it (outside) after a
full balloon was dipped in boiling nitrogen? Why and how was this
possible? Magic?! Go and see the show, and you'll find out!
Heureka shop. - Everyone loves shopping at Heureka.
The
Heureka Science Center shop can be found in the Heureka center as well
as in Kamppi, in the center of Helsinki. Address in Helsinki: Urho
Kekkosenkatu 1, Helsinki. Buy science related gifts here, puzzles, etc.
including tickets to the Vantaa Science Center.
At the Vantaa
Heureka shop, purchase all kinds of stuff like, a book that actually
catches fire when you read about oxygen and how you need oxygen for
burning! Definitely not your typical science text books from school.
Need an idea for a rainy day in the summer time, or when adults want to go to a museums or shopping!
Attend
summer time day camp at the Heureka Science Center. Day Camps are
arranged during the weeks 23-28 and 31-32 for kids who are 7-12 years
old. Camps are between 0-15 o'clock. You can reserve a place from
www.heureka.fi.
Tip: If you are in Oulu and looking for a similar experience to the Heureka Science Center, try the Tietomaa Science Center.
Here you can see illusions that trick the brain. Watch wide-screen
movie projected films. Visit a uniform and medallion museums,or a
glass-blowing facility.
Driving directions to the Heureka Science Center by car using Michelins recommended route(Type your origin of travel into the box provided)
|
