Ask Slashdot: Science Sights To See? 363
First time accepted submitter steevven1 writes "My girlfriend and I are planning a long trip across the United States for this summer, and we'd like to see the usual sights, but we both have a bit of a geeky side, and we were trying to think of science-related marvels to see along the way. So far, we have thought of places like the Very Large Array in New Mexico and Fermilab in Illinois. Any suggestions?"
Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (Score:5, Interesting)
Near Arco, Idaho, is the site of Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 [wikipedia.org].
"At 1:50 pm on December 20, 1951 it became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it produced sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs."
It's decommissioned now, but the building and much of the original equipment is still there, along with good museum exhibits.
You haven't said what route you're taking across the States, but Arco is along the "Oregon Trail" as documented in the guidebook "Road Trip USA [amazon.com]" (which I thoroughly recommend, having driven four of its cross-country routes)
Barringer Meteor Crater (Score:4, Interesting)
The Barringer Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona is a must-visit if you're passing within, ooh, two hours drive from it.
If it was in any other state, it would be the biggest hole in the ground in the state. But it's in Arizona.
The Grand Canyon has to be seen too. You could call that nerdy if you're into geology.
Re:nerdy day trips (Score:4, Interesting)
Nerdy Day Trips [nerdydaytrips.com]
USAF museum in Dayton Ohio (Score:2, Interesting)
Is very worth stopping by and free.
The Henry Ford museum in Detroit is good too but their car exhibit - which is 80% of the reason to go - is down right now for remodeling. They also have some huge locomotives, other steam engines, farm equipment, and machine tools. When the car exhibit is back up it is totally worth it. They also offer a tour of the Ford Rouge manufacturing plant.
The Henry Ford (Score:2, Interesting)
Dearborn, MI (near Detroit) -- new name for the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village. Old Henry realized that cars (and his Model T in particular) were changing the American landscape. He set out to preserve interesting bits by moving them to his collection...like the Wright Brothers workshop where their first airplanes were built.
Re:Trinity Site (Score:4, Interesting)
Seconded. And the VLA has more comprehensive tours on the Trinity Site weekends.
But there's more to it than that, there's the Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, some stuff in Los Alamos, and if your into such things, Roswell.
Sorry to sound like an ad for New Mexico. There's a lot of lousy parts of the state, too.
Haven't seen these mentioned yet–– (Score:3, Interesting)
On the west coast, the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Then drive down I-280 and see the SLAC – don't know if they have a visitors center. Over to Berkeley to see UCB. Moffett Field and 1 Infinite Loop Drive in the Sili Valley. Carry on south to L.A. and visit JPL – call to find out about seeing the museum in the visitor center – and Caltech; both in Pasadena.
On the east coast Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, NC. The MIT museum and MIT, including the Infinite Corridor, in Cambridge.
National Ignition Facility (Score:4, Interesting)
At Lawrence Livermore Labs in California.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/101277-inside-californias-star-power-fusion-facility [extremetech.com]
It would be on my list.