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 Eric, 11, goes to Explorer Elementary in Colorado. That's a good school name for this 11-year-old. Why? Eric is a real explorer! Last year, he entered Doubletree's "Dedicated to Trees" Sweepstakes. He and his family won a trip to Seattle, Washington, where they toured the Exploring Trees Inside & Out exhibit. Here's what Eric had to say about his trip.
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"Our family went on a trip to Seattle, Washington to the Pacific Science Center. While we were there, we went to an exhibit called "Exploring Trees Inside and Out." The exhibit showed different kinds of trees. There was also a forest display with a light blue screen. We put on moth costumes, but the screen made everything that was light blue disappear. So a movie projection with a background of moving trees made our legs disappear. We looked like we were flying through the forest!
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There was also a giant tree in which you could explore. To enter, you had to either climb through a large root or through a hole in the trunk. On your way through the root, though, there were holes in the root containing realistic spiders, bugs, and in a hole towards the end, a squirrel. Once inside, you had to climb through the branches until you were in a room with two paths. The first path led to the second floor of the tree. The other path led to a room that had a TV in the roof. All the rooms were made of nets that were held up. You could only see the TV by lying under it, and when you did, you could gaze into the trees from below on a slide show.
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At the end of the TV room, a hole in the wall led to the second floor of the tree. The second floor had a passage where you could look down at all of the people passing by. It led to new rooms. There was a fork in the tree. If you went down the path to the left, you would find yourself inside a leaf. There were lights inside it that showed how the leaf performed photosynthesis. If you went to the right, there was a slide down the tree that landed you in a tub of fake leaves and bugs.
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There was also a table that had wooden parts you could fit together to make things such as a birdhouse and a wooden horse.
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My favorite part of the exhibit was the tree you could climb through. It was my favorite part because there was so much to do."
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Thanks for the tour, Eric!
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