A Month In Paris: Day Sixteen: Parc de la Villette

Today we traveled to the edge of Paris to visit Parc de la Villette, a massive, futuristic park that is home to an extraordinary science museum. At the entrance:

There are numerous exhibits to choose from, but unfortunately each one has its own entry fee. We chose the Cite des Enfants for 5-12 year olds. We had 90 minutes to explore and didn't waste any time getting started:

Playing with water:

Measuring our running speed:

Watching butterflies in the greenhouse:

Studying ants:

Practicing our meteorological skills:

As well as our cinematography:

Eliza loves her fan base:

Creating enough energy to power a lamp. Kenny thinks we should recreate this process at home whenever the kids want to watch TV:

Next we became engineers, using a computer to design a building:

And watching as a robot brought it to life:

Experimenting with the concept of viscosity:

Learning about how our bodies move:

For a change of pace, using our hands for good (creating a closed circuit) rather than evil (smacking each other on the head):

Samantha and I had a little competition:

We ended with some more water play:

Then it was lunchtime:

And then outside to check out this very cool fountain:

And the geodome (we skipped the IMAX movie playing inside):

Family portrait:

Next to the geodome was a huge submarine:

Kenny and the girls checked it out... Those of us with a nervous disposition waited outside and partook of the free wifi:

When we got home, the girls and I chilled out while Kenny tried out the Parisian bike-share program. While he did 8 miles around the city, the girls treated me to a ballet set to Mozart, simply called "Paris":

It's not the camera; Eliza is blurry in real life, too.

After consulting the Heb calendar online and verifying that there were no Jewish holidays, we headed into the Marais for some chicken nuggets and falafel: