Parenting is not rocket science, but this is one not-technical mama's experiment in raising curious, adventuresome explorers.
"Metric system, international decimal system of weights and measures, based on the metre for length and the kilogram for mass, that was adopted in France in 1795 and is now used officially in almost all countries." (source) Did you catch that? "Used officially in almost all countries." We here in the U.S. are the almost. All over …
When the rocket scientist has to work over the weekend at a spacecraft vendor about an hour away, we go along for the fun! A hotel with a swimming pool and free breakfast helps seal the deal. We didn't get to go along to see the satellite undergoing testing, but it happened to be down …
It makes sense to give kids lots of free time and space to let their creativity blossom. Right on. There is altogether too much structure in kids' lives these days: music classes, sports teams, play dates, school. We love academics and extra-curricular activities and somehow our success-driven, measurable-achievement-craving society tells us our kids will be …
Are we crazy? My husband, driven by his thirst for adventure, when booking our airline tickets to Denmark noticed there was a short (i.e. decent-length) Paris layover, and a 6-hour one. Of course he suggested the latter so we could grab a train into the city and see what we could see with a few …
We live in a big city. But that doesn't mean we can't get out and get dirty, do a little exploring, have some hands-on learning. What do you do to get outside and do and see something new? The great thing about kids and their limited life experience, while tantrum-inducing at times (Why can't I …
A fascination with outer space and all-things-astronomy is everywhere. The universality of the stars, across the globe and throughout history, is fun to experience as we travel here and there. We are by no means extensive travelers (wishful thinking on Jonathan's part), but since we have a connection to the space exploration industry, we enjoy …
When my husband was in grad school (not studying rocket science as I may have led you to believe, but actually researching the psychology behind creativity in the engineering design process), he mentioned how drawing conclusions from the data felt a lot like making stuff up. After weeks of transcribing the thoughts and interactions of …
There is a reason we all love Lego. I am not, nor ever was, particularly naturally suited to building things out of Lego. My hang up has always been translating the vision in my head to the connection of bricks in my hands. My brother on the other hand, never followed the instructions that I …
I love to tag along when my husband, Jonathan, the rocket scientist, gives a tour of JPL, where he works. Yes, there are the super cool models of spacecraft through the years: Explorer 1, Cassini , and rovers like Spirit and Opportunity, and Curiosity, the surreal places like the Deep Space Network mission control room and the Spacecraft …
Inspiration. We all want to create something from an "aha!" moment, to have the light bulb turn on and come up with a creative, new idea whether it's a work of art, a piece of music, or a great story...or a design for a spacecraft. Yep, engineers are designers too. Just ask our resident rocket …
Launching Rocket Babies 