Late Post: Abu Dhabi Science Festival

As a mom, I want my kids to be involved in every activity there is possible.  One of these activities that my kids went to was the Abu Dhabi Science Festival.  The festival ran from November 14 to 23.  The main festival was at the Du Forum in Yas Island.  However, there was also a mini-festival held at the Abu Dhabi Corniche East Plaza for those who will not be able to go to Du.  These are one of the times that I was really thankful that we live just opposite the Corniche Beach because whenever there are events like this, we just need to cross the road and not worry about parking or traffic at all.

Abu Dhabi Science Festival

There were many activities that the kids loved doing.  We were welcomed with bubbles near the entrance of the festival.  The just beside the bubbles corner was a scale that you need to balance by shooting basketballs on each side.  My youngest enjoyed this activity, as he really loves basketball!

Balancing balls

 There were many musical instruments that were on display and with which the children had the chance to play.  They had drums of all sizes.

Drums

 There was also this giant xylophone, which you could literally sleep on.

Giant xylophones

 The metallophones, which you had to hit with a slipper to be able to produce sounds.

Metallophones

 For the wind pipe to produce sound, you have to wind up a lever for some time.  It was actually kind of difficult for my little boy to do so a little help from mommy did the trick.

Giant wind pipe

You can also check how fast you react on something.  Lights will blink from this board and you have to hit the square that lit up as fast you could.  The more you hit, the better you performed!

How fast do you react

There was also an area where kids will be taught how to make a kite.  It was really so educational, as I also learned how to make one myself.  I was a kid of the 80s, but I haven't been able to make or fly a kite.  It was such a delight for me to see that my kids are actually doing something that I haven't done while I was a kid.

Let's make a kite

My youngest attempted to fly the kite with the help of his father.  He was really into it and did not stop until he was able to make the kite fly in the sky.  I can say that for a first timer, he was actually good. 

Flying a kite

 The kids also had the opportunity to see the stars and the moon through a telescope.  They were really surprised and amazed on how different the moon and starts looked like compared to what they usually see in their coloring books.

Telescope

This was the fun part for me.  For one night, the kids became archeologists, which is another frustation of mine.  They were asked to dig in a sandpit and look for treasures, study those finds and make an estimate of how old the treasures were.  My kids were actually competitive with each other and each wanted to find more than the other.

Archeologists for a night

 At the end of the activity, they were also given this certificate stating thay they have been a "digger" for a day.

UAE digger

 Finally, they also had the chance to see and learn how simple levers work.

Levers

We should always make a conscious effort to expose our children at this young age to activities that would catch their interest.  Kids are like a sponge.  They are able to absorb knowledge by seeing and observing first hand.  It is always good to expose your children to a variety of experiences.  One will never know how these exposures can influence their choices in life in the future.