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Reconnecting with Pheena, the Lawrence Hall of Science whale
My daughter beckoned me to climb atop the whale at the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the moment I put my hands on the thin spine, I rocketed back to some distant past when I spent an entire morning climbing and sliding and jumping.
"Wasn't I just here?" I thought to myself, "Didn't I just climb all over this thing ... yesterday?"
It made me feel incredibly nostalgic and, well, old, to think that my 4-year-old is now scrambling atop the very creature I was once in love with.
I had taken her to the hall of sciences high above Berkeley for just a fun father-daughter outing. I hadn't been in years, decades, and I was excited to go back. It turned out that half the exhibitions were closed for a remodel, but that somehow made the experience even better. We had the entire place nearly all to ourselves.
There were times when we were the only people on the replica of the fin whale in the main plaza. And inside, there was no competition to use the experiments, no crowds to fight for lunch. We wandered aimlessly around the halls and spent as much time as we liked playing with the ball mazes, miniature roller coasters and building blocks.
But far and away our favorite part was the whale, named Pheena. Emmeline climbed to the top and then slid down its side, landing with a thump and a laugh.
"Can you believe it?" she asked, her eyes wide, "A giant whale! On the ground!"
I could believe it, and I could also a remember a time when I, too, imagined it was real. I'm not sure how old that whale is now, but it made me happy to think it can still thrill kids -- and adults.
What's a favorite Bay Area childhood memory you've shared with your kids?
MIKE ADAMICK writes at Cry It Out! He is a sucker for ocean going mammals.
| January 06 2011 at 06:30 AM
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